War memorial (Oy-Mittelberg)
The war memorial in Oy-Mittelberg was inaugurated on June 10, 1875 next to St. Anne's Chapel in the center of the village to honor the four fallen and thirty veterans of the home parish from the Franco-German War of 1870/71 .
Building history
On October 6th, 1872, the citizens' assembly of Oy-Mittelberg decided to erect a memorial to commemorate the four fallen soldiers and to honor the thirty returned war participants in the Franco-German war of unification in 1870/71. Each family had to contribute 30 kreuzers (half the daily wage of a bricklayer around 1870) to cover costs. A committee of men from different parts of the community was formed to plan the project. For a long time there was a dispute about the location of the monument to erect, because many citizens wanted it to be erected near the parish church in Mittelberg. It was not until July 12, 1874, that the committee agreed to erect the monument in Oy next to the Anna Chapel and at the same time to put up two memorial plaques in the parish churches of Mittelberg and Maria Rain . On August 19, 1874, the stonemason Linder from Füssen was commissioned to build the obelisk (5.67 m high) out of sandstone at a price of 422 guilders, which should be ready by spring 1875.
In the winter of 1874, the cold blasted the sandstone from the Engelsbach quarry, so that a second stone had to be delivered from the Füssen quarry. The unveiling therefore took place on June 10, 1875.
In 1929, the monument was renovated and expanded with two side stones made of shell limestone, on which the names of the 75 fallen soldiers of the First World War were engraved. However, the writing faded after a few years.
In 1950 the monument was renovated again by the sculptor Girlich from Kempten. The obelisk was sanded down and the old inscriptions replaced with new ones. The two side stones were replaced by granite ones, whereby the names of the approx. 220 fallen from the Second World War had to be omitted for reasons of space. On the side stones, on each of which a stone cube with the iron cross was placed, a crusader sword was carved as a symbol of war. But even these inscriptions soon faded.
Due to the poor condition and the unfavorable location of the old war memorial, which is not located by the large, new parish church Oy (built in 1973), but by the smaller Anna chapel, the church administration Oy proposed a new memorial at the cemetery in July 1980 Oy and renovate the old monument. The church administration took care of the renovation, and the community and church administration together took over the financing of the planned monument with 15,000 marks.
The obelisk of the former war memorial was redesigned into a Marian column with a 1.55 m high statue of Mary with the child in concrete, created by the sculptor Hans Wachter from Kempten. It was inaugurated in May 1981 and is no longer used to commemorate warriors. The base of the obelisk with the old inscription was moved to the east side of the Anna Chapel and the two side stones were removed.
The new memorial is a 3.45 m high version made of Kirchheim shell limestone in two crosses, with the smaller cross facing the cemetery and the larger diagonally towards the church. The commission was carried out by the sculptor Hans Wachter from Kempten. On November 23, 1980, the new war memorial was inaugurated by Pastor Konrad Müller.
Because of the redesign of the square around the Anna chapel, the Marian column was placed in front of the east side of the chapel. There is still no new location for the old base of the monument.
Inscriptions
Obelisk (1875-1950):
Inscription on the base:
- 1. In memory of the gloriously achieved peace and the restoration of the German Empire
- 2. Our descendants in memory of the heroic deeds of the sons of Germany in the years 1870-1871
- 3. King Ludwig the 2. Of Bavaria a refuge and umbrella of the unity and greatness of Germany
- 4. German bravery with God's assistance has won 23 battles
Inscription on the obelisk:
- The names of the 4 fallen (front page) and the 30 war returnees (right and left side)
Back: God was with us, he be the glory
Base of the obelisk (from 1950):
Front: The thankful community for their war victims,
east and west side: 1870-1871
On the smaller cross: Commemoration of the fallen and missing Northern side:
- Wars
- 1870-71
- 1914-18
- 1939-45
On the big cross: admonition to peace - sign of the resurrection! Pray for your dead!
- Back: A 1980 D
Importance in public
After the successful campaign against France, the municipality of Oy-Mittelberg wanted to honor its war participants and express their pride. As in the rest of Germany, a war memorial was built for this purpose. It then served as a collection and installation site at national celebrations, such as B. the annual memorial celebrations for the deceased warriors (Veteran's Day ), the Sedans celebrations on September 2nd, the 25th anniversary of the Veterans and Warriors' Association in 1879, the 50th anniversary in 1904 and the 75th anniversary in 1929. The celebrations for the Warrior returnees held there on December 30, 1918 from World War I and on November 11, 1950 from World War II. Since 1980 these annual celebrations for the Veteran's Day have taken place at the new war memorial, although the church procession still starts from the old memorial. Even today, the victims of the two world wars are remembered on this day. The procession is led by Harmoniemusik Oy and representatives of the associations from the Anna Chapel into the church, where a service with the reading of the names of those who died in the First and Second World War takes place. Consecrated wreaths are laid at the war memorial itself. The veterans, relatives and war clubs wave the flags and the three traditional cannon shots can be heard.
interpretation
New war memorial: “The cross on the memorial may represent a reminder for all crosses in the whole world,” said Mayor Gallenmiller of Oy.8 The memorial is carved out of a block and shows two crosses. The large one, facing the church, is supposed to symbolize the fallen of the wars, the smaller one, facing the cemetery entrance, symbolizes the dead in the cemetery. The monument should not only be a reminder for peace, but also a sign of the resurrection, as recorded on the cross itself.
Bibliography
- Klaus, Herrmann: The war memorial in Oy
- Allgäuer Zeitung (July 2, 1980): New war memorial at the cemetery
- Allgäuer Zeitung (October 22, 1980): St. Anna Chapel in new splendor
- Allgäuer Zeitung (November 27, 1980): New war memorial solemnly consecrated
Individual evidence
- ↑ Excerpt from Klose, Dietrich, Jungmann-Stadler, Franziska, Royal Bavarian Money. Means of payment and finances in the Kingdom of Bavaria 1806-1918; Self-published by Staatl. Münzsammlung München 2006, ISBN 3-922840-21-3 [1] , pdf, accessed March 12, 2013
- ↑ Klaus, Herrmann: The war memorial in Oy
- ^ Allgäuer Zeitung (July 2, 1980): New war memorial at the cemetery
- ^ Allgäuer Zeitung (October 22, 1980): St. Anna Chapel in new splendor
- ^ Allgäuer Zeitung (July 2, 1980): New war memorial at the cemetery
- ^ Allgäuer Zeitung (November 27, 1980): New war memorial solemnly consecrated
- ↑ Klaus, Herrmann: The war memorial in Oy
- ^ Allgäuer Zeitung (November 27, 1980): New war memorial solemnly consecrated
- ↑ Veteran's Day on November 11, 2012.
Coordinates: 47 ° 38 '45.05 " N , 10 ° 27' 10.03" E