Might have posted this before but I just finished researching it so I thought I would share: BRONZE MEDAL / LEIPZIG / "Battle of Nations" 1913 City of Leipzig Bronze Medal / Völkerschlachtdenkmal: Peoples Monument of the Battle of Leipzig - 100th Year Anniversary of the Battle of Nations Depicting The Völkerschlachtdenkmal "Monument of the Battle of Nations" / deutscher patriotenbund / "German Patriot Federation" / Völkerschlachtdenkmal bei leipzig 1913 / "peoples war monument in Leipzig" The archangel Michael watches to protect against invaders / Der Herr ist der rechte Kriegsmann, Herr ist sein Name / "The Lord is the right man of war, Lord is his name" Expanded information regarding this medal and the Völkerschlachtdenkmal can be found here: http://www.cachecoins.org/patriotenbund.htm
Cannot really say I like the medal or that monument. Way too pompous, but apparently that was what people liked in the early 20th century. Currently parts of the Völkerschlachtdenkmal are being rebuilt; that work should be completed by 2013, just in time for the bicentennial. Christian
I find the monument, in terms of shear size and the masterful work on the statues and carving to be very impressive though I do see your point. Its pomp on a grand imperial scale.
Not really. Both art and architecture of that period was very graceful and this is pompous and brutish. Consider the Woolworth tower at this time. Ruben
Yeah, but that was not designed or built by the people who wanted this thing in Leipzig. Besides, the Woolworth Tower does not commemorate a battle. The Völkerschlacht-Denkmal is an important site (and sight) in the city, and I think it makes sense to preserve and restore it. Despite the pompous and maybe martial look, its message nowadays is different from that of the late 19c/early 20c - no glorification of "heroes" or "honor" or national grandeur or whatever counted back then. But I still don't like it. Christian
I hope to see it next time I am over the pond...funny how people can see the exact same thing and walk away with entirely different impressions. To me it is obviously a masterpeice...
Never seen the actual monument but I do like the medal, there is a lot of work gone into it, I rather like the representation of the archangel Michael :smile I have to say that the tower itself could also be considerd pompous just look at it, the gothic nature of the tower it is saying here I am, I am important That is the nature of such buildings and monuments they were built to make a statement.
Well, it would be awful if we all liked the very same things, be it coins and medals, architecture or men and women. Nothing wrong with war memorials per se in my opinion, but of course quite a few of them - especially in former times - celebrate some victory, in a belligerent way. As for Gothic, well, in architecture the term has a somewhat different meaning. The cathedrals in Chartres or Salisbury are examples of Gothic architecture, but not that monument in Leipzig. Admittedly it is hard for me to keep the monument, completed in 1913, and the certainly well done medal that commemorates it, from 1913, apart ... You have a great view from the Völkerschlacht-Denkmal though. Wasn't it Guy de Maupassant who went up the Eiffel Tower almost every day because from up there he did not have to see the tower? Christian
It would be the pinnacle of what they call Wilhelmine style (German Empire style heavy influenced by a militaristic culture)...Like gothic architecture it is obviously going for that feeling of power and majesty but similarities beyond that are few. What is that style? Have you ever seen Emperor Wilhelm I and the men he surrounded himself with? wearing some complicated, over the top, uniform plastered with a ridiculous number medals and insignia? With sashes, cords, swords and daggers, back straight, not a thread out of place, immaculate, clean lines, cold, ordered. In this case, with over the top, romanticism of military style and pomp...that is Wilhelmine style to me. This monument is, in some way, a simple and straight forward structure as is the style, clean lines, angular, ordered, meant to impress with its shear size and great monumental sculptural adornments, mythical. It is a monument of war built by a military culture who almost worshiped war. Like coins, it is a product of its time and the culture who erected it love it or hate it. After seeing great hi-res images of all the aspects of the building, I would say that its value is not only the history and culture it represent, or the event it commemorates, but it is just an impressive structure adorned with stylized monumental statues masterfully crafted. It is a work of art crafted by highly skilled masters. One I would like to see in person one day. I have read its such a big dense structure it almost seems to have its own magnetic pull, that to see it in person is quite striking. Being a fan of Imperial Roman history and other cultures that built grande structures to war or state such as this, I appreciate this for what it is as I would the Column of Trajan or the Arch of Constantine. Being a person who likes classic styles of art and sculpture over modern design, I would take the Völkerschlachtdenkmal over the Eiffil Tower (that I have been on...yawn) any day. But I also understand tastes are subjective and what impresses one may not impress others, I was impressed when I first saw the Statue of Liberty in America...I know others were less than impressed.
Everything makes a statement or its not worth cherrishing. But I think the woolworth building is just saying, "welcome and enjoy you 5 and dime stores" Really, it is a very very graceful building that used to stand artistically right in front of the Twin Towers.... the past tallest grandest in front of the present grandest greatest towers on earth... In front of them both was the Brooklyn Bridge...the previous masterpiece of grace and beauty. Ruben
Well, you know my opinion. Monuments like the Eiffel Tower in Paris I find interesting because originally it did not serve any particular purpose. Kind of like what the Canadian Mint sometimes does - "issuing this coin does not really make any sense but we do it because we can do it" ... And yes, there are quite a few other Wilhelminic/Prussian memorials in a style similar to the one in Leipzig. (Planned or built at about the same time as the Eiffel Tower!) Most of those big monuments - Leipzig, Porta Westfalica, Rüdesheim - do indeed express the "spirit" of those days. @mrbrklyn: The Woolworth Building has quite an interesting style. In terms of architecture, I never liked the WTC a lot; great from far away but otherwise "cold" and not very inviting. Now the Chrysler Building for example ... Christian
FWIW - The Twin Towers was the only piece of Architecture which I ever witnessed that made people completely familiar with it to stop everything they were doing and gaze at it from time to time for no other reason than their beauty against the sky.
I appreciate that. I also appreciate that all the criticisms of the Twin Towers seemed justified until you lived with them for a few years. Then you begin to understand... They were artistically different. I saw their biggest critics stop on 6th Avenue and stare at them, mid sentence, without thinking about about it, for 3 minutes at a time,...just stopped and staring. Ruben
