Bismarck Monuments
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From 1868 onwards, Bismarck monuments were erected in many parts of the
German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
in honour of the long-serving Prussian minister-president and first German ''
Reichskanzler The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of the federal government of Germany. The chancellor is the chief executive of the Federal Cabinet and heads the executive branch. T ...
'', Prince
Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (; born ''Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck''; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898) was a German statesman and diplomat who oversaw the unification of Germany and served as ...
. Today some of these monuments are on the soil of other countries including
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
and
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
as well as the former
German colonies German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
on other continents.


History


Importance

The Bismarck monuments were the most visible and permanent expression of the veneration of Bismarck within the Empire. The size and cost of these symbols ranged from commemorative plaques to large monuments incorporating several groups of figures such as the Bismarck Memorial in Berlin. The flood of Bismarck monuments of all kinds constituted the third major wave of monument building in the German Empire after the warrior and victory monuments for the so-called Wars of Unification of 1864, 1866 and 1870–71, and the Emperor William monuments.


Monuments before 1871

Even before the
unification of Germany The unification of Germany (, ) was a process of building the first nation-state for Germans with federalism, federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without Habsburgs' multi-ethnic Austria or its German-speaking part). I ...
, in the days of the
North German Confederation The North German Confederation () was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated state (a ''de facto'' feder ...
, monuments were built in honour of Bismarck. The first Bismarck Monument, a 12 metre high obelisk, was erected in 1868 in Gross-Peterwitz in Silesia. A year later, a
Bismarck tower A Bismarck tower () is a specific type of monument built according to a more or less standard model across Germany to honour its first chancellor, Otto von Bismarck (d. 1898). A total of 234 of these towers were inventoried by Kloss and Seele i ...
was opened as an observation tower in Ober-Johnsdorf in Silesia . Both monuments were the result of private initiatives. While the obelisk has since been destroyed, the Bismarck tower still exists, albeit in ruins. See
Bismarck Tower, Janówek The Bismarck Tower in Janówek, Poland, is a historical observation tower and cultural heritage site on top of the Jańska Góra hill, 253 m above sea level. It was erected in 1869 as the world's first Bismarck tower. The tower itself is 23& ...
.


Monuments from 1871 to 1890

Shortly after the
unification of Germany The unification of Germany (, ) was a process of building the first nation-state for Germans with federalism, federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without Habsburgs' multi-ethnic Austria or its German-speaking part). I ...
in 1871 Bismarck became a subject for monuments. Frequently Bismarck was not honoured with a monument by himself, but was honoured together with other figures from the wars of 1866 and 1870–71 and those people involved in the unification of the Empire, such as
Emperor William I Wilhelm I (Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 1861 and German Emperor from 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the first head of state of a united Germany. ...
, Crown Prince Frederick William,
Moltke The Moltke family is an old German noble family. The family was originally from Mecklenburg, but apart from Germany, some of the family branches also resided throughout Scandinavia. Members of the family have been noted as statesmen, high-ranking ...
and Roon in the large number of victory or Empire monuments built after 1871 in many places. The first public statues of Bismarck were taken from 1877 onwards (such as the indirect portrayal on the Canossa Column at Bad Harzburg). The first monument that displayed a full-size Bismarck, was the
Bismarck Monument (Bad Kissingen) The Bismarck Monument in Bad Kissingen is located in Hausen (a quarter of the German spa town, Bad Kissingen), which Chancellor Otto von Bismarck visited 14 times to "take the cure" between 1876 and 1893. The monument was built in 1877, during his ...
erected in 1877 in
Bad Kissingen Bad Kissingen () is a German spa town in the Bavarian region of Lower Franconia and County town, seat of the Bad Kissingen (district), district Bad Kissingen. Situated to the south of the Rhön Mountains on the Franconian Saale, Franconia ...
( Hausen). Initially the most frequently encountered monuments were
bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...
busts or
statues A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size. A sculpture ...
. In most cases, they portrayed on a high plinth, an oversized cast statue of Bismarck as a military figure in the uniform of a
cuirassier A cuirassier ( ; ; ) was a cavalryman equipped with a cuirass, sword, and pistols. Cuirassiers first appeared in mid-to-late 16th century Europe as a result of armoured cavalry, such as man-at-arms, men-at-arms and demi-lancers discarding their ...
, based on the prototype of the second Bismarck statue unveiled in 1879 in Cologne. The central squares of cities were usually decorated with these monuments. In addition, over thirty Bismarck fountains were built. Bismarck monuments were erected on all continents, mostly in the German colonies, but also in countries with German emigrants, such as USA and Brazil.


Monuments from 1890 to 1898

Immediately after Bismarck's dismissal in 1890 committees were founded in several places to plan the erection of commemorative monuments. The number of monument settings now increased gradually. Simultaneously new types of monument were conceived. A few monuments showed Bismarck as a private person as e. g. the Leipzig Bismarck Monument, which portrays him as a hunter with his dog, Tyras. Increasingly, Bismarck towers were built in a
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
style instead of the conventional busts or statues. Unlike the latter, these were erected out in the countryside on high points.


Monuments and Bismarck Towers after 1898

After his death in 1898 Bismarck's already enormous popularity increased further and, with that, the number of monument projects. The year 1898 also represented a turning point in their design. On many examples the figure of Bismarck was shown in a medieval-looking armour instead of the usual contemporary costume. The design language of the monuments was often more archaic and considerably more architectural monuments were built. In 1899 (i.e. one year after Bismarck's death),
Wilhelm Kreis Wilhelm Kreis (17 March 1873 – 13 August 1955) was a prominent German architect and professor of architecture, active through four political systems in German history: the Wilhelmine era, the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich, and the found ...
created a fundamental tower design, known as ''Götterdämmerung'' ("Twilight of the Gods") for a competition by the
German Student Union The German Student Union (, abbreviated ''DSt'') from 1919 until 1945, was the merger of the general student committees of all German universities, including Danzig, Austria and the former German universities in Czechoslovakia. The DSt was ...
in the shape of a massive pillar of fire. This won the award by the competition's initiators and was built 47 times until 1911, thus becoming a standard form. In many places, however, there are variations of this design. The feature of these solid structures was the idea from the Student's Union that, on the top of all Bismarck columns, braziers would be built so that, on certain days, they could be lit in honour of former Chancellor, forming a network of beacons across Germany. Firing facilities were installed on 167 Bismarck towers. Because a common day of lighting the towers could not be agreed (Bismarck's birthday was on 1 April during the
holiday A holiday is a day or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. ''Public holidays'' are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often ...
s), this idea did not take off. The Bismarck columns were mostly financed by donations (mainly from the middle class). As a building material, rock from the local area was used (for example,
granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
or
sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
). A total of 240 Bismarck towers were built as observation towers and beacons. The highlight of all Bismarck monuments was meant to be the National Bismarck Memorial on the Elisenhöhe at
Bingerbrück Bingerbrück () is a ''Ortsteil, Stadtteil'' of Bingen am Rhein, on the opposite side of the river Nahe (Rhine), Nahe from the old town of Bingen. It was self-administering until 1969. Points of interest Binger Mäuseturm "The Mouse Tower of Bi ...
which was to be inaugurated on the centenary on 1 April 1915. Planning started in 1907 and, in 1910, a general competition was conducted. The project was never executed, however, due to the outbreak of the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. Many Bismarck monuments did not survive the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and the subsequent political changes. They were smelted for ore, destroyed by bombing (in some cases, such as the
Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...
tower, intentionally for strategic purposes) or removed after 1945. Today there are many places that preserve the remaining towers and Bismarck columns or raise funds for their renovation.


Gallery

File:Berlin bismarck-denkmal.jpg, File:BismarckBremen.jpg, File:Bismarck-Denkmal in Dresden von Robert Diez.jpg, File:BismarckGoslar.jpg, File:Heilbronn-bismarckdenkmal.JPG, File:2007 0429 Langerwehe Bismarckdenkmal.jpg, File:BismKG.jpg, File:Bismarck-Denkmal-Wilhelmshaven_2015.JPG, File:Bismarck auf dem Sockel -Denkmal in Norden (Ostfriesland, 2024).jpg,


See also

*
Bismarck tower A Bismarck tower () is a specific type of monument built according to a more or less standard model across Germany to honour its first chancellor, Otto von Bismarck (d. 1898). A total of 234 of these towers were inventoried by Kloss and Seele i ...
* Bismarck Memorial


References

* Reinhard Alings, Monument und Nation. Das Bild vom Nationalstaat im Medium Denkmal - zum Verhältnis von Nation und Staat im deutschen Kaiserreich 1871-1918. = B. Sösemann (Hg.), Beiträge zur Kommunikationsgeschichte, Bd. 4 Berlin /New York 1996 * Thomas Gräfe: Der Bismarck- Mythos in der politischen Kultur des Wilhelminischen Kaiserreichs, München 2002, . * Werner Greiling: ''Der Bismarckturm. Bürgerschaftliches Engagement und nationale Denkmalkultur''. Hain, Weimar und Jena 2003, (über den Bismarckturm in
Neustadt an der Orla Neustadt an der Orla is a town in Saale-Orla-Kreis district, in Thuringia. It is situated at the small river Orla (Saale), Orla, 17 km north of Schleiz, and 25 km southeast of Jena. The former municipality Stanau was merged into Neustadt ...
). * Hans- Walter Hedinger: Bismarck- Denkmäler und Bismarck- Verehrung, in: Ekkehard Mai/ Stephan Waetzoldt (Hg.), Kunstverwaltung, Bau- und Denkmal- Politik im Kaiserreich, Berlin 1981, S. 277–314. * Kai Krauskopf: ''Bismarckdenkmäler – ein bizarrer Aufbruch in die Moderne'', Hamburg 2002, . * Andreas Leutzsch: ''Bismarck? von dem haben wir Korn, und der ist gut'', in: Andreas Leutzsch (Hrsg.): Nomaden, Interdisziplinäre Wanderungen' im Feld der Formulare und Mythen, Festschrift für Jürgen Frese, S. 64–88. transcript Verlag, Bielefeld 2003, . * Michael C.Q. McGuire: Bismarck in Walhalla. The cult of Bismarck and the politics of national identity in Imperial Germany 1890-1915, Ann Arbor 1993. * Dirk Reinartz, Christian Graf von Krockow: ''Bismarck: Vom Verrat der Denkmäler'', Steidl-Verlag Göttingen 1998, (Bild- und Textband zum Thema Bismarckdenkmale und -türme). * Sieglinde Seele, Günter Kloss: ''Bismarck-Türme und Bismarck-Säulen. Eine Bestandsaufnahme''.
Michael Imhof Verlag Michael Imhof Verlag is a German publishing company in Petersberg, Hesse. They are known especially for publishing books with a local interest, on art, on history, politics, religion, nature, and culture. Besides titles in German German(s) may r ...
, Petersberg 1997, . * Sieglinde Seele: ''Lexikon der Bismarck-Denkmäler''. Michael Imhof Verlag, Petersberg 2005, .


External links


Information portal on all Bismarck towers and Bismarck columns

List of Bismarck tower societies

Lexicon article on Bismarck monuments in Bavaria
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bismarck Monuments Monuments and memorials in Germany Sculptures in Germany National symbols of Germany Statues Outdoor sculptures in Germany