Völkerschlachtdenkmal

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Monument with reflection in the upstream water basin (2013)
Monument at night (2015)

The Völkerschlachtdenkmal in the southeast of Leipzig was erected in memory of the Völkerschlacht according to a design by the Berlin architect Bruno Schmitz and inaugurated on October 18, 1913. The sculptural works were by the sculptors Christian Behrens and Franz Metzner designed.

With a height of 91 meters, it is one of the largest monuments in Europe and one of Leipzig's well-known landmarks. It forms a landmark with a distinctive silhouette that can be seen from afar and can be seen from Fichtelberg, 105 kilometers away, when the air is clear . Today it belongs to a foundation under public law of the city of Leipzig and is part of the Leipzig City History Museum . Around 300,000 people visit the monument each year.

Immediately in front of the Völkerschlachtdenkmal there is an artificially created 162 × 79 meter pool, which in front of it reflects the monument on the surface of the water.

history

The Battle of Nations in 1813

The foundation stone from 1863
Foundations of the Monument to the Battle of the Nations in 1902.
Crypt with a guardian of the dead
Wreath in the center of the crypt
Archangel Michael at the entrance to the monument
View of the interior structure (from the 3D tour)
Some of the 324 horsemen on the inside of the dome
3- Mark - commemorative coin , Kingdom of Saxony , from 1913, mint Muldenhütten

From October 16 to 19, 1813, the so-called Battle of the Nations took place at the gates of Leipzig . During the wars of liberation, it led to Napoleon's defeat against the troops of Russia , Austria , Prussia and Sweden . In the battle, which was considered the greatest in history up to the First World War, Germans fought on both sides.

Shortly after the battle, the poet Ernst Moritz Arndt (1769–1860) had the first plans for a memorial. Since Saxony was on Napoleon's side in the battle and had to accept considerable territorial losses, the will to erect a monument to this defeat in Leipzig was low.

In 1863, the foundation stone for a memorial was ceremoniously laid on the 50th anniversary. It was located at today's junction between Naunhofer Strasse and Prager Strasse. But until the end of the 19th century there were no serious implementation plans for a monument. This foundation stone was later concreted into the foundation when the Monument to the Battle of the Nations was built.

Planning and design of the monument

In 1895 the German Patriots Association announced an ideas competition, which was won by the architect Karl Doflein from Berlin. In autumn 1896 a second competition was announced, in which 72 German artists took part. The City Council of Leipzig provided 20,000 marks for this. The first prize was awarded to the design “Walküre” by the architect Wilhelm Kreis , the other places went to Otto Rieth (second prize), Karl Spaeth and Oskar Usbeck (third prize), Bruno Schmitz (fourth prize) and Arnold Hartmann ( 5th prize). But since none of the proposals fully and completely corresponded to the ideas of the chairman of the Patriot Association Clemens Thieme , the following year the Berlin architect Bruno Schmitz, who previously a. a. had designed the Kyffhäuser monument , commissioned with the elaboration of a new design.

Construction of the monument

The foundation stone for the monument was laid on October 18, 1898 in the southeast of the city. The 42,500 square meter memorial site was given to the German Patriots Association by the city of Leipzig as a gift. It was built according to plans by Bruno Schmitz. The client was Clemens Thieme, to whom the installation of the crypt , the omission of the large stone cross on the top, the attachment of the 12 large knight figures instead of smooth pillars with small ornaments, drainage systems in the pillars, a transition over the main cornice into the round upper part, the execution of a third plinth layer, a simpler portal design in the round arch and the design of the main cornice can be traced back to.

An investigation of the subsoil carried out by the site manager Otto Rudolph with test bores between 10.5 and 19.2 m depth and test loads revealed a very diverse position and thickness of different soil layers and led to the decision to use the filled sand pit for the foundation of the monument to its bottom , 4.75 m below street level, completely excavated again. This work took almost two years to complete; over 82,000 cubic meters of earth were moved.

After the foundations had been completed, the retaining walls were erected and the stairs behind the retaining walls, contrary to Schmitz's remarks, were designed with a “more pleasant gradient”. The first reliefs and figures were added.

