Walther monument (Bozen)

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General view of the monument

The Walther monument in Bozen was created by Heinrich Natter in 1889 and is dedicated to Walther von der Vogelweide . It is located on the central Walther-von-der-Vogelweide-Platz . The statue of Walther, executed in Lasa marble , stands on a fountain that serves as a base.

Emergence

Greetings for the Walther Celebration (Constitutionelle Bozner Zeitung, September 14, 1889)
The statue of Walther von der Vogelweide

Initiated by the assumption that Walther von der Vogelweide came from what is now South Tyrol , and against the background of a memorial plaque unveiling in Laion in 1874, a committee was founded shortly afterwards in Bozen, which campaigned for the erection of a memorial dedicated to the poet. Members of this committee were in particular representatives of the German-minded national- liberal Bolzano bourgeoisie, whom Archduke Rainer was able to win over to take over the protectorate. The monument was to have a clear German-national symbolic power and, with Walther looking south, to a certain extent mark and defend the border area between the German and Italian language and cultural areas. On September 14th and 15th, 1889, the work of the artist Heinrich Natter made of Lasa marble was inaugurated on Johannsplatz next to the Bolzano parish church , which was later renamed Waltherplatz. The keynote address was given by the German specialist in German studies, Karl Weinhold . The Rudolfsbrunnen in Innsbruck, created 1873–1877 based on a design by Friedrich von Schmidt , served as a model for the monument .

Building description

“The Walther monument itself is a wonderful ornament on Johannesplatz. It is an in Roman style holding wells , the conclusion of which forms the statue of the singer. On the north and south side there are two large pools, while on the other two sides a lion sits as a guard, one with the coat of arms of the old German Empire , the other with the coat of arms of Tyrol . A swan (symbol of song) acts as a gargoyle on the northern as well as on the southern side. At the top, the structure merges into a round temple made up of 10 columns , on which the three-meter-high statue of Walther stands. It keeps its arms crossed over its chest and looks thoughtfully into the distance; one hand holds the fiddle . Walther is thought of in the mood that his song " I hear 'ein wazzer diezen " (I hear water rushing) expresses. His face is fine, dignified and noble and the expression of the head alone does credit to the artist. "

reception

In response to the Walther memorial with German national connotations, the irredentistically charged Dante memorial was inaugurated in Trento in 1896 .

After the First World War and the annexation of South Tyrol by Italy, from 1923 Ettore Tolomei demanded the removal of the memorial and its replacement by a statue of Drusus , but it was not displayed after a foreign policy controversy between Benito Mussolini and Gustav in the “Walther question” Stresemann and Heinrich Held was created. In 1935 the fascist authorities arranged for a transfer to the less central Roseggerpark. The process even found a response in the German satirical magazine Simplicissimus , which published a corresponding vignette by Karl Arnold in 1935 . The Walther monument has been in its original location since November 2, 1981, after a citizens' committee had campaigned for the return to Waltherplatz since 1976.

literature

  • Georg Mühlberger, Elda Tabarelli: Walther von der Vogelweide and South Tyrol . City of Bozen, Bozen 1985.
  • Joachim Albrecht: Limes Figures. Monument wars in South Tyrol. In: Werner K. Blessing, Stefan Kestler , Ulrich Wirz (eds.): Region-Nation-Vision. Festschrift for Karl Möckl. Universitätsverlag Bamberg, Bamberg 2005, ISBN 3-933463-19-X , pp. 151-166.
  • Oswald Egger , Hermann Gummerer (ed.): Walther, poet and monument . edition per procura, Lana 1990, ISBN 3-901118-00-4 .
  • Bruno Mahlknecht : Bozen through the centuries . tape 4 . Athesia Spectrum, Bozen 2007, ISBN 978-88-6011-077-0 , The Walther Monument in Bozen, p. 83-94 .

Web links

Commons : Walther Monument  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hans Heiss (1990): Dichterfürst und Bürgerertum - Walther's contribution to the constitution and self-representation of the bourgeois camp in South Tyrol . In: Oswald Egger, Hermann Gummerer (ed.): Walther, Dichter und Denkmal . Vienna / Lana: edition per procura, p. 45
  2. ↑ Reinhard Johler (1995): Walther von der Vogelweide - culture of remembrance and civic identity in South Tyrol . In: Hanns Haas, Hannes Stekl (Hrsg.): Bourgeois self-presentation. Urban planning, architecture, monuments . Vienna: Böhlau, p. 200
  3. ↑ Hans Heiss, Hannes Obermair (2012): cultures of remembrance in conflict. The example of the city of Bozen / Bolzano 2000–2010 . In: Patrick Ostermann, Claudia Müller, Karl-Siegbert Rehberg (eds.): The border area as a place of remembrance. On the change to a post-national culture of remembrance in Europe (Histoire 34). Bielefeld: transcript, ISBN 978-3-8376-2066-5 , pp. 63-79, reference p. 66.
  4. ↑ a b Werner Telesko (2008): Kulturraum Österreich: The identity of the regions in the visual arts of the 19th century . Vienna: Böhlau, p. 344
  5. ↑ Christoph Hölz, Klaus Tragbar, Veronika Weiss (Ed.): Architectural Guide Innsbruck . Haymon, Innsbruck 2017, ISBN 978-3-7099-7204-5 , pp. 59 .
  6. ↑ Andreas Hofer. Weekly newspaper for the Tyrolean people . Edition of September 19, 1889, p. 378 .
  7. ^ Hannes Obermair: Walther's poet exile 80 years ago . In: City Archives Bozen (Ed.): The exhibit of the month of the City Archives Bozen . No. 46 , October 2015 ( online [PDF; accessed September 26, 2015]).
  8. ↑ Reinhard Johler (1995): Walther von der Vogelweide - culture of remembrance and civic identity in South Tyrol . In: Hanns Haas, Hannes Stekl (Hrsg.): Bourgeois self-presentation. Urban planning, architecture, monuments . Vienna: Böhlau, p. 186
  9. ↑ Simplicissimus , vol. 40, 1935, issue 2, p. 24.
  10. ↑ Walther returned home 20 years ago , in: Dolomiten , October 31, 2001.

Coordinates: 46 ° 29 ′ 53.9 ″  N , 11 ° 21 ′ 17.1 ″  E