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Halberstadt
Lkr. Harz Sachsen-Anhalt Holzmarkt
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RolandRoland, a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne, became a symbol of the independence of the growing cities from the local nobility. He is depicted as a knight with a drawn sword.(Wikipedia) |
Medieval artist
1433 |
A figure of Roland is documented in Halberstadt as early as 1381, but made of wood. There were several wooden copies up to the stone figure, but they were lost. The reinstallation is dated 1433 and this date of completion is engraved on the figure's belt. This Roland is one of the oldest of its kind, along with the Bremen and Quedlinburg ones.
In the left hand Roland holds the shield with the double-headed imperial eagle, in the right the double-edged sword Durendal.
For 500 years, the Roland was located in the southwest corner of the Halberstadt town hall, which was destroyed in the bombing raid on 8 April 1945. The Roland had escaped the same fate by being walled in. From 1951 to 1998 it stood in front of the south tower of the Martini Church, and since then it has been in its historic location in front of the rebuilt town hall.
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