The first scaffolding was erected with the three large base layers after the substructure work had been completed; it was 54 m high and required 700 cubic meters of wood. A largely electrical system was used to operate four stone winches, two stone elevators, two pumps, a concrete mixer and the cable car. The spandrels of the spherical vault and the four large round arches were raised at the same time. Each stone was specially calculated and constructed so that everything fit together. No post-processing was required on the spherical vault.

The spiral stairs should also be led up over the main ledge. Schmitz thought this was no longer possible and wanted to use iron ladders. Then Otto Rudolph calculated the stairway through the figures to the top platform using a plaster model.

Completion and inauguration

The topping-out ceremony was celebrated on October 18, 1911. The keystone was inserted on May 13, 1912. Before the inauguration ceremony, numerous sculptures were still carried out inside and the arches were subsequently closed.

The construction was financed by 26 specially set up lotteries and donations - u. a. also from client Thieme.

The Monument to the Battle of the Nations was inaugurated on October 18, 1913.

The main guest of the inauguration ceremony was Kaiser Wilhelm II ; all federal princes of the German Empire and numerous other dignitaries also came. They drove in a motorcade from the main train station to the monument on the outskirts; thousands of people lined the way.

The Völkerschlachtdenkmal since 1930

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In the final phase of the Second World War in April 1945, around 300 German soldiers and Volkssturm men holed up against the attacking Americans in the memorial. This resulted in damage from artillery hits. On the night of April 19-20, 1945, the fighters who had remained in the Monument to the Battle of the Nations surrendered to American captivity under the command of Colonel Hans von Poncet.

Renovation from 2003 to 2017

In 2003, reconstruction and renovation work began. Originally, these should be ended by the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Nations in 2013. This goal was achieved for the actual monument; the renovation of the outdoor facilities should (as of 2017) be completed in spring 2019. The cost should be around 30 million euros . They are raised by the “Völkerschlachtdenkmal Foundation”, the Free State of Saxony , the City of Leipzig and donors.

During the renovation work, the glazing of the four themed windows in the Hall of Fame, which was destroyed in the Second World War and originally designed by August Unger , was reconstructed. The Wernigerode glass designer Günter Grohs was entrusted with this task on the basis of sparse visual material . In several steps, the red-brown rectangular glazing from the post-war period was removed and replaced with the new windows. The window project was realized in the F. Schneemelcher glass workshop, Quedlinburg, and was completed in 2012.

In 2003, the passenger elevator removed after the Second World War between the crypt and the outside walkway was restored and in 2006 a second one was added from the foundation area to the crypt. To access it, the door at the feet of the Michael figure, previously only indicated in the image program, was opened. Together with the new ramps on the apron, the monument has been made barrier-free up to a height of 57 meters and has also been accessible virtually since November 2019.

At irregular intervals, the Leipzig-based Freemason Lodge Minerva organizes the so-called Leipzig Book Lodge in the foundation catacombs of the Monument to the Battle of the Nations on the occasion of the Leipzig Book Fair .

Architecture and figure program

Building material

The visible parts of the memorial were made of Beucha granite porphyry , which was dismantled by G. Günther in Leipzig in the church quarry around the Beucha mountain church . Deviating from this, another source states that for the construction of the Völkerschlachtdenkmal 1911–1913, around 80 percent of the stone for the exterior and interior cladding of the concrete structure comes from Beucha's Sorge quarry - one of seven quarries in and around Beucha at the time ; the origin of the remaining 20 percent is not yet known.

During the construction of the Völkerschlachtdenkmal and the production of its monumental figures, the granite porphyry became known as Beucha stone . For the construction project, 26,500 stone blocks were extracted, processed and brought to Leipzig in Beucha .

The executing construction company was the cement construction business Rudolf Wolle. Using Saxon iron portland cement, the foundation was built up to a height of 23 meters above street level without formwork scaffolding made of rammed concrete. A kind of sliding formwork was used (see photo foundations). The monument consists of 90 percent concrete and was one of the most important concrete structures in Germany at the time. The equestrian dome located in the memorial was created with the help of a lost plaster formwork . The reinforcement of the dome consists largely of riveted profile steel. The dome was restored in 2010/2011.

The aggregates (gravel) were first removed from the excavations in the construction pit, and later transported by means of a specially built 1.5-kilometer cable car from a gravel pit near Dosen, which led through the southern cemetery and the adjacent fields. A locomobile was set in concrete to drive the elevator . The cable car delivered 140 cubic meters of gravel every day. The drive wheels served as the elevator's chain wheel.

