Werndl monument

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The Werndl monument

The Werndl monument in Steyr ( Enrica-von-Handel-Mazzetti -Promenade) is a work by the Austrian sculptor Viktor Tilgner from 1894. It depicts the industrialist Josef Werndl in the midst of his workers.

history

Shortly after Werndl's death, the furniture dealer Franz Tomitz applied for a memorial to be erected. The honorary citizen of Steyr Tomitz was a councilor from 1875 to 1901 and had already organized the town's 900th anniversary in 1880. On May 1, 1889, the local council passed the relevant resolution, but the further initiative lay mainly with the Österreichische Waffenfabriksgesellschaft . On 4th / 5th In June 1891 Viktor Tilgner stayed in town to discuss the planned monument. The artist had already designed the Schubert memorial plaque on Schuberthaus ( Stadtplatz 16), which was unveiled in 1890 . A later work by Tilgner is the Bruckner bust on Steyrer Brucknerplatz (1898). According to tradition, the Werndl monument was not initially to be erected on the promenade, but either on the square in front of the industrial hall (now the city theater), on the Leitnerberg with a view of the old weapons factory or on the town square. The decision was finally made in favor of the promenade, in whose design Werndl played a key role (see also: Steyr - razing the medieval fortifications ). The Voglsang Castle, built by Werndl, is also located on Preuenhueberstrasse, which branches off from the promenade . The ceremonial unveiling of the monument took place on November 10, 1894, during the Second World War it was dismantled and re-erected in September 1945.

As part of the Upper Austrian Provincial Exhibition in 1998 , the monument was part of a temporary video-computer light installation ( Tassilo Blittersdorff together with Bernadette Huber).

description

The solemn unveiling

The bronze figures are larger than life. The lower and upper plinths are made of gray Mauthausen granite . On the pedestal with the figures of the four workers it says: "WORK HONORS". The high base bears the inscription "JOSEF / WERNDL". It is also wreathed with oak leaves and decorated with weapons. Josef Werndl holds rifles in his left hand and points to his workers with his right hand: a blacksmith, a fitter, an old saber maker and a carpenter. The carpenter swings his cap in greeting and returns Werndl's gesture, the saber maker holds a picture of Werndl's father Leopold Werndl . The blacksmith and fitter at the rear are busy while the carpenter and saber-maker rest. All figures wear their work or everyday clothes. On the back it says: "DIE / GRANZBAREN / MITBÜRGER / 1894".

Tilgner's work is the most important Austrian example of a bourgeois monumental monument . Tilgner oriented himself, among other things, on the Maria Theresa monument in Vienna : Like Maria Theresa, Werndl forms the raised focal point, the generals at the corners have been replaced by workers. Werndl is also depicted as a standing ruler with an allocutio gesture, the rifles in his left hand replacing the marshal's baton .

gallery

  • carpenter

  • Blacksmith

  • Still image of Werndl

  • Fitter

  • Saber maker with portrait of Leopold Werndl

  • Rear view

  • The bronze figures compared to humans

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Hans Stögmüller: Josef Werndl and the weapons factory in Steyr . Ennsthaler, Steyr 2010, ISBN 978-3-85068-860-4 , p. 117 ff.
  2. ^ Manfred Brandl: New history of Steyr. From Biedermeier to today . Ennsthaler, Steyr 1980, pp. 73 f., ISBN 3-85068-093-2 .
  3. ↑ Brandl: Neue Geschichte von Steyr , p. 74.
  4. ↑ blittersdorff.net (Bio) Viewed November 9, 2019
  5. ↑ Image of the installation on Bernadette Huber's website.Viewed November 9, 2019
  6. ^ A b Karl-Heinz Rauscher: The King of Steyr. Comments on Josef Werndl . Weishaupt, Gnas 2009, pp. 191 f., ISBN 978-3-7059-0299-2 .
  7. ↑ Werner Telesko : The Austrian “monument cult” in the 19th century in the area of ​​tension between the center and the periphery . In: Rudolf Jaworski (Ed.) Peter Stachel (Ed.): The occupation of public space. Political places, monuments and street names in a European comparison . Frank & Timme, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-86596-128-0 , p. 160 ff.

Web links

Commons : Werndl-Denkmal  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 48 ° 2 ′ 18.8 "  N , 14 ° 24 ′ 59.7"  E