Hermann Heights Monument
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| Hermann Monument | |
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| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
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| Location: | Hermann Heights Park, New Ulm, Minnesota |
| Coordinates: | Coordinates: |
| Built/Founded: | 1870 |
| Architect: | Alfonz Pelzer; Julius Bernt, |
| Architectural style(s): | No Style Listed |
| Added to NRHP: | October 02, 1973 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 73000965 |
| Governing body: | Local |
The Hermann Heights Monument is a statue erected in New Ulm, Minnesota. The statue depicts Hermann the Cheruscan, also known by the Latin name Arminius, but locals refer to the statue as Herman the German. The only National Register of Historic Places property of its kind in Minnesota, the monument remains an impressive remembrance of German ancestry for many Minnesotans. Visitors to the statue can climb the spiral staircase to an observation platform at the base of the statue, which commands a view of the town and the Minnesota River Valley below.
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[edit] Significance
This statue commemorates the Germanic victory over the Romans at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, a symbol of German patriotism and pride.
While Arminius is an ancient folk hero in Germany, German Protestant intellectuals in the second half of the 18th century christened him "Hermann the Cheruscan" and promoted his status as a hero of German resistance to Roman authority.[2] As depicted in this statue, Hermann's eastward gaze and upraised sword signifies freedom from Rome. Perhaps not coincidentally, a statue of St. Peter atop the nearby Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Trinity also gazes eastward, with his downward sword planted firmly in the ground.
[edit] Characteristics
Hermann Monument has a total height of 102 feet. Constructed of sheet copper molded over iron, the 32-foot statue stands on a 70-foot iron column encircled by a spiral staircase to the dome, which is supported by 10 iron columns and a Kasota stone base.
[edit] History
Following the completion of the similarly commemorative Hermannsdenkmal statue in Detmold, Germany in 1875, The Hermann Monument arrived in New Ulm in 1890. It was dedicated in 1897. Structural and cosmetic restoration projects were carried out in 1998 and again in 2004.
The Hermann Heights Monument was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. It is the 3rd largest copper statue in the United States after the Statue of Liberty and the "Portlandia" in Portland, Oregon.
The 106th United States Congress (2000) designated the Hermann Monument in New Ulm to be an official symbol of all citizens of German heritage.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-01-23).
- ^ Down from Olympus: Archaeology and Philhellenism in Germany, 1750-1970 by Suzanne L. Marchand, Princeton University Press.
[edit] External links
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