Warrior Memorial (Niederleuken)
The Kriegerehrenmal the place Niederleuken ( district Trier-Saar castle ) was built in 1932 in memory of the originating from the site soldiers during the First World War fell. The architect Josef Nussbaum, commissioned with the execution, created a rotunda surrounded by a small honorary grove in the style of the homeland security movement .
In relation to the size of the place, the memorial represents an extraordinary war honor and, compared to the honorary rotunda of the district, for example in Konz and Kirf , is to be regarded as a completely independent architectural creation.
description
The monument, which is committed to the expressionist architectural style, is elevated above the St. Bartholomew's branch church, which was built in 1953. On a stepped base with stairs, a rotunda made of pointed arched pillars is built, which was built from local slate rubble . The complex is surrounded by an honor grove of trees, which is bordered by hedges and low pillars.
In the central axis of the round temple, which is open at the top, there is a cross-shaped memorial column; In front of this is a sarcophagus made of red sandstone on which the symbols helmet and sword are attached. All around the sarcophagus is the inscription THE BLOOD OF THE FALLEN BECOMES NEW HEROES FROM THE SEEDS . In the pillars to the left and right of the sarcophagus there are dedication tablets engraved with the names of the fallen.
history
The idea of erecting a memorial arose in the years that followed the First World War. From the community, which at that time had 360 inhabitants, 27 men were killed in the armed conflict. At first it also seemed as if the project of a worthy memorial could be realized. The resident Kaplan Speicher had already raised funds. Only the location was unclear. The foothills of the Schlossberg, between today's Burgweg and the Saarblick, were the preferred location in discussions with the mayor, the local council and the board of directors of the war club. In a citizens' meeting, the residents of the village finally decided in favor of the community-owned space above the village school.
A commission was formed to promote the planning and implementation of the project. This body included two members of the warrior association, two members of the entertainment association "Eintracht" and the municipal council, as well as the mayor of Merten. On August 31, 1931, the new village school teacher Petit became chairman of the commission. Although teacher Petit only worked briefly in Niederleuken (he was transferred to Ürzig in 1934 ), he made great contributions to the erection of the war memorial.
After a publication in the local press at the end of 1931, only a few days passed and the first interested architects and planners got in touch. The choice finally fell on Josef Nussbaum from Saarburg , whose original planning documents are still available today. His design from January 1932 contained a memorial column with a circular floor plan made of local slate rubble. A sarcophagus was to be placed in the round temple. The construction management was the responsibility of the Saarburg district building authority, the organization of the voluntary helpers and the procurement of materials to the chairman of the commission, Petit.
The financing was regulated by a fund of the war club and support from the community. The building materials were donated by the citizens of Niederleukens and they also carried out the construction work. It is also worth mentioning that in court decisions, for example in a private lawsuit, the loser was obliged to pay a sum of 300 marks for the construction of the monument.
The work proceeded rapidly, so that the monument could be inaugurated on August 7, 1932. The then President Hindenburg was invited to the inauguration. In this invitation of July 12, 1932, the author wrote, among other things: “The memorial was built only from stones from the local area; even the memorial plaques are made from vineyard syringes that the fallen so often carried in the sweat of their brow. "
literature
- Ewald Kölling: Construction and inauguration of the Niederleuken war memorial . In: “A village and its association.” Festschrift for the foundation festival of the entertainment association “Eintracht” Niederleuken e. V . Niederleuken 2000, p. 63-73 .
- Ewald Wegner (arrangement): District of Trier-Saarburg. Verbandsgemeinden Hermeskeil, Kell, Konz, Saarburg (= cultural monuments in Rhineland-Palatinate. Monument topography Federal Republic of Germany . Volume 12.1 ). Wernersche Verlagsgesellschaft, Worms 1994, ISBN 3-88462-100-9 , p. 480 .
Coordinates: 49 ° 36 '59.6 " N , 6 ° 33' 28.3" E