Victory Column (Schwerin)
The Victory Column on the Old Garden in Schwerin ( Schloßstraße and Graf-Schack-Allee ) is a "memorial for the Mecklenburgers who stayed in the war of 1870/71 ". On the pillar is the allegorical figure Megalopolis , which personifies the state of Mecklenburg .
The complex is an important historical monument of the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and as such is under monument protection.
description
The Victory Column - in its layout and proportions a replica of the Phocas column on the Roman Forum in Rome - has a total height of approx. 23 m measured above the ground up to the tip of the sword. Six steps lead to a forecourt, which was originally covered with mosaics. At the pedestal-like corners, there were cast-iron candelabra on small pedestals between griffins holding shields , which were originally operated with gas. Below the two candelabra on the front side stood two captured French cannons until shortly after the First World War. Four steps lead to a walk around the column. The material of the substructure is mainly blue-gray Saxon granite (C. Sparmann, Dresden). The square base with 4 bronze tablets rests on three further steps. The plaques bear the 650 names of the soldiers who fell in the war, were killed by their wounds or died of illness, as well as the originally gilded inscription “For those who remained in the war in 1870/71 - from their grateful Mecklenburgers”. The three-part column stands on the base. The base and column are made of red Swedish granite ( Kessel & Röhl , Berlin).
Megalopolis
A Corinthian capital is placed over the upper end of the column , on which stands the approx. 2.60 m high figure of the "Megalopolis", an allegorical female figure who embodies the state of Mecklenburg. This was modeled by sculptor Gustav Willgohs . The figure crowned with the Wendish crown raises a sword with a laurel wreath over her head with his right hand. The left arm wears a short pointed shield on which the Mecklenburg bull's head can be seen with its neck fur and crown. She is dressed in a mail shirt worn over two skirts of different lengths, and a calf-length cloak hangs over her shoulders. The artist's model was his daughter Anna Willgohs. The casting took place in the Lauchhammer art foundry . A similar state allegory can be found e.g. B. in Munich with the Bavaria or in Berlin with the Berolina .
history
After the victorious war of 1870/71, as a result of which the (second) German Empire had been founded, Grand Duke Friedrich Franz II of Mecklenburg-Schwerin commissioned his court building officer Hermann Willebrand in 1872 to produce designs for a victory monument. After Willebrand's first drafts from August 1872, a first model was presented to the public in February 1873.
The first work on the foundation was carried out as early as the beginning of 1873. The subsoil made it necessary to remove some of the soil to a depth of approximately 4.60 m (16 feet). A barrel vault with an outward-facing ring wall about 1 m thick runs around a square central foundation in an irregular eight-sided shape . This is followed by another low vault ring. The whole rests on field stone foundations. An initially planned pile foundation did not have to be carried out.
The solemn laying of the foundation stone by Grand Duke Friedrich Franz II took place on December 2, 1873 (day of the Battle of Loigny and Poupry, 1870) with the words: “In memory of the fallen. As a reminder to the living. ”After the final changes to the open staircase were decided at the end of 1873, these could now also be built. In October 1874 the erection of the Victory Column was completed. The solemn inauguration of the monument took place on December 2, 1874.
A statement from 1875 put the total costs at 114,136.32 marks. Of this, 72,080.89 M were allocated to the actual monument, 39,055.91 M to the substructure, 1,799.52 M for other items and 1,200 M for the horticultural design of the surrounding area.
The Victory Column was in serious danger when an air raid shelter in the immediate vicinity was blown up around 1947. Eyewitnesses reported the significant swaying of the column, but it remained largely unscathed.
A refurbishment report from 1994 found that the open spaces and platforms showed considerable damage, caused in particular by the partial collapse of the vaults below. However, almost all historical granite parts could be reused during the renovation. However, the candelabra and the iron grating from the corner pedestals had been missing completely for decades. Their intended restoration has not yet been implemented. The column itself, the memorial plaques and the “megalopolis” on the capital are still in good condition, according to the expert report.
Individual evidence
- ↑ List of names on wiki-de.genealogy.net
- ↑ Graves and monuments of Mecklenburg warriors from 1870 and 1871
- ↑ Mecklenburgisches Landeshauptarchiv Schwerin, files of the Court Marshal's Office, No. 1503
- ↑ Schweriner People's Newspaper. Mecklenburg Magazine No. 16/1995
literature
- (Anonymous) Graves and memorials of Mecklenburg warriors from the years 1870 and 1871, Wismar / Rostock / Ludwigslust 1874 (with all names of the fallen)
- Schweriner People's Newspaper. Mecklenburg-Magazin No. 16/1995: The secret of the Victory Column
Web links
Coordinates: 53 ° 37 ′ 32.3 " N , 11 ° 24 ′ 57.9" E