Marceau monument (Höchstenbach)
The Marceau monument is a monument near Höchstenbach in the Westerwald in honor of the French general François Séverin Marceau (1769–1796). It is located on the outskirts of the Höchstenbacher Wald and was built in 1863 on the spot where Marceau was seriously wounded in 1796.
history
The French Revolution General Marceau was, in late summer 1796 in the War of the First Coalition , with units of his division of the Sambre and Meuse army from the siege of the city of Mainz , has been deducted to attend the Lahn the withdrawal of the French army of General Jourdan from Franconia , against the to shield the pursuing Austrian army of Archduke Karl . He was seriously wounded on September 19, 1796 near Höchstenbach in the Westerwald and died of the consequences two days later in Altenkirchen . His body was taken to Koblenz for burial , where a pyramid was erected over his grave in 1797 . This Marceau monument was later moved and is now in the French cemetery .
At the place near Höchstenbach, where Marceau was badly wounded, his adjutant, Captain Souhait, who had been present on Marceau's deathbed, had a flat stone set up with a plaque about two meters long and one meter wide. The inscription on the plaque read:
- “ Ici fut blesse le XIX septembre 1796 Marceau, general francais. II mourut, estime, pleure du soldat, de habitant, de l'ennemi. "
- (German: "Here the French General Marceau was wounded on September 19, 1796. He died, held in high esteem, weeping by the soldier, the citizen, the enemy.")
It was the postmaster Heymann zu Selters who advocated the erection of a larger monument in 1863. He managed to make Emperor Napoleon III. to convince of the monument building. This commissioned the building inspector Meurer from Montabaur with the construction. In the same year, the Marceau monument was inaugurated in the form of an obelisk at the same location. One of the four inscriptions reads:
- “ German people! This monument placed on a noble dead person is recommended to your protection, protect it like your fathers protected the old plaque. "
On June 16, 1901, there was a memorable meeting of Germans, Austrians and French at the Marceau monument. Wreaths were laid at the memorial and various toasts were made to Kaiser Wilhelm II and the President of the French Republic .
During the time of National Socialism , NSDAP district leader Fischer from Westerburg had the monument blown up on May 28, 1941. After the end of the Second World War , the monument was rebuilt in its old form in 1945 by the French occupying army . The French General Charles de Gaulle was also present at the inauguration of the monument .
Monument protection
The Marceau monument is a protected cultural monument according to the Monument Protection Act (DSchG) and entered in the list of monuments of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate . It is located in Höchstenbach in the district southeast of the locality .
Web links
- General Marceau monument in: hoechstenbach.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ according to the records of the commander-in-chief Jourdan: https://reader.digitale-sammlungen.de/de/fs1/object/display/bsb10421525_00136.html?contextType=scan&contextSort=score%2Cdescending&contextRows=10&context=seite+45
- ^ General Directorate for Cultural Heritage Rhineland-Palatinate (ed.): Informational directory of cultural monuments - Westerwaldkreis. Mainz 2019, p. 24 (PDF; 4.8 MB).
Coordinates: 50 ° 37 ′ 23.3 " N , 7 ° 44 ′ 59.7" E