Isted Lion
| Isted Lion | |
|---|---|
Istedløven | |
| Danish Palace and Properties Agency Danish:Slots- og Ejendomsstyrelsen | |
 | |
| For victory in theBattle of Isted | |
| Unveiled | 25 July 1862 inFlensburg |
| Location | |
| Designed by | Herman Wilhelm Bissen |
ISTED DEN 25. JULI 1850 REJST 1862 2011 wieder errichtet als Zeichen von Freundschaft und Vertrauen zwischen Dänen und Deutschen | |
TheIsted Lion(orFlensburg Lion) (Danish:IstedløvenorFlensborgløven;German:Flensburger LöweorIdstedter Löwe) is aDanishwarmonumentoriginally intended as a monument of the Danish victory over German-mindedSchleswig-Holsteininsurgents in theBattle of Isted(Idstedt) on 25 July 1850, during theFirst Schleswig Warwhich was a civil war within theDanish Realm,although with troops fromPrussiasupporting the Schleswig-Holstein insurgents. At its time it was the largest battle inScandinavianhistory.
Others perceived it more as a memorial for the Danish dead in the battle.[1]
Originally erected inFlensburg,Schleswigduring still Danish rule, it was moved toBerlinbyPrussianauthorities after Prussian conquests in theSecond Schleswig Warof 1864 and remained there until 1945. It was returned to Denmark as a gift from theUnited States Armyand was located atSøren Kierkegaards PladsinCopenhagen.In September 2011 it was returned to Flensburg.
History
[edit]Flensburg
[edit]
Following the Danish victory overSchleswig-Holsteinin theFirst War of Schleswig(1848–51), Danish sculptorHerman Wilhelm Bissenwas commissioned to create a monument to the ordinary Danish soldier. Although not an actualTomb of the Unknown Soldier,his monument reflected a similar idea. This monumentLandsoldaten(the Foot Soldier) was unveiled inFredericiain 1858.[2] At the following banquet, it was decided to start a public subscription of funds for a second monument, and one of the options discussed was a statue of GeneralFrederik Rubeck Henrik Bülow,the commander of Fredericia during the Germansiegeof the town.[3]Through the intervention of politicianOrla Lehmann,it was decided that the funds would instead be used for a monument commemorating the Battle of Isted. Like the previous monument, this commission was awarded to Bissen.
The lion is derived from thearms of DenmarkandSchleswigwhich contain three and two blue lions, respectively. In order to create a perfect image of a lion, Bissen travelled toParisto study a lion held in theJardin des Plantesand created a life-size model before returning to Denmark.[1] Bissen completed his first plaster model in 1860, and thebronzecast was completed by June 1862. The statue'splinthofBornholmstone was decorated with four round metalreliefsdepicting four Danish officers from the war; GeneralsGerhard Christoph von KroghandFriderich Adolph Schleppegrelland ColonelsHans HelgesenandFrederik Læssøe.The finished monument was approximately four meters tall, and carried the following inscription:
Isted den 25. Juli 1850. Det danske Folk reiste dette Minde
(Isted, 25 July 1850. The Danish people set this memorial)
The statue was unveiled on the 12th anniversary of the battle, 25 July 1862, at St Mary's Cemetery inFlensburg,Schleswig's largest city. Among the celebrities attending the ceremony was fairy-tale writerHans Christian Andersen.
Erecting the monument in Flensburg rather thanCopenhagenorIsted,was seen as a provocation by the region's German nationalists who opposed the Danish claim to sovereignty over the area. The decision to let the lion face south reinforced this feeling. Flensburg was divided by national sympathies but had a pro-Danish majority until after the 1864 war.
Berlin
[edit]
In 1864,war returnedto the region, culminating in the German victory in theBattle of Dybbøl.In the following peace settlement, Denmark surrendered both Schleswig and Holstein, leaving the monument on the German side of the new border.
Following the occupation of Flensburg byGermanforces, German nationalists attacked the monument and tried to topple it. They succeeded in removing the tail and part of the lion's back but failed to destroy the statue due to the intervention of German authorities.
The Prime Minister of Prussia,Otto von Bismarck,ordered the monument to be dismantled, and its parts were originally stored in the courtyard of the SchleswigEstatesin Flensburg. In 1867, the lion and the four reliefs were moved toBerlinat the order ofGeneralfeldmarschallFriedrich Graf von Wrangel.
The reassembled lion was erected in theZeughaus(Arsenal) in Berlin on February 9, 1868. Following the transformation of the arsenal into a military museum in 1875, the lion was transported to the Cadet Academy inLichterfelde,and erected there in April 1878. The lion remained there for more than 60 years.
In 1874, azinccopy of the monument was erected in Berlin in a public park,Schweiz,near theColonie Alsenassociation of war veterans. This monument was paid for bybankerWilhelm Conrad.A path leading up to the statue was fittingly dubbed,Straße zum Löwen,i.e. theRoad to the Lion. [4]On the copy, the reliefs of the four Danish officers were replaced with a single image of the German officerPrince Frederick Charles of Prussia,in effect reversing the meaning of the original monument.[3]In 1938, the Danish press reported the existence of the copy of the historic monument, and at roughly the same time, the zinc copy was moved to Heckeshorn near theWannsee,where it remains today.[4]This location is close to the building housing what would later be known as theWannsee Conference.The statue in Berlin was repaired in 2005.
Copenhagen
[edit]
Following the defeat ofNazi GermanyinWorld War II,Henrik V. Ringsted,a correspondent from the Danish newspaperPolitiken,"rediscovered" the monument inBerlinand approached the United States Army about a possible return of the statue. The issue ultimately reached the desk of GeneralDwight D. Eisenhower,theSupreme Commanderof the Allied forces in Europe, who demanded an official request in order to allow the return of the monument.[5]Such a request was promptly delivered byDanish Foreign MinisterJohn Christmas Møller.[6]Møller said, "The removal of this sepulchral monument, which in this country is considered a national sanctuary, and its erection in a German military academy, caused a resentment which till this very day is still alive in wide circles of the Danish people."[6]
In the autumn of 1945, the paperwork had been completed, and an American army convoy headed for Copenhagen, where it arrived on October 5. On October 20, the lion was officially handed over to KingChristian X.In what was considered an interim solution, the lion was placed in a courtyard on the rear side of theRoyal Danish Arsenal Museum(Tøjhusmuseet) and placed on a mere wooden plinth.
From 1945 to 1947, a few Danish politicians, with wide support in the popular opinion, advocated for a re-annexation ofSouthern Schleswig,and in particularFlensburg– resulting in a fierce political debate. As the debate ended with a confirmation of the existing border, the same politicians ruled out the possibility of returning the statue to a German-ruled town. On a number of occasions, controversy over the monument resurfaced, as a new generation of politicians began advocating for its return to a German-administered Flensburg.
In 1999, construction of a newpublic squarenear the museum began, prompted by a relocation of theDanish Royal Libraryto a neighbouring site. The debate about moving the lion to this more prominent position began, and theNy-Carlsberg Foundationvolunteered to pay for the relocation.[7]The wooden plinth was replaced with a bigger one made of brick, and the statue was reunited with its four reliefs for the first time in more than a century. The finished result was unveiled on the 150th anniversary of the battle, July 25, 2000, by DanishMinister for CultureElsebeth Gerner Nielsen.In her speech, she expressed the wish that the statue would be returned to Flensburg.[3]In a Parliament debate on November 20, 1998, she had previously stated that the statue should be returned to Flensburg, since that was the wish of theDanish minoritythere.[8]
A committee inFredericia,already the home of Bissen's other main work, the statue of theFoot Soldier,was lobbying for moving the monument there.[5]
Return to Flensburg
[edit]At the request of the city council of Flensburg, the Danish Government decided to return the Isted Lion to its original home in Flensburg. On 10 September 2011, it returned to the military cemetery, where it was first erected. The ceremony was attended by HRHPrince Joachim of Denmark.
References
[edit]- ^abKragelund, Britta (February 2002)."Istedløven".Dansk-Skånsk Tidsskrift no. 1, 2002(in Danish). Archived fromthe originalon 2007-03-10.Retrieved2006-07-14.
- ^Jensen, Hans Jørgen."Herman Wilhelm Bissen"(in Danish). Kulturcenteret Assistens. Archived fromthe originalon 2006-06-15.Retrieved2006-07-14.
- ^abcLaursen, Gert."Istedløven".Dansk militærhistorie(in Danish). Archived fromthe originalon 2006-06-20.Retrieved2006-07-14.
- ^ab"Der Flensburger Löwe"(in German). Haus der Wannsee-Konferenz. Gedenk- und Bildungsstätte. 2005-06-07. Archived fromthe originalon 2006-01-14.Retrieved2006-07-14.
- ^abChristlieb, Emanuel; Christiansen, Thomas Kvist."Istedløven blev født i Fredericia"(in Danish). Foreningen Til Istedløvens Placering i Fredericia.Retrieved2006-07-14.
- ^abKurtz, Michael J. (2006).America and the return of Nazi contraband.Cambridge University Press. p. 134.
- ^Eduard Troelsgård. Rådgivende ingeniører."Istedløven"(in Danish). Archived fromthe originalon 2007-06-13.Retrieved2006-07-14.
- ^Official website of the Danish Parliament."1998-99. Svar på § 20-spørgsmål: Placeringen af Istedløven"(in Danish).Retrieved2006-07-14.
- Part of the information regarding the copy in Berlin is based on thecorresponding articleon theGerman Wikipedia,accessed on 12 June 2006.
- Den Store Danske Encyklopædi,CD-ROM edition, entryIstedløven(in Danish)
External links
[edit]
Media related toIsted Lionat Wikimedia Commons