page_title: Emperor William Monument (Porta Westfalica)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Emperor William Monument (Porta Westfalica) / History
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Das Kaiser-Wilhelm-Denkmal in Porta Westfalica mit der wiedererrichteten Ringterrasse.
context_page_description: The Emperor William Monument, near the town of Porta Westfalica in the North Rhine-Westphalian county of Minden-Lübbecke, is a colossal monument above the Weser gorge of Porta Westfalica, the "Gateway to Westphalia". It was erected to honour the first German Emperor, William I, by the then Prussian Province of Westphalia between 1892 and 1896 and emerged against the background of a rising German national identity. The monument, which is around 88 metres high, is classified as one of Germany's national monuments.
  The architect of this prominent monument was Bruno Schmitz and the sculptor was Kaspar von Zumbusch. Since 2008, the monument has formed part of the Road of Monuments. As a result of its dominant geographical site, it is the most important landmark of the town of Porta Westfalica and of northern East Westphalia.
context_section_description: Following the death of Emperor William I, monuments in his honour were built all over Prussia and in other major German cities. On 15 March 1889, the government of the Province of Westphalia voted with a small majority to erect their Emperor William Monument at the Westphalian Gate (Porta Westfalica).
  Caspar von Zumbusch of Herzebrock was commissioned to create the bronze statue of William I. A competition was held by the province to select an architect to design its setting and 58 were submitted. The prizegiving jury, which also came from Zumbusch awarded first prize to Berlin architect, Bruno Schmitz, whose design was chosen for the monument. Another first prize was awarded to Dresden architects, Richard Reuter and Theodor Fischer.
  Preparations for its construction began in summer 1892. The cost of the whole monument, including the purchase of land and the construction of the access road was estimated at 800,000 gold marks; in the end it cost 833,000 gold marks or, according to other sources, as much as 1,000,000 gold marks.
  Around 13,000 cubic metres (460,000 cu ft) of brickwork was built and 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) of stairway. On 18 October 1896 the monument was inaugurated in the presence of Emperor William II and Empress Augusta Victoria during the opening ceremony in which between 15,000 and 20,000 people took part.
  In the Weimar Republic, the emperor had abdicated, so the monument's 25th anniversary passed without being marked. In 1921 a memorial tablet in honour of those who had fallen in the First World War was added. Not until 1926 did the monument become a focal point again when the national associations held a “German Day” here.
  In 2000, the monument itself was restored and it was planned to start the renovation of the surrounding terrace and café in 2013, preceded by replacement of areas of the terrace that had been destroyed in 1946 when British troops blew up a wartime underground production facility.
  From 2013 to 2018 the monument was restored and the area remodelled based on a new visitor concept by architect Peter Bastian from Münster. A restaurant and exhibition room were built in the ring terrace of the monument. After the rebuilding the monument was ceremonially re-opened on 8 July 2018.
caption: Monument with rebuilt ring terrace, 2018
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