The enclosure of the water basin rests on a pile foundation . For this purpose, Rudolf Wolle developed prefabricated columns made of reinforced concrete, which were also patented. The use of many machines made it possible to erect the monument by an average of only 40 workers working at the same time. Her weekly wage was 9 marks , which corresponds to a current equivalent of around 63 euros .

architecture

The Völkerschlachtdenkmal is 91 meters high (calculated from street level) and, viewed from Leipzig, stands in the direction of the main area of ​​the fighting at that time. There are 500 steps from the base of the base to the viewing platform at the top, most of which lead up in tight spirals. When the monument was opened, there was already an elevator from the crypt to the viewing gallery at a height of 57 meters.

In front of the memorial is the 162 × 79 meter large water basin, which was renamed Lake of Tears for the Fallen Soldiers by the National Socialists in 1938, which is supposed to symbolize the tears of the peoples who mourn the fallen in the battle. This term is still in use in the vernacular in Leipzig.

Image program

In the domed ceiling of the Hall of Fame, 324 almost life-size riders are depicted. The four 9.5 meter high statues of the guardians of the dead in the Hall of Fame represent personifications of the virtues of the German people in the wars of liberation (bravery, strength of faith, popular strength, willingness to make sacrifices). The sculptor Franz Metzner used the ancient Egyptian memnon columns near Thebes as models for the monumental statues .

The crypt takes up the entire central circle of the hall and represents the symbolic grave of the more than 120,000 who died in the Battle of Nations. Eight groups of two stone warriors stand guard on the walls.

The figure on the outside of the base represents the Archangel Michael , who was seen as an aid ( patron saint of soldiers) in many other German battles . Above the gigantic sculpture, which was designed by Christian Behrens, is the inscription " GOTT MIT UNS ". On its sides on the base walls there are two 19-meter-high and 30-meter-wide reliefs that show the archangel in a chariot on a battlefield, as well as allegorical female figures that represent the war fury.

In the immediate vicinity of the memorial, the Napoleon Stone is located on the site of the former Quandt's tobacco mill , where Napoleon set up his command post on October 18, 1813.

Data

According to the poster in the foundation of the Monument to the Battle of the Nations

  • Construction time: 15 years
  • Height: 91 m
  • Height of the domed hall (interior height): 68 m
  • Height of the St. Michael figure: 19.60 m
  • Height of the figures in the hall of fame: 10 m
  • Width of the relief wall: 60 m
  • Foundation plate: 70 m × 80 m × 2 m
  • Number of foundation pillars: 65
  • Total number of steps to the platform: 500
  • Foot width: 126 m
  • Length and width of the water basin: 162 m × 79 m
  • Water surface of the water basin: 11,240 square meters
  • Mass of all structures: 300,000 t
  • Number of natural stone blocks built: 26 500
  • Amount of concrete used: 120,000 m³
  • Cost: 6 million marks (32,567,923 euros)

Transport links

The S-Bahn station “Völkerschlachtdenkmal” (S1, S2 and S3) can be reached in a 10-minute walk; the bus 70 (stop "An der Tabaksmühle") or trams 2 and 15 ("Völkerschlachtdenkmal") are closer. There is a P + R parking lot in front of the monument. The hop on hop off sightseeing bus service stops here.

Street of the Monuments

Since 2008 the Völkerschlachtdenkmal belongs to the street of the monuments , a network of German monuments and places of remembrance founded on the initiative of the City History Museum Leipzig . The aim of the network is to "[to] network the focal points of the past more closely and to make them more tangible as a whole."

music

The Völkerschlachtdenkmal has its own choir, which regularly gives concerts in the monument. Organ concerts are also held on a digital organ. The acoustics of the monument, which particularly reflects and amplifies the overtones, are unique. The reverberation can be longer than 10 seconds. Concerts are also held in the crypt of the monument as part of the annual Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig .

Philatelic awards

The Völkerschlachtdenkmal was a motif on postage stamps issued by the GDR Deutsche Post several times : in 1954 (" Stamp Day "), 1969 ("V. German Gymnastics and Sports Festival , Leipzig") and 1988 (" Leipzig Autumn Fair "). On October 10, 2013, Deutsche Post AG issued a special postage stamp worth 45 euro cents on the 100th anniversary of the monument. The design comes from the graphic designers Astrid Grahl and Lutz Menze from Wuppertal.

gallery

  • Rally at the Monument to the Battle of the Nations for the Saar and the Palatinate (1924)

  • An impression of the importance of the event: The fur trade center Leipziger Brühl on the day of the inauguration, decorated with furs.

  • Völkerschlachtdenkmal with a protest poster by the Völkerschlachtdenkmal Foundation against a planned neo-Nazi rally

  • Aerial photo (1957)

  • Aerial photo (2016)

  • Völkerschlachtdenkmal from the inside

Similar structures

literature

  • Michael Jaenisch, Rüdiger Burkhardt (ed.) With the collaboration of the Förderverein Völkerschlachtdenkmal e. V .: A monumental task - the renovation of the Leipzig Battle of the Nations Monument. Taucha 2013, ISBN 978-3-89772-224-8 .
  • Volker Rodekamp : Monument to the Battle of the Nations. Verlag DZA, Altenburg 2003, ISBN 3-936300-05-4 .
  • Rolf Affeldt, Frank Heinrich: The Monument to the Battle of the Nations reveals its secret. Nouvelle Alliance, Leipzig 1993, ISBN 3-929808-05-6 .
  • Rolf Affeldt, Frank Heinrich: Testament of the Freemasons. The Monument to the Battle of the Nations in Leipzig. MdG-Projekt-Verlag, Leipzig 2000, ISBN 3-9807295-1-6 .
  • Alexander Süß: Leipzig Freemason in word and stone. The influence of the lodges on the Völkerschlachtdenkmal and the publishing town. Salier Verlag, Leipzig 2009, ISBN 978-3-939611-44-8 .
  • Birte Förster: The Centennial Celebrations of the Battle of Nations. Cultures of remembrance and war legitimation in 1913. In: Dieter Schott (Ed.): The year 1913. Awakening and perception of crises on the eve of the First World War. Transcript Verlag, Bielefeld 2014, ISBN 978-3-8376-2787-9 .
  • Hans-Dieter Schmid: Völkerschlachtdenkmal, Völkerschlachtdenkmal and German Freemasonry in the anniversary year 1913. In: Marlis Buchholz u. a. (Ed.): National Socialism and Region. Festschrift for Herbert Obenaus on his 65th birthday. Verlag für Regionalgeschichte, Bielefeld 1996, ISBN 3-89534-172-X , pp. 355–379.
  • Katrin Keller , Hans-Dieter Schmid (ed.): From cult to scenery. The Völkerschlachtdenkmal as an object of historical culture. Leipziger Universitäts-Verlag, Leipzig 1995, ISBN 3-929031-60-4 .
  • Stefan-Ludwig Hoffmann : Sacral monumentalism around 1900. The Leipzig Völkerschlachtdenkmal. In: Reinhart Koselleck, Michael Jeismann (Hrsg.): The political death cult. War memorials in modern times. Fink, Munich 1994, ISBN 3-7705-2882-4 , pp. 249-280.
  • Peter Hutter: “The finest barbarism.” The Monument to the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig. Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1990, ISBN 3-8053-1097-8 .
  • Steffen Poser: The centenary of the Battle of the Nations and the inauguration of the Monument to the Battle of the Nations in Leipzig. In: Katrin Keller (Ed.): Festivals and celebrations. On the change in urban festival culture in Leipzig. Edition Leipzig, Leipzig 1994, ISBN 3-361-00426-8 , pp. 196-213.
  • Hans Hartmann, Ortrun Hartmann: Monument to the Battle of the Nations. Tourist-Verlag, Berlin / Leipzig 1987, ISBN 3-350-00168-8 .
  • Friedrich Schulze : The battle of nations and its memorial (= weaver shuttle library . Volume 29). JJ Weber, Leipzig 1937.
  • Alfred Spitzner: The National Monument to the Battle of the Nations, the Monument to Liberation and National Rebirth. Leipzig 1897. (online)
  • Alfred Spitzner, Bruno Héroux: The Monument to the Battle of the Nations. Dedication. Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig 1913. ( online ).
  • Rudolf Wolle: The Monument to the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig. His friends and patrons. Self-published, Leipzig 1913 (illustrated book on the construction of the monument).
  • Erich Loest . Völkerschlachtdenkmal. Novel. Hamburg 1984.
  • Lothar Eißmann u. a .: Beucha - village of stones. Sax-Verlag, Beucha and Markkleeberg 2012, ISBN 978-3-86729-115-6 .

