Griffin (cannon)

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The Greif cannon on the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress

The Greif , also known as the Vogel Greif , is one of the largest cannons from the 16th century. It is located on the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress in Koblenz and is an exhibit in the local state museum . Ownership of the cannon changed several times between Germany and France .

history

The muzzle of the griffin (cannon). Two stamp marks can be seen below the upper edge of the mouth

The Trier Elector and Archbishop Richard von Greiffenklau zu Vollrads had the cannon cast by Master Simon from Frankfurt am Main in 1524 and placed it on the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress. After the French conquered Ehrenbreitstein in 1799 during the coalition wars , the cannon was brought to the arsenal on the Moselle in Metz . Metz was besieged in 1814 and 1815. As the French feared the fall of the city, they buried the Greif in the ground or sunk it in the Seille . 1866 followed by railways of moving to Paris in the heeres history museum "Musée de l'Armée" in the Hôtel des Invalides .

In 1940, after the conquest of France by the German Reich in World War II , it came back. After the war, however, it was brought back to Paris by the French occupying forces in 1946 . As part of the Franco-German reconciliation , she came in 1984 during the tenure of the French President François Mitterrand , who on the Ehrenbreitstein an agreement with German Chancellor Helmut Kohl signed as a permanent loan to the fortress Ehrenbreitstein back. The director of the Musée de l'Armée resigned in protest against the incident. Since then, the cannon has been one of the most famous exhibits in the Koblenz State Museum .

Allegedly the Griffin was never used due to a locked ignition hole , but this could be refuted by four proof marks and black powder residues in the cannon. It turned out that the ignition hole had been closed with iron nails at some point after it was used.

cannon

The griffin weighs nine tons, is 4.66 meters long and is made of cast bronze . It was designed as a siege cannon and, according to theoretical calculations, could fire bullets weighing 80 kg using 40 kg of black powder . Although the cannon was fired, no use in battle is documented.

The inscription on the cannon reads:

"SIMON GOS ME 1524
BIRD GRIFFIN
THE GRIFFIN IS ME TO MY GENERAL LORD OF DRIR DIN I WHERE HE IS FOREST ME DO I WANT TO SPLIT THORN AND MOON"

literature

  • Energieversorgung Mittelrhein GmbH (ed.): History of the city of Koblenz. Overall editing: Ingrid Bátori in conjunction with Dieter Kerber and Hans Josef Schmidt
    • Vol. 1: From the beginning to the end of the electoral era. Theiss, Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3-8062-0876-X
    • Vol. 2: From the French city to the present. Theiss, Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-8062-1036-5
  • Ulrike Weber (edit.): Cultural monuments in Rhineland-Palatinate. Monument topography Federal Republic of Germany. Volume 3.3: City of Koblenz. Districts. Werner, Worms 2013, ISBN 978-3-88462-345-9 .

Web links

Commons : Griffin (cannon)  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Archives for the artillery and engineer officers of the German Reichsheeres, Volume 20, Verlag ES Mittler., 1846 ( online ), page 31
  2. ^ Westphal: Geschichte der Stadt Metz, Deutsche Buchhandlung (G. Lang), 1876 ( online ), page 444
  3. ^ Eva Zwach: German and English Military Museums in the 20th Century, LIT Verlag Münster, 1999, ISBN 9783825841607 ( online ), page 131