Leopold Column (Trieste)

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Leopold Column in the Piazza della Borsa

The Leopold Column in Trieste is a monument to commemorate the visit of the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I to the city in 1660.

History and execution

The namesake of the column also stopped for several days in the port city of Trieste as part of the visit to his hereditary lands . On September 25, 1660, Emperor Leopold I arrived in the city to leave Trieste in the early morning of October 2, after seven days of celebrations and tributes through the city. During his stay, he had fully confirmed the old privileges of Trieste and thus contributed significantly to the further upswing of the city, which it was to take as Austria's most important Adriatic port over the next 250 years.

The column made of gilded wood in preparation for Leopold I's visit to the city was replaced in April 1673 by a work made of durable materials. The round column shaft, resting on three octagonal steps, is made of marble and carries an ore statue of the honored on a capital of a square, multi-cranked pedestal, which shows him in splendid armor with coronation cloak, crown, scepter and orb . The bronze statue designed by the Venetian sculptor Carlo Trabucchi was cast in the arsenal of Venice. The following dedication with a chronogram is engraved on the base of the column :

LeopoLDo • I • aVgVsto
tergestInos • InVIsentI
statVtaqVe • patrIa
approbantI • DeVota
VrbIs • gratItVDo
ereXIt

Initially, the column, which was originally made of gilded wood, was located on the Piazza Grande opposite the eagle column erected in honor of Emperor Ferdinand I. On August 19, 1808, by order of the governor Sigismondo Conte de Lovadie, she was moved to the Piazza della Borsa (stock exchange).

After 1922 , the Republican Trieste, headed by Angelo Scocchi, voted for the column to be torn down in order to erect a statue of the freedom fighter of the Risorgimento Giuseppe Mazzini . This could be prevented by the objection of well-known personalities of the city. The Leopold Column was only moved 4 meters. In 1964, a large firecracker caused several damage to the column base. In 1991, Leopold's statue was removed and subjected to extensive restoration.

See also

literature

  • Daniela Hahn: Two visits to the Austrian littoral. Trieste as a stop on the Austrian hereditary homage journeys of Leopold I in 1660 and Charles VI. 1728 . Diploma thesis at the University of Vienna, pp. 47–66.
  • [Peter Kandler]: Guida al forestiero nella citta di Trieste. I. Papsch & C. Tipografi del Lloyd Austriaco, Trieste 1845.
  • Jakob Löwenthal: History of the city of Trieste. Literary and artistic department of Österreichischer Lloyd , Trieste 1857 (Volume 1, bsb-muenchen-digital.de PDF).

Web links

Coordinates: 45 ° 39 '1.4 "  N , 13 ° 46' 14.1"  E

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Daniela Hahn: Two visits to the Austrian littoral. Trieste as a stop on the Austrian hereditary homage journeys of Leopold I in 1660 and Charles VI. 1728 . P. 47–66 (diploma thesis at the University of Vienna)
  2. ↑ FILIPUZZI: Trieste e gli Asburgo . 1988, p. 89; Council minutes of November 19, 1672 in: Sghedoni, Il Seicento, 2002, pp. 95, 96 - both quoted from Daniela Hahn: Two visits to the Austrian littoral. Trieste as a stop on the Austrian hereditary homage journeys of Leopold I in 1660 and Charles VI. 1728 , p. 51
  3. ↑ a b Österreichischer Lloyd (Ed.): Triest. Travel guide for visitors to this city and its surroundings . Trieste 1857, p. 58
  4. ↑ P. Kandler: Guida al forestiero nella citta di Trieste . Trieste 1845, p. 104
  5. ↑ The translation reads: “To the illustrious Leopold I, when he visited the Trieste and approved the statutes of the paternal city, he reverently established the gratitude of the city.” Cf. Jakob Löwenthal: History of the city of Trieste . Trieste 1857, Volume 1, p. 115