Web links

Commons : Völkerschlachtdenkmal  - Collection of images
Wiktionary: Völkerschlachtdenkmal  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ ch: 16.06.2015 - Unusual visibility to the northwest and north. In: Fichtelberg in the Ore Mountains and the surrounding area. June 16, 2015, accessed on January 18, 2019 (German).
  2. ^ City of Leipzig: Visitors to museums - Leipzig information system. Retrieved February 27, 2020 .
  3. ↑ K. Keller, H.-D. Schmid: From cult to scenery. Leipziger Universitäts-Verlag, Leipzig 1995, ISBN 3-929031-60-4 .
  4. ↑ A. Spitzner, B. Héroux: The Monument to the Battle of the Nations. Dedication. Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig 1913, pp. 42, 44.
  5. ↑ Etienne François (ed.): Nation and Emotion. Germany and France in comparison - 19th and 20th centuries (= critical studies on historical science . Volume 110), Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1995, ISBN 3-525-35773-7 .
  6. ↑ A. Spitzner, B. Héroux: The Monument to the Battle of the Nations. Dedication. 1913, p. 60 ff.
  7. ↑ Claus Uhlrich: Gone - fates Leipzig monuments, memorials and sculptures. Verlagbuchhandlung Bachmann, Leipzig 1994, OCLC 40405024 , pp. 25/26.
  8. ↑ Competitions. In: Dr. Adolf Rosenberg and Carl von Lützow (Hrsg.): Art Chronicle. Weekly for arts and crafts. New episode . tape VIII , No. 11, January 14, 1897, p. 170 ( uni-heidelberg.de ).
  9. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Otto Rudolph: Chat about the building of the Völkerschlachtdenkmals , Leipzig, 1937
  10. ↑ Information poster in the foundation of the Monument to the Battle of the Nations (September 29, 2006)
  11. ↑ Leipzig Lexicon: Thieme, Clemens. Biogram.
  12. ^ The Battle of Nations near Leipzig. on: www.voelkerschlacht-jubilaeum.de
  13. ↑ Völkerschlachtdenkmal in Leipzig - pyramid of the patriot. on: einestages.spiegel.de , October 18, 2013.
  14. ↑ Calendar sheet: April 19, 1945 - The last contingent. on: einestages.spiegel.de , March 19, 2009.
  15. ↑ Scaffolding is falling in the crypt of the Monument to the Battle of the Nations. In: Free Press. March 7, 2013. Accessed March 22, 2013.
  16. ^ Previously implemented renovation measures on the Völkerschlachtdenkmal. In: Website of the City History Museum. Retrieved August 30, 2019 .
  17. ↑ Virtual 3D tour through the Völkerschlachtdenkmal. Retrieved January 24, 2020 .
  18. ↑ A. Süss: Leipzig Freemasons in word and stone. Salier, Leipzig / Hildburghausen 2009, ISBN 978-3-939611-44-8 .
  19. ↑ A. Spitzner, B. Héroux: The Monument to the Battle of the Nations. Dedication. 1913, p. 100.
  20. ↑ Source: Information board at the quarry memorial at Beuchas exit towards Brandis, recorded on September 23, 2017.
  21. ↑ Flyer from Sax-Verlag from 2017 with information on the book "Beucha - Dorf der Steine", Sax-Verlag, ISBN 978-3-86729-115-6 .
  22. ↑ a b c Audio guide to the Völkerschlachtdenkmal, Text 14 * (building history), as of April 2012.
  23. ↑ Rudolf Wolle: The Monument to the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig. (Reference of the cement construction business Rudolf Wolle) Self-published, 1913.
  24. ↑ P. Hutter: The finest barbarism. 1990, p. 156 ff.
  25. ↑ Street of the Monuments

Coordinates: 51 ° 18 ′ 44.3 "  N , 12 ° 24 ′ 47.4"  E