Right here on Altmarkt once stood the Siegesdenkmal, a monument to victory. More specifically, it celebrated the German victory in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. The Kriegsdenkmal also served as a memorial to the Dresdners who fell in that conflict.
Imagine this space in 1880. The air is filled with excitement. It is the dedication day, September 1st, a decade after the war. King Albert of Saxony himself is present. The royal family joins him to unveil the Kriegsdenkmal. The people of Dresden cheer.
Robert Henze, a student of Hähnel, created the Siegesdenkmal from various stones. Germania, a 6.20-meter-high statue stood proudly. Carrara marble formed her and the four female figures around her. These figures represented Kriegswissenschaft, Heeresmacht, Frieden, and Barmherzige Liebe. That is to say: Military Science, Army Power, Peace, and Merciful Love.
The Germania statue held a Reichsfahne or Imperial flag. A laurel wreath adorned it. Her left hand rested on the Reichsschild. This was the Imperial shield bearing a German eagle. The face of Germania reflected the new national pride. The German Empire unified the German people in 1871. Bronze plates on the Kriegsdenkmal bore the names of 99 fallen Dresdners.
Rosa Heysing, a singer, modeled for the Germania statue. The statues traveled from Florence to Dresden. They arrived on three wagons. The Germania alone weighed 6,550 kilos. The transportation costs totaled 3,171 marks plus customs fees.
The total cost for the Kriegsdenkmal reached 186,500 marks. Public collections contributed 15,000 marks. The Güntz Foundation and the city reserve fund covered the remainder. Dresdner Baumeister Eduard Mueller oversaw the monument’s construction.
The Kriegsdenkmal stood in the middle of Altmarkt. It remained mostly intact after the allied air raids of World War II. Yet, in May 1946, the city administration deemed it a military object. They added it to list B. The city wanted to repurpose the side figures.
The Soviet Military Administration initially wanted to preserve the monument. Despite this, the city council ordered the removal of Germania in June 1946. The other bronze and marble pieces soon disappeared. A local Zimmermann saved the head of Germania. He hid it in his garden.
In 1991, the head resurfaced. It was given to the Stadtmuseum or City Museum. Two heads of the side figures also survived. Some parts of the Kriegsdenkmal were reused. They helped reconstruct Antonio Corradini’s vase in the Großen Garten. The Saxon Church Office preserved the memorial plates. They installed them in an open memorial hall. This was near the main portal of the Garnisonkirche.
Today, only fragments remain of the Siegesdenkmal. But its story lives on. It reminds us of a time of war, victory, and shifting perspectives. Though gone, the Kriegsdenkmal echoes in Dresden’s history.