Forchdenkmal

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Forchdenkmal from the north-west

The so-called Forch monument , officially the military man monument , is a memorial outside the village of Forch on the Wassberg ( Pfannenstielkette ) in the canton of Zurich , Switzerland , at around 725  m above sea level. M.

The 18-meter-high bronze sculpture in the form of a flame commemorates the Zurich soldiers who died in active service in World War I. Popularly it is also called de gfroore fart , alluding to the shape .

history

While between eight and ten million soldiers were killed in Europe outside Switzerland during the First World War, around 3,000 members of the Swiss Army died during their service. Apart from that, between July 1918 and June 1919, around 25,000 people in Switzerland were killed by the Spanish flu alone , including soldiers in active service. During the first flu wave of 1918, up to 35 people on duty died in this way every day, which - due to the lack of social security - could cause great hardship in the families of serving fathers.

At that time, Switzerland was not the scene of armed conflicts, so there were no deaths from acts of war. The many soldiers who died due to illness during the service were counted as dead. Memorials and monuments were erected in her honor across the country. With this in mind, a commission was formed in 1920 on the initiative of the non-commissioned officers of the Canton of Zurich with the aim of erecting a simple memorial in the Canton of Zurich for all those soldiers who died during active service in the First World War. The committee included Government Councilor Rudolf Maurer, the President of the Cantonal Council Adolf Streuli and the cantonal master builder Hermann Fietz. Forch was ultimately selected from the numerous communities that had applied for the location. The monument was to be erected on a hill northwest of the historic center.

transport Assembly
Transport of the lower part
The bottom piece is pulled up the pyramid

On March 12, 1922, the community assembly of Küsnacht , on whose territory the property is located, decided to contribute to costs of CHF 9,000. The Forchbahn contributed CHF 7,000 and the landlord of the nearby “Krone” inn donated CHF 1,000.

A competition was announced among the Zurich artists for the construction. From the 91 entries received, a jury selected the project “The Sacrifice” by the Zurich architect Otto Zollinger . The jury's reasoning stated: In this draft, the idea of ​​the monument is expressed in a convincingly beautiful way. The effect of the hilltop is reinforced by the mark, and it ends in this, as it were. Due to the pyramid-shaped structure with the rising flame, a characteristic design of the monument was invented, in which monumentality, seriousness and dignity are embodied in a lively, sparkling way.

A check of the feasibility showed that the planned costs of CHF 60,000 would be exceeded by far. As Zollinger found ways to reduce costs, construction began in the spring of 1922. The construction work was carried out by the companies Hatt-Haller and A. Schulthess.

description

The monument is formed by an 18 meter high bronze flame that stands on a step pyramid. This has 11 steps, each 38 cm high. To make it easier to climb the pyramid, there are stairs with a step height of 19 cm on all four sides.

The following inscription is carved on the stone base:

"THE ZURICH PEOPLE BUILT THIS MONUMENT AS A SYMBOL OF THEIR VICTIMS WHICH THE WORLD WAR 1914–1918 DEMANDED TO PROTECT THE FATHERLAND"

inauguration

inauguration

The memorial was inaugurated on Sunday, September 24th, 1922 by Federal President Robert Haab . The estimates of the attending visitors are between 30,000 and 50,000, the Forchbahn alone transported 12,865 people. In his speech, the Federal President also remembered the numerous people who had died of the Spanish flu in autumn 1918 and imposed the duty on those present to always honorably remember the people who had died to protect Switzerland.

Plans to expand

On November 21, 1946, the government council commissioned the builder of the monument, Otto Zollinger, to create a project to expand the monument. A memorial wall was to be added to the existing memorial, on which the names of the soldiers who lived in the canton on the day of their death and who died during active service 1914–1918 and 1939–1945 should have been listed on a plaque. A resting place and a path to the memorial wall with seating were also planned. However, the project did not materialize.

restoration

In 1974 the monument was restored and rust that had formed in the flame was removed. Ventilation holes have been drilled in the flame to prevent condensation from forming inside.

Another restoration took place in 1990. At that time, the sculpture was transported by helicopter for an overhaul, and an archive was set up in its cavity, in which the names of all soldiers from the canton of Zurich who died in the two world wars are listed on two plaques.

As in 1990, the hollow concrete base had to be restored again in 2016.

literature

  • Jürg Bruppacher in: Küsnachter yearbook 1977.
  • Konrad J. Kuhn, Béatrice Ziegler : Homeland films and memorials for flu deaths: Historical and cultural reflections on the economic utilization of the First World War in Switzerland. In: Christoph Kühberger, Andreas Pudlat (Hrsg.): Past management: Public history between economy and science. Studien-Verlag, Innsbruck / Bozen / Vienna 2012, pp. 199Ä215.
  • Konrad J. Kuhn: Politics in bronze and stone. Monuments to the «fallen soldiers» of the First World War. In: Konrad J. Kuhn, Béatrice Ziegler (ed.): The forgotten war. Traces and traditions of Switzerland in the First World War. Here and now, Baden 2014, pp. 211–231.

Web links

Commons : Forchdenkmal  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 47 ° 19 ′ 42 "  N , 8 ° 38 ′ 49"  E ; CH1903:  691,335  /  242644

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Marc Tribelhorn: Contested memory. Switzerland in the First World War. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung , July 15, 2014.
  2. ↑ a b Yvonne Leimgruber: Memorials and museums on World War I in Switzerland (pdf; 637 kB) , ed. from the Center for Political Education and History Didactics, FHNW University of Education , Switzerland.
  3. ↑ a b Michel Wenzler: Forch: The eternal flame is attacked by the rain. In: Zürichsee-Zeitung. September 5, 2016, accessed March 7, 2017 .