Beneath our feet lies a silent witness to a bygone era. It is the Gedenksäule Autobahnbau Obelisk. This 13.5-meter-high stele stands in Dresden’s Kaditz district. Its location is near the Dresden-Neustadt interchange of the A4 autobahn. The Gedenksäule Autobahnbau Obelisk is a protected monument.
Imagine Hitler inaugurating the Dresden–Chemnitz–Meerane and Dresden–Bautzen autobahn sections in June 1937. The start of the Kilometrierung was at today’s Dresden-Neustadt interchange. For this event, sculptor Max Grünert erected the Autobahn-Obelisk nearby.
Originally, the stele displayed the Dresden city coat of arms. It also featured the inscription “Reichsautobahn 1937” and Nazi symbols. After World War II, the Nazi elements were removed.
In 1998, during the A4 expansion, the stele was moved several meters to its present location. The Gedenksäule Autobahnbau Obelisk is made of sandstone. It stands on a stone plateau in a small green area close to the autobahn. Of the original details, only the Dresden coat of arms and the word “AUTOBAHN” remain.
Anwohnern Initiative brought the Obelisk into focus. It sits in a green triangle. This is between the autobahn exit, Kötzschenbroder Straße, and Washingtonstraße. A fenced-in treatment basin for road wastewater is also on the site. The federal government owns it. The State Office for Road Construction and Transport manages it.
The square base of the Gedenksäule Autobahnbau Obelisk invites you to sit and enjoy the view. A pedestrian and bicycle path passes by here on its way from Elbepark to Mickten. Graffiti mars the Obelisk. Litter covers the base and the surrounding grass.
The State Office for Road Construction and Traffic plans to erect a fence around the Gedenksäule Autobahnbau Obelisk this year. They want to remove the garbage regularly. Some locals think a fence is not the solution. They suggest a trash can and regular emptying.
In July 1939, expansion began at the Lommatzscher Straße / Riegelplatz autobahn underpass. A roundabout was created. A monument was planned for its center. It would commemorate the construction of this autobahn section.
The third block from the bottom is the largest. It is 1.85 meters high and weighs eleven tons. Dresden sculptor Max Grünert began work on the monument’s future location after Pentecost 1939. The work was completed on December 19, 1939.
Until August 1998, the Gedenksäule Autobahnbau Obelisk stood at its original location. During the six-lane autobahn expansion, it was moved about 250 meters northwest. Today the Gedenksäule Autobahnbau Obelisk is a reminder of the past.