Equestrian statue of Wilhelm l in Kyffhäuser Germany

CountryGermany
Town:Kyffhäuser
Year of creation:1896
Rider(s):Wilhelm l

(1797–1888), who was almost the opposite of Otto von Bismarck, the Minister President with whom he realized the unification of Germany. Bismarck was a tough man with reactionary policies, but Wilhelm was polite, gentlemanly, and despite being a staunch conservative, more open to some liberal ideas than for example his grandson Wilhelm II.
Sculptor(s):Hundrieser, Emil

(1846 – 1911) was a German sculptor

Description:

The gigantic monument (together, the horse and rider are nine metres high) combines the equestrian statue of Wilhelm I (Whitebeard) with a statue of emperor Friedrich I (1123–1190), better known as Barbarossa (Redbeard), sitting in his cave.

Legend says that Barbarossa is not dead, but asleep in a cave in the Kyffhäuser Mountain in Thüringen. When the ravens cease to fly around the mountain, he will awaken and restore Germany to its ancient greatness. With the establishment of the German Empire in 1871, many Germans thought that his time had come.

The Kyffhäuser monument was inaugurated in 1896. Ashamed by their defeat after World War II, the Germans wanted to blow up the monument, but a Russian officer prevented this, stating: ‘The Germans should learn to live with their monuments and their history’.