page_title: Kyffhäuser Monument
section_title: Features
hierarchical_section_title: Kyffhäuser Monument / Features
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Kyffhäuserdenkmal um 1900
context_page_description: The Kyffhäuser Monument, also known as Barbarossa Monument, is an Emperor William monument in the Kyffhäuser mountain range in the German state of Thuringia. It was erected from 1890 to 1896 atop the ruins of the medieval Kyffhausen Castle near Bad Frankenhausen.
  Designed by architect Bruno Schmitz, it is the third-largest monument in Germany. Schmitz has also designed the two largest memorials, the Monument to the Battle of the Nations, that commemorates the 1813 Battle of Leipzig and the Emperor William Monument at the Porta Westfalica.
context_section_description: A little scenic stone quarry surrounded by terraces on the east side of the monument forms the backdrop for the emperor Frederick Barