Equestrian monument to King Frederick William III of Prussia
Heumarkt
Cologne, September 2024
"In 1815, the territories which became constituted in 1822 as the Rhine Province came under the rule of the Prussian king. The annexation by Prussia marked the close of 20 years of war with France - first of all under the Revolution regime and then under Napoleon. Following the Congress of Vienna, the reign of Frederick William III came to be seen as a time of peace as well as economic and cultural progress. In honor of the monarch towns and provinces erected monuments with the equestrian statue of him. In 1860 and 1862, two competitions to build such a monument in Cologne were still undecided. Ultimately, the initiators awarded the contract to Gustav Hermann Blaeser and Hermann Schievelbein. After the death of the latter, Blaeser redesigned the pedestal. When he, too, died, the task of completing the relief and the missing figures was taken over by Alexander Calandrelli. The official inauguration of the equestrian statue of king Frederick William III finally took place on 26 September 1878." (Equestrian monument to King Frederick William III of Prussia, Cologne Tourism)
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