Honor column (Kronach)
The honor column is a monument on Melchior-Otto-Platz in the Upper Franconian town of Kronach .
history
During the Thirty Years' War , Kronach was besieged several times by the Swedes and their German allies from 1632 to 1634 . However, due to the strategically favorable structure of the city and the determined resistance of its residents - especially the women - the attacks were successfully repelled. For their bravery in defending the city, the Kronachers were awarded a new city coat of arms, a golden chain of mayors and the “Spanish Habit ”, a robe of honor for the city council, from the Bamberg prince-bishop Melchior Otto Voit of Salzburg in 1651 .
Out of gratitude, the citizens of Kronach erected a column in honor of the prince-bishop in 1654, which was created by the Kulmbach sculptors Johann Brenck and Hans Georg Schlehendorn. On the top of the column is the coat of arms awarded by Melchior Otto, which is flanked by two men who carry their peeled skin under their arms. These two shield holders are reminiscent of an incident during the siege of the city in 1632, when four Kronach men were captured and tortured by the Swedes in a sortie in which they made several of the besiegers' cannons unusable by nailing the ignition holes .
During the Second World War , the heraldic right shield holder was torn off when the city was bombarded by Allied troops in 1945; it was replaced by a replica.
During the Swedish procession, which has taken place annually in Kronach since 1633 , the honorary column serves as one of the four stations on the processional path.
Web links
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- Kronach's story. Club 1000 years Kronach e. V., accessed on January 23, 2012 .
- Bernhard Peter: Kronach: Honor column on the market square. Retrieved January 23, 2012 .
- Information board of the Lions Club Kronach on Melchior-Otto-Platz
- Hans Kremer, Helmut Wenig: coat of arms stones and stone inscriptions in Kronach and on the fortress Rosenberg . Ed .: Working group for home care (= Heimatkundliches Jahrbuch des Landkreis Kronach . Volume 4/1976 ).
Coordinates: 50 ° 14 ′ 25.6 ″ N , 11 ° 19 ′ 27.4 ″ E