Do you see that eagle with outstretched wings? That is the Aviator Monument. It is also known as Befriad Sculpture. Befriad Sculpture stands here at Karlaplan.
This Befriad Sculpture was a gift. The Swedish Aeronautical Society gave it to the city. It is a memorial to Swedish aviation pioneers. These pioneers died in the North Pole expedition of 1898. Some died in the Swedish aviator era in 1917. Carl Milles was a famous sculptor. He was chosen to build the Befriad Sculpture. It was finished in 1931.
The Befriad Sculpture is a large eagle. Its wings are stretched out. It looks like it is about to lift off. The Befriad Sculpture is 185 cm high. It is 750 cm wide. It is 185 cm deep. The base has reliefs. They show Icarus, balloonists and early warplanes.
Milles believed an eagle was a great symbol. The Befriad Sculpture has a shallow space inside. There is an urn in it. The urn holds medals. Each medal is for a fallen Swedish pilot.
Some art historians have different ideas about the Befriad Sculpture. They think Carl Milles admired Nazism. They say the eagle with outstretched wings looks like the Nazi symbol. It is called the Nazi Eagle. Young Swedish Nazis used the Befriad Sculpture as a meeting place in the 1940s. They gathered and held commemorations here. During this time socialists protested. They vandalized the Befriad Sculpture with graffiti. The Swedish Air Force uses it now. They lay wreaths at the Befriad Sculpture.
The Befriad Sculpture honors fallen pilots. Salomon August Andrée, Nils Strindberg and Knut Fraenkel are among them. They died in the North Pole expedition in 1898. The Befriad Sculpture was removed. This happened during the construction of the Karlaplan metro station. It was put back up in 1967.
Stockholm has many sculpture parks. They make art accessible. Anyone can enjoy them at any time.