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The ''Griffin'' cannon, also called Vogel Greif, (English: Bird Griffin), is one of the largest cannons from the 16th century. Since 1984, it has been in display in the
The ''Griffin'' cannon, also called Vogel Greif, (English: Bird Griffin), is one of the largest cannons from the 16th century. Since 1984, it has been in display in the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress
Ehrenbreitstein Fortress (german: Festung Ehrenbreitstein, ) is a fortress in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the east bank of the Rhine where it is joined by the Moselle, overlooking the town of Koblenz.
Occupying the position of an ...
in Koblenz
Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary.
Koblenz was established as a Roman military post by Drusus around 8 B.C. Its na ...
. The possession of the cannon moved several times between Germany and France and became a symbol of the Franco-German reconciliation.
History
The Trier elector and archbishopRichard von Greiffenklau zu Vollrads
Richard von Greiffenklau zu Vollrads (also spelled Greiffenclau and Vollraths) (1467 – 13 March 1531) was the Electorate of Trier, Archbishop-Elector of Trier from 1511 to 1531.
Biography
Richard von Greiffenklau zu Vollrads was born in Schlo ...
had Master Simon from Frankfurt am Main
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian dialects, Hessian: , "Franks, Frank ford (crossing), ford on the Main (river), Main"), is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as o ...
pour the cannon in 1524 and set it up on the Ehrenbreitstein fortress. After the conquest of the Ehrenbreitstein by the French in 1799 during the coalition wars, the cannon on the Moselle was brought to the Arsenal there in Metz. Metz was besieged in 1814 and 1815. Since the French feared the fall of the city, they buried the ''Griffin'' in the ground or sank it in the Seille. In 1866 it was moved to Paris by rail to the French Musée de l'Armée in the Hôtel des Invalides
The Hôtel des Invalides ( en, "house of invalids"), commonly called Les Invalides (), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as ...
, Paris.
In 1940, after the conquest of France by Nazi Germany, the cannon was sent back to Koblenz. After the war it was brought back to Paris during the French occupation of Koblenz following World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
in 1946. As part of the Franco-German reconciliation, French President François Mitterrand
François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, ...
signed in 1984 with German Chancellor Helmut Kohl
Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to 1998. Kohl's 16-year tenure is the longes ...
an agreement for permanently lending it to the fortress Ehrenbreitstein. The director of the French Musée de l'Armée resigned in protest. Since then, the cannon has been one of the best-known exhibits of the Koblenz State Museum.
The ''Griffin'' was allegedly never used due to a closed ignition hole but this was refuted after finding four bullets and black powder residue in the cannon. The ignition hole was closed with iron nails at some point after it was used.
Description
Made ofcast bronze
Lost-wax casting (also called "investment casting", "precision casting", or ''cire perdue'' which has been adopted into English from the French, ) is the process by which a duplicate metal sculpture (often silver, gold, brass, or bronze) i ...
, the ''Griffin'' weighs nine tons and is 4.66 meters long. With a 280-mm caliber, it was designed as a siege cannon and, according to theoretical calculations, was able to fire bullets weighing 80 kg, using 40 kg of black powder, up to 16 km. Although the cannon had been fired, no engagement in the battle is documented.
The inscription on the cannon reads:
See also
*List of the largest cannon by caliber
The list of cannon by caliber contains all types of cannon through the ages listed in decreasing caliber size. For the purpose of this list, the development of large-calibre artillery can be divided into three periods, based on the kind of proj ...
References
Further reading
* * *{{cite book , last = Weber , first = Ulrike , title = Kulturdenkmäler in Rheinland-Pfalz. Denkmaltopographie Bundesrepublik Deutschland , publisher = Wernersche Verlagsgesellschaft , volume= 3.3: ''Stadt Koblenz. Stadtteile.'', location = Worms , year = 2013 , isbn = 978-3-88462-345-9 France–Germany relations Large-calibre artillery Individual cannons 280 mm artillery