Joseph Görres Monument (Koblenz)

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The Joseph Görres memorial in the Rhine complex in Koblenz
General view of the monument in the Rhine complex with the palace steps and the electoral palace

The Joseph Görres monument in Koblenz was erected in honor of the publicist Joseph Görres who was born in the city . The monument stands behind the electoral palace in the Rhine complex and was inaugurated on June 24, 1928. The bronze sculpture on a base made of Rochlitz porphyry comes from the Düsseldorf sculptor Richard Langer .

Location

The Joseph Görres monument in front of the east facade of the Electoral Palace directly on the Rhine forms a line with the “Father Rhine and Mother Moselle” monument, the main entrances to the palace and the Schlossstrasse to the Herz-Jesu-Kirche . In front of the monument directly on the Rhine, the castle steps, a staircase system, were created in 2010.

The proposal for the location came from Eduard Müller , Privy Councilor of Justice and honorary citizen since 1917, and the Koblenz sculptor Robert Wilms. They recommended the location between the palace facade and the bank of the Rhine for two reasons: First, Görres was born during the reign of the last elector and builder of the palace, Clemens Wenzeslaus of Saxony . On the other hand, Görres was a pioneer for the “free Rhine”, which is where the monument should look.

Other suggested locations were places in the old town of Koblenz (Am Plan, Clemensplatz), which were rejected because of the feared traffic disruption. The place next to the so-called Rheinkavalier , a remnant of the city ​​fortifications from the 17th century, was discussed and also rejected.

history

Decision to build the monument

The first plans to erect a memorial came up after the death of Joseph Görres in 1848. The city council suggested a committee that collected enough funds to purchase a bust by the Koblenz sculptor Jakob Schorb by 1851 . He had made this bust in 1840. The plan failed, however, when the Prussian Minister of the Interior forbade the award, because the publicist was controversial at this time because of his role in the March Revolution of 1848 .

This attitude only changed during the occupation of the Rhineland after the First World War . A renewed suggestion for a monument building came in 1923 from the Koblenz Lord Mayor Karl Russell . The construction of a memorial for German patriots was therefore a welcome demonstration that the Rhineland belongs to Germany. Russell's suggestion was therefore supported by the Prussian government as well as by the Reich government . The planned inauguration date was Görres' 150th birthday on January 25, 1926.

The French military government had no objection to the monument building. Therefore, a memorial committee was formed in September 1924, which was chaired by Karl Russell. The Görres Society and an honorary committee within the monument committee supported the monument committee. The Honorary Committee included President Friedrich Ebert , Reich Chancellor Wilhelm Marx and the Archbishop of Cologne, Cardinal Karl Joseph Schulte .

Joseph Görres , 1838

The local committee of the Görres Society issued the following appeal in Koblenz on January 25, 1926, the 150th anniversary of Görres' birth, which was also printed in national publications and at a later time.

“On January 25, 1926, one hundred and fifty years have passed since Joseph Görres was born in Coblenz [...]. No memorial in Germany today commemorates him. The times are past when the character image of these mighty spirit heroes wavered in history. The editor of the ' Rheinischer Merkurs ', the first large-scale political daily newspaper, is now widely regarded as a champion of national, political and regional freedom. [...] Today more than ever it is a duty to honor the champions of German unity. Men and women have joined together to erect a worthy memorial to the man who recognized only the majesty of truth, virtue and right, at the place of his birth. This requires the help of the entire German people, whose religious, moral and national rebirth was Görre's life work. 'The individual can of course do little, but the work promotes many cooperation'! "

With a call to erect a Görres monument on December 1, 1926, the acquisition of donations began . However, this was largely unsuccessful because the economic hardship in the population was too great. The financing was therefore based almost exclusively on subsidies from the Prussian and Reich governments. Only about half of the estimated construction costs of 65,000 to 70,000 Reichsmarks (248,176 to 267,266 euros ) came from donations and contributions from the provincial administration and the city of Koblenz itself, which delayed the final completion of the monument. So it was decided to initially only lay the foundation stone and to add the bronze sculpture itself later.

Some artists were invited to submit designs for the planned monument. In the end, the designs by the Düsseldorf sculptor Richard Langer were awarded the contract on June 29, 1926.

Laying of the foundation stone in 1926 and inauguration in 1928

From September 11 to 16, 1926, on the occasion of the anniversary of the Görres Society and the 150th birthday of Joseph Görres, its 50th General Assembly took place in Koblenz, as well as the & # 132; "Görres Memorial Exhibition" & # 147; instead of. The highlight was the laying of the foundation stone for the monument on September 15, 1926. The rally was attended by numerous guests from politics and society. The guests of honor included members of the Görres Society, city administration and city council as well as the Prussian President Johannes Fuchs , Reich Commissioner Ernst Langwerth von Simmern , the rector of Bonn University Adolf Dyroff , abbots of Maria Laach and Marienstatt and the sculptor Richard Langer. The special significance of the celebration lay in the emphasis on the Rhineland's belonging to Germany. The mayor of Koblenz, Karl Russell, expressed this aspect, which ultimately made it possible to finance the monument, in the following words in his opening speech:

"Today, in times of deepest humiliation in Germany, no German, whatever his religious or political attitude, refuses to owe the great German thanks and homage to the great German representation on the Rhine."

The text on the memorial certificate, which was built into the foundation stone with the signatures of the guests present and common coins from five Reichsmarks to one Reichspfennig, also reflects Rhenish patriotism . It says here:

"For God's sake! The foundation stone was laid on September 15, 1926, on a day when the sun of full freedom had not yet shone on the Rhine and Germany for the memorial of Josef Görres, the herald of the Rhine, the champion for truth, freedom and justice. This monument is being erected in the hope that a new Görres will be erected for the freedom of the Rhine. "

The planned final inauguration date had to be postponed again and again until all financial gaps could be closed with additional public funds. The completed monument was finally presented to the public in a further ceremony on June 24, 1928 by the Prussian minister of culture, Carl Heinrich Becker , one year before the French troops withdrew from the Rhineland. Here, too, the opportunity was again used to provocatively emphasize German unity. The French military government reacted irritably: High Commissioner Paul Tirard banned the broadcast of the speeches.

Further development

The monument and its surroundings in 2008 before the remodeling for the Buga

The sculpture of the monument was supposed to be donated to German armaments during the Second World War together with the equestrian statue at the Deutsches Eck and other sculptures along the promenade Kaiserin-Augusta-Anlagen and SA-Ufer (today Rheinanlagen) according to a list of the Reich Ministry for Armaments and War Production be melted down. The commitment of Mayor Nikolaus Simmer , who has been in office since 1940 , meant that the memorials were released on September 29, 1942.

The Joseph Görres monument survived the air raids on Koblenz almost unscathed and is now an important part of the history of the Rhineland and the city of Koblenz. For the 2011 Federal Horticultural Show , the Rhine facilities and thus the area around the monument were extensively renovated; a 100-meter-wide staircase was built in front of the monument facing the Rhine.

construction

The expressionist Joseph Görres monument consists of a four-meter-high, simple base made of Rochlitz porphyry and a 5.23-meter-high allegorical bronze figure above that depicts a striding young man with his right arm raised and looking across the Rhine . In her left hand she holds a book in front of her chest. The figure is flanked by an eagle on the right hand and is the embodiment of an interpretation of Joseph Görre's admonishing calls for freedom and justice. A profile relief by Joseph Görres is attached to the side of the base facing the Rhine. On the side walls are his words "The Rhine is Germany's high-beating artery." And "Learn justice, you are warned; and do not try the deity. ”carved. On the back, facing the electoral palace, is Joseph Görres , as well as his birth and death year together with the place of birth and death.

Monument protection

The Joseph-Görres-Monument is a protected cultural monument according to the Monument Protection Act (DSchG) and registered in the list of monuments of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate . It is in Koblenz's old town and belongs to the Kaiserin-Augusta-Anlagen monument zone .

The Joseph Görres Monument has been part of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2002 .

See also

literature

  • Energieversorgung Mittelrhein GmbH (ed.): History of the city of Koblenz. Overall editing: Ingrid Bátori in conjunction with Dieter Kerber and Hans Josef Schmidt.
    • Volume 1: From the beginning to the end of the electoral era. Theiss, Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3-8062-0876-X .
    • Volume 2: From the French city to the present. Theiss, Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-8062-1036-5 .
  • Fritz Michel : The art monuments of the city of Koblenz. The profane monuments and the suburbs (= The art monuments of Rhineland-Palatinate. Volume 1). Munich / Berlin 1954, pp. 176-180.
  • Herbert Dellwing , Reinhard Kallenbach (arrangement): Cultural monuments in Rhineland-Palatinate. Volume 3.2: City of Koblenz. Downtown. Speyer 2004, ISBN 3-88462-198-X , p. 150.
  • H. Bellinghausen: The history of the Görres monument. In: Koblenzer General-Anzeiger. No. 144 from 23./24. June 1928.
  • C. John: In the shadow of Kaiser Wilhelm. The Koblenz monument to Joseph Görres and his prehistory. In: Koblenz contributions to history and culture. 7, Koblenz 1997, pp. 163-192.
  • HA Münster: On the prehistory of the Koblenz Görres monument. In: Görres contributions. Ceremony for the anniversary conference of the Görres-Gesellschaft Koblenz. Koblenz 1926, p. 106 f.
  • Katharina Richter, Detlef Wahl: Rheinanlagen mit Rheinfront 1809 to 1983. In: Press- und Tourismusamt Stadt Koblenz (Hrsg.): Die Rheinanlagen Koblenz. From the beginnings till now.
  • 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 : Joseph-Görres-Monument  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b General Directorate for Cultural Heritage Rhineland-Palatinate (ed.): Informational directory of cultural monuments - district-free city of Koblenz. (PDF; 1.5 MB), Koblenz 2013.
  2. ^ Richter, Wahl: Rheinanlagen mit Rheinfront 1809 to 1983. P. 74.
  3. ^ A b Robert Wilms: Rhein-Zeitung . April 15, 1955, p. 1 .
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h 75 years ago September 15, 1926. The foundation stone was laid for the Görres monument in Koblenz. (No longer available online.) State Main Archive Rhineland-Palatinate, archived from the original on May 17, 2014 ; Retrieved October 22, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.landeshauptarchiv.de
  5. ^ Richter, Wahl: Rheinanlagen mit Rheinfront 1809 to 1983. P. 73.
  6. ↑ Quotation from Richter, Wahl: Rheinanlagen mit Rheinfront 1809 to 1983. P. 73 f.
  7. ↑ Koblenzer Volkszeitung from September 16, 1926
  8. ^ Richter, Wahl: Rheinanlagen mit Rheinfront 1809 to 1983. P. 78.
  9. ^ Richter, Wahl: Rheinanlagen mit Rheinfront 1809 to 1983. P. 75.

Coordinates: 50 ° 21 ′ 19.3 ″  N , 7 ° 36 ′ 12.9 ″  E