Statues - Hither & Thither

 

Description

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Centerpiece of the monument:
1. Statue of Martin Luther. Signed: E. Rietschel fecit.
   Martin Luther (Eisleben 1483 - id. 1546), Initiator of the Protestant Reformation (Wikipedia).

   Seated at his feet are the main forerunners of the Reformation:

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   3

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   5

   (click on the photo for an enlargement in a separate window.)

2. hieronymus savonarola 1498. Signed: A. Donndorf fecit.
   Girolamo Savonarola (Ferrara 1452 - Florence 1498), an Italian Dominican friar, Scholastic, preached vehemently against the moral corruption of much of the clergy at the time (Wikipedia).
3. petrus waldus 1197. Signed: A. Donndorf fecit.
   Peter Waldo, also Pierre Vaudès or de Vaux (c. 1140 - c. 1218), credited as the founder of the Waldensians, a Christian spiritual movement of the Middle Ages (Wikipedia).
4. johann wiclef 1387. Signed: E. Rietschel fecit.
   John Wycliffe (Ipreswell c. 1328 - Lutterworth 1384), English Scholastic philosopher, theologian, lay preacher, known as an early dissident in the Roman Catholic Church; his followers were known as Lollards (Wikipedia).
5. johann huss 1415. Signed: G. Kietz fecit.
   Jan Hus (Husinec c. 1369 - Konstanz 1415), Czech priest, philosopher, reformer, and master at Charles University in Prague. After John Wycliffe, the theorist of ecclesiastical Reformation, he was, before Luther, Calvin and Zwingli, the first actual Church reformer (Wikipedia).

   On the corners in front of Luther, two powerful princes who played a large role in the political success of the Reformation:

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   (click on the photo for an enlargement in a separate window.)

6. friedrich der weise kurfürst von sachsen. Signed: A. Donndorf fecit.
   Friedrich III., auch Friedrich der Weise, Kurfürst von Sachsen (Frederick III, Elector of Saxony) (Torgau 1463 - Langau 1525), one of the most powerful early defenders of Martin Luther, Lutheranism, and the Protestant Reformation (Wikipedia).
7. philipp der grossmütige landgraf von hessen. Signed: G. Kietz fecit.
   Philipp I. der Großmütige Landgraf von Hessen (Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse) (Marburg 1504 - Kassel 1567), leading champion of the Reformation and one of the most important German rulers of the Reformation (Wikipedia).

   On the corners behind Luther, two important Protestant scholars

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   (click on the photo for an enlargement in a separate window.)

8. johannes reuchlin. Signed: A. Donndorf fecit.
   Johannes Reuchlin (Pforzheim 1455 - Stuttgart 1522), a German humanist and a scholar of Greek and Hebrew, although suspected of a leaning toward Protestantism, Reuchlin never left the Roman Catholic Church (Wikipedia).
9. philipp melanchthon. Signed: G. Kietz fecit.
   Philipp Melanchthon (Bretren 1497 - Wittenberg 1560), born Philipp Schwartzerdt, was a German reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the Lutheran Reformation (Wikipedia).

   Three seated women on the sides represent the first German cities to adopt Protestantism:

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   (click on the photo for an enlargement in a separate window.)

10. augsburger friede 1555. Signed: G. Kietz fecit.
    Refers to the Confessio Augustana of 1530 and the Augsburger Religionsfrieden (Peace of Augsburg - Wikipedia) of 1555
11. protestierende speyer 1529. Signed: I. Schilling fecit.
    Refers to the Reichstag von Speyer 1529 (Diet of Spires). The diet condemned the results of the Diet of Speyer of 1526 and prohibited future reformation (Wikipedia).
12. trauernde magdeburg 1631. Signed: A. Donndorf fecit. Refers to the Magdeburger Hochzeit (Sack of Magdeburg), the siege and subsequent plundering of the largely Protestant city of Magdeburg by the forces of the Holy Roman Empire and the Catholic League during the Thirty Years' War (Wikipedia).

On the pedestal of Luther are (all clockwise starting with the front side):

Four texts:

Eight portraits:

P-1

P-2

P-3

P-4

P-5

P-6

P-7

P-8

(click on the photo for an enlargement in a separate window.)

1. johann friedrich der grossmütige
   Johann Friedrich I. der Großmütige von Sachsen (John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony) (Torgau 1503 - Weimar 1554), Head of the Protestant Confederation of Germany (the Schmalkaldic League), "Champion of the Reformation" (Wikipedia).
2. johann der beständige
   Johann der Beständige, Kurfürst von Sachsen (John, Elector of Saxony) (Meissen 1468 - Schweinitz 1532), leader of the Schmalkaldic League of Protestant states formed in 1530 to protect the Reformation (Wikipedia).
3. johann bugenhagen
   Johannes Bugenhagen (Wollin 1485 - Wittenberg 1558), also called Doctor Pomeranus by Martin Luther, introduced the Protestant Reformation in the Duchy of Pomerania and Denmark in the 16th century (Wikipedia).
4. justus jonas
   Justus Jonas (Nordhausen 1493 - Eisfeld 1555), German Lutheran reformer (Wikipedia).
5. franz von sickingen
   Franz von Sickingen (Ebernburg 1481 - Burg Nanstein 1523), German knight, one of the most notable figures of the first period of the Reformation (Wikipedia).
6. ulrich von hutten
   Ulrich von Hutten (Burg Steckelberg 1488 - Ufenau 1523), outspoken German critic of the Roman Catholic Church and a bridge between the humanists and the Lutheran Reformation (Wikipedia).
7. ulrich zwingli
   Huldrych (or Ulrich) Zwingli (Wildhaus, St. Gallen 1484 - Kappel, Zürich 1531), leader of the Reformation in Switzerland (Wikipedia).
8. johann calvin
   Jean Calvin (Noyon 1509 - Genève 1564), French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation (Wikipedia).

Four reliefs, with texts about the construction of the monument:

Relief 1

Relief 2

Relief 3

Relief 4

(click on the photo for an enlargement in a separate window.)

1. luther vor kaiser karl v. in worms 1521
   Begonnen 1856 Vollendet 1868.
2. abendmahl priesterehre
   Entworfen und zum Theil ausgeführt von E. Rietschel
3. thesenanschlag zu wittenberg 1517
   Gegossen und ciselirt zu Lauchhammer.
4. bibelübersetzung predigt
   Die Architectur gezeichnet von H. Nicolai.

C-1

C-2

C-3

C-4

C-5

C-6

C-7

(click on the photo for an enlargement in a separate window.)

1. kursachsen.
2. brandenburg.
3. anhalt.
4. reutlingen.
5. nürnberg.
6. braunschweig-lüneburg.
7. hessen.

On the balustrades of the sides are 27 coats of arms of towns that played an important role in the Reformation, placed in alphabetical order:

(click on the photo for an enlargement in a separate window.)

braunschweig. bremen. konstanz (originally "Constanz") eisenach. Augsburg (on the pedestal of statue 10). eisleben. emden. erfurt. frankfurt a.m.

schwäbisch-hall. hamburg. heilbronn. jena. Speyer (on the pedestal of statue 11). königsberg. leipzig. lindau. lübeck.

marburg. memmingen. nördlingen. riga. Magdeburg (on the pedestal of statue 12). schmallkalden. strassburg. ulm. wittenberg.

Annotation

1. Adolf von Donndorf: Girolamo Savonarola, Peter Waldo, Frederick the Wise of Saxony, Johannes Reuchlin and Magdeburg.
2. Gustav Adolph Kietz: Jan Hus, Philipp Melanchton, Philip of Hesse, and Augsburg.
3. Johannes Schilling: Speyer.

Sculptors

• Adolf von Donndorf (Weimar 1835 - Stuttgart 1916), German sculptor from Dresden, father of Karl Donndorf (Wikipedia).
  
• Gustav Adolph Kietz (Leipzig 1824 - Dresden-Laubegast 1908), German sculptor (Wikipedia).
  
• Ernst Rietschel (Pulsnitz 1804 - Dresden 1861), German sculptor - see also his memorial in Dresden (Wikipedia).
  
• Johannes Schilling (Mitweida 1828 - Dresden 1910), German sculptor, his portrait is on the Fürstenzug (Wikipedia).

Sources & Information

• Christiane Theiselmann, Das Wormser Lutherdenkmal Ernst Rietschels (1856-1868) im Rahmen der Lutherrezeption des 19. Jahrhunderts. Frankfurt am Main: Europäische Hochschulschriften, 1992. (not seen).
• Stadt Worms, Denkmäler und Brunnen.

Tags

Locatie (N 49°37'56" - E 8°21'36") (Satellite view: Google Maps)

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