Monuments Class Projects
Architect/Sculptor of Monument
Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1781-1841)
Preview
Medium
Photograph
Keywords
Berlin, Germany, Prussian and German Wars of Liberation, Prussian National Monument for Liberation, Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, Karl Friedrich Schinkel, Prussieu Monument De Le Liberation, Napolionic Wars, Alexander I of Russia
Physical Dimensions
4 x 2 1/2 "
Date of Publication
c. 1860-1880
Name of Monument
Prussian National Monument for Liberation Wars
Date of Completion or Dedication of Monument
6-1826
City of Monument
Berlin
Location within City
Viktoriapark
State/Province of Monument
Berlin
Country of Monument
Germany
Description
The Prussian National Monument for Liberation Wars in Berlin, Germany, commemorates the struggle of Prussia against Napoleonic Rule from 1813 to 1815, symbolizing its military victory and German national identity. Prussian King Frederick William III(reigned 1797-1840) commissioned the monument to commemorate the victory against France. Designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel(1781-1841), the monument is Romantic, Neo-Gothic in Style, featuring a spire with many pointed arches and pinnacles, as well as statues and inscriptions that honor and commemorate different Prussian royalty, military leaders. Despite wartime damage and political shifts, the monument remains an emblem of unity and resilience for Germany.
School of Art/Architecture
Gothic Revival
Publisher
Unknown
Digital Date
2-7-2025
Copyright
Physical copy of the cate-de-viste is in the public domain. Digital copy scanned by Rod Library ©2025 Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
File Format
image/jpeg
Comments
The Prussian National Monument for Liberation Wars is a piece of architecture built to help commemorate the struggle for freedom from the rule of Napoleon Bonaparte and France. In 1813, the French tried to take over many independent states that is now known as Germany. During this time, Germany was not yet unified, having many of these different states instead of one unified country. Austria and Prussia, with the help of Russia, Sweden, and many others, defeated the French. After the war was over, the King of Prussia, Frederick William III(1770-1840), decided to commemorate this victory with a monument to show the bravery and resilience that was shown throughout the war. For its creation, the king commissioned Karl Friedrich Schinkel(1781-1841) to create the monument, who was a well-renowned architect and city planner. After drawing out plans, Schinkel had iron components of the monument cast in June 1818. After buying the land for the monument from a group of farmers for 1,500 thaler(a silver coin used by Prussia). The monument sits upon is a hill that was called Götze'scher Berg during this time. Now called Kruezburg, this hill sits in the middle of Berlin in a park. the monument is a Gothic Revival piece, with pointed edges on the many arches that rise from its base. The monument is 62 feet tall. The height of the monument was raised in 1880 to 88 feet tall, including its new base. The entire monument is on top of a three-tiered octagon-style base, built with large stone bricks in 1880. The new base made is crenelated. It does not appear in this photograph, showing that it was taken before 1880. The monument itself is completely made of cast iron, chosen because of its durability and longevity. Surrounding the monument is an iron fence with eight cast iron spires as posts. On the eastside the monument at its bottom, there is a plaque that has and inscription which translates as:"The King to the People, which at his call magnanimously offered its wealth and blood for the Fatherland, to the Fallen in memoriam, to the Living with acknowledgement, to Future Generations for emulation." This dedication was written by August Boeckh(1785-1867), who was a member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences. On the level above is a group of twelve statues, all commemorating battles that took place during the liberation wars. These are the Battles of Nations at Leipzig, Dennewitz, Culm, Großgörschen/Lützen, Katzbach near Wahlstatt, Großbeeren, La Belle Alliance/Waterloo, Laon, Bar-sur-Aube, Paris, La Rothuère, and finally, Wartenburg. These battles were major victories for the Prussians, so they wanted to show how hard their people fought in them. The symbolic statues are designed after Greek, Nordic, and Prussian characters of great strength and power. The statues faces represents someone of importance to Prussia or of a city state, except for one, which was designed for Russian Czar Alexander I, to help commemorate all of the help that Russia provided during the war. The rest of them are different Prussian people the king wanted to commemorate, like his brothers, his two children, his wife, counts or princes who led in some of the battles on the monument, and soldiers who died fighting for Prussia. After you get past the Gothic spires and sharp designs, you will find a cross at the very top of the monument. This cross is meant to be a Greek cross, with all equal sides. Each of the twelve sides of the cross are supposed to commemorate the twelve different battles that are honored below.