| Bismarck monument Bismarck-Denkmal |
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View of the monument from the left in 2004 |
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| Location | Hamburg, Germany |
| Designer | Architect: Johann Emil Schaudt Sculptor: Hugo Lederer |
| Material | Granite |
| Height | 35 m (115 ft) |
| Opening date | 2 June 1906 |
| Dedicated to | Otto von Bismarck |
The Bismarck Monument (German: Bismarck-Denkmal) is a monument located in the city of Hamburg, in the St. Pauli quarter. It is dedicated to Otto von Bismarck, and is one of 250 memorials to Bismarck worldwide. The Hamburg memorial is the largest and probably the best-known of these Bismarck towers. The statue stands near the jetties of Hamburg port on the Elbhöhe, today a local recreation area. The architect was Johann Emil Schaudt; the sculptor was Hugo Lederer.
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Before the construction of the monument, the Elbpavillon restaurant was located at the site. The Elbpavillon was removed in 1901 and a citizen commission under the mayor at that time Johann Georg Mönckeberg agreed to build on it.
The Bismarck monument cost 500.000 goldmark,[1] and was completed in 1906.[2]
The monument is about 35 m (115 ft) high and has a weight of 600 t (590 long tons; 660 short tons), and is the world-largest Bismarck monument.[1][2]
Inside the Bismarck monument is today still a complex painting showing the Black Sun image in Wewelsburg with a central piece incorporating a sunwheel and swastikas and the texts "Great questions will not be resolved by talk, but by iron and blood" (Ger: "Nicht durch Reden werden große Fragen entschieden, sondern durch Eisen und Blut").[2][3] It is unknown where this painting came from.
During the years 1939 to 1940, the base of the statue became an airraid shelter which was meant for passers-by, visitors of the jetty and direct adjacent residents, offering protection for up to 650 people.[2] The purpose of the catacombs surrounding the monument, built in 1906, is still unknown. The inside of the Bismarck-Monument is not accessible to public visitors anymore for safety reasons.
