Hutten-Sickingen monument
The Hutten-Sickingen monument is a double statue below Ebernburg Castle in the Bad Kreuznach district of Bad Münster am Stein-Ebernburg , showing Ulrich von Hutten and Franz von Sickingen . It was executed between 1886 and 1889 by the sculptors Robert (1863–1947) and Ludwig Cauer (1866–1947) and is considered an important work of German historicism .
history
At the beginning of the 16th century, the Ebernburg was owned by the Imperial Knight Franz von Sickingen (1481–1523), who was an important supporter of supporters of the Reformation . He had offered Martin Luther and other reformers the Ebernburg as asylum . The friend of Sickningens and humanist Ulrich von Hutten (1488–1523) therefore called the castle a “hostel of justice”.
The national enthusiasm that prevailed after the establishment of the German Empire in 1871 and Ulrich von Hutten's 400th birthday in 1888 led to plans for a Hutten-Sickingen monument in the mid- 1880s . The two men should be honored at the Ebernburg as champions of the German unity that has now been achieved .
The famous Bad Kreuznach family of sculptors, the Cauer family, was commissioned to erect the monument in 1886 . The double statue is said to be based on a design by Karl Cauer (1828–1885), who, however, died before construction began. That is why the monument was erected by his sons Robert and Ludwig Cauer and inaugurated on June 11, 1889 . The construction of the monument cost 60,000 gold marks .
The memorial lacks any reference to the Reformation , for which von Hutten and von Sickingen had advocated. Presumably, consideration was given to the Catholic Church after the cultural war between the German Empire and the Pope was finally settled diplomatically in 1887. Instead, both men are labeled with an inscription on the pedestal as “champions of German unity and greatness”.
Appearance
The monument is located in a wooded area on the northeast side of the castle hill halfway below the Ebernburg. The base of the monument is a two-step base made of sandstone , the approximately 2.50 m high above the pedestal of granite rises. Then again, the two are also approximately 2.50 meters high statues of bronze , which Ulrich von Hutten and Franz von Sickingen represent.
The double statue possibly shows the moment when the later friends first met in 1519. Franz von Sickingen got to know the idea of a reformation of the church through Ulrich von Hutten . In the encounter scene shown, von Sickingen still takes a negative and suspicious attitude towards von Hutten. He stands there leaning back slightly and holds his sword in both hands , which he has even slightly pulled from its sheath .
Von Hutten also carries a sword, which, however, hangs unnoticed on the belt under his coat. He doesn't seem to notice Sickingen's defensive stance and even leans towards him. With his left hand he touches the shoulder of Sickingen, in his right hand he holds up a scroll . The sword of Sickingens in its scabbard and the stretched up scroll of von Huttens lie on a line that can be drawn diagonally through the scene and are thus, like the men, in direct relation to one another.
The drama and pathos of the depicted scene are underlined by the inscription on the base of the monument. On the front is "THE PRE-FIGHTERS / GERMAN / UNIT AND SIZE / ULRICH VON HUTTEN / FRANZ VON SICKINGEN"; "ERRICHTET / 1889" is engraved on the back.
The erected double statue deviates from the original design of the monument. The von Huttens statue was designed to be more dynamic than previously planned: his posture is turned more towards von Sickingen, the scroll in his right hand is stretched higher in the air. This change from design to execution increases the dramatic effect of this encounter between the two men.
See also
literature
- Otto Böcher : The Hutten-Sickingen monument near the Ebernburg . In: Blätter für Palatine church history and religious folklore , vol. 56 (1989), pp. 199–211, ISSN 0341-9452
Web links
- The Hutten-Sickingen monument at Regionalgeschichte.net
- in the directory of cultural monuments in the Bad Kreuznach district. (PDF; 1.9 MB)
Individual evidence
- ^ Paul Kalkoff : Ulrich von Hutten and the Reformation. A critical story . Severus-Verlag, Hamburg 2010, ISBN 978-3-942382-52-6 (unchanged reprint of the Leipzig 1920 edition), p. 12.
Coordinates: 49 ° 48 '27.9 " N , 7 ° 50' 21.7" E