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New Ulm
Minnesota

Monument Street 10

Hermann Heights Monument

Arminius (Hermann der Cherusker)
17 BC-21 AD
a chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci tribe who commanded an alliance of Germanic tribes at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD,
(Wikipedia)
Alphons Pelzer & W.H. Mullins Company
1897

New Ulm /  Hermann Heights Monument   New Ulm /  Hermann Heights Monument

Description

Statue, constructed of sheet copper molded over iron, of the German warrior prince Hermann modeled after the Hermannsdenkmal near Detmold. The Hermann Monument has a total height of 32 m, the 8.2 m statue stands on a 21.3 m iron column encircled by a spiral staircase to the dome, which is supported by 16 iron columns and a Kasota stone base.

Inscription(s)

Left and right of entrance:

In F.L. und T.
errichtet
von den Hermanns-Söhnen
der Vereininten Staaten
zur Ehren
ihres großen Vorfahrens
Hermann
NATIONAL - GROSS - BEAMTE

Ex N. Gr. Praes. fritz dickroeger.
N.Gr. Praes. paul gebhard.
1. N. Gr. Vice-Praes. Josef Santa.
2. N. Gr. Vice-Praes. albert paegel.
N. Gr. Secr. richard schaefer.
N. Gr. Schatzm. conrad w. walther.

GROSS - BEAMTE v. MINNESOTA

Ex. Gr. Praes. F. C. Neumeier
Gr. Praes. paul haesecke.
Gr. Vice-Praes. wm. foelsen.
Gr. Secr. herm. cirkler
Gr. Schatzm. e.f. lemke.

GR. VERWALTUNGSRATH.

christ. figge.   gust. pflaum
ed. hammer

DIRECTORIUM - RATH

herm. schnell.   herm. vogt
carl herrmann.   john kunz
Unter der Leitung des Bau-Comites
H. Orlemann    Wm. Theobald
Alb. Steinhauser
Julius Berndt Architekkt
[!]

Begonnen 1885
Vollendet durch Baumeister
Wm. Foellen
Enthüllt
ANNO DOMINI
25 Sept. 1897
Cornerstone:
1888
Plaques on the corners:

Erinnerung
an
Karl Bachmann
den
Pionir. Sänger.     Patriot. Soldat.
Geb. in Weiden in Saxen am 29. Dez. [1837]    Gest. in Young Amerika Minn. am 5 Sept. 1889
Gewidmet in F. L. & T.
Zum Andenken an
AUGUST ZIEGLER, MORITZ WALTER,
HEINRICH ORLEMANN, HEINRICH GUTHUNZ,
L. KOHLMANN, E. RICHTER, K. NÄHER,
EDWARD HAMMER, & OTTO WEIS,
Gründer der Washington Loge, No. I O.D.H.S.
im Yahre 1870, in St. Paul, im Staate Minnesota.
1897
Erinnerung an der Grundung
des
Schweizer Bundes
1291
zum andenken an
JOH. CHRISTOPH FRIEDRICH
v. SCHILLER,
an den herold der freiheit auf geistigem
sittlichem und politischem gebiete sowie
hasser alles falschen.
gewidmet zu seimem [!] hundertsten todestage von
FRAU BERTHA GEBSER,
new ulm, may den 9ten 1905.

NB:
"In F. L. und T." = In Freundschaft, Liebe und Treu, trans. In friendship, love and fidelity
O.D.H.S. = Order der Hermann's Söhne
(N.) Gr. (Vice)Praes] = (National) Grand (Vice)-President
Schatzm. = Treasurer

Information Sign

HERMANN MONUMENT
(Hermann Denkmal)
    Hermann (Arminius) of the Cherusci tribe led several German tribes
in battle against their Roman conquerors in 9 A.D., and defeated
them in the hills of Teutoburg Forest near present Detmond. To later
unified Germany, Hermann symbolized liberty and unity. In 1874
Ernst Von Bandel completed a colossal German Monument dedicated
to Hermann near the Teutoburg site.
    As a project of the National Sons of Hermann Lodges in the United
States, Julius Berndt, New Ulm architect and county surveyor, conceived
the building of a similar monument half the size in New Ulm. Local
Lodge No. 21 acquired the New Ulm site in 1885 and named it
"Hermann Heights." Berndt completed the base and cornerstone in 1888.
Alphonso Pelzer, of Salem, Ohio, created a plaster model 32 feet hight.
W.H. Mullins Company made the statue in copper sheet sections:
abutting edges were riveted to metal strips, part of the interior bracing.
The interior framework was produced by Milwaukee Bridge and Iron Works.
    The 32 feet statue arrived boxed at New Ulm in 1890. Inadequate
financing though slowed the monument construction, some lodges protesting
assessment because of the site: "a secluded country place somewhere
in the wilds of Minnesota." In 1894 the statue was mounted on the
pedestal above the uncompleted monument where, with an overall height
of 102 feet, it was "plainly seen from Sleepy Eye and other
neighboring towns." Completed in 1897 the dedication was a three
day celebration. Total monument cost was about $24,000.
   With persistent effort by Otto Oswald and other local Sons of Hermann,
New Ulm was given the monument and site in 1929. In 1972 Hermann
Monument became a registered Minnesota Historic Site; in 1973 it was
designated a Registered National Historic Place.
lmk
erected 1976 by brown county historical society with the otto oswald memorial fund

Annotation

Ten years after the Hermannsdenkmal in Detmold was completed a similar monument was conceived for New Ulm. The New Ulm Hermann Monument, designed by Julius Berndt (1832-1916), was completed in 1897.

Known officially as the "Hermann Heights Monument" (and unofficially as "Hermann the German"), the New Ulm Hermann has a total height of 102 feet. The statue itself is 32 feet tall and is constructed much like the Statue of Liberty, with hammered copper over an iron armature.

In 2000 the U.S. Congress designated the Hermann Heights Monument to be an official symbol of all U.S. citizens of German heritage.

Sculptors

Sources & Information

Tags

  • Arminius
  • Army Officer
  • Bachmann, Karl
  • Hermann der Cherusker
  • Mullins Company, W.H.
  • Pelzer, Alphons
  • Schiller, Friedrich von
  • Statue (man)
  • Locatie (N 44°18'25" - W 94°28'22") (Satellite view: Google Maps)

    Item Code: usmn15; Photograph: 22 October 2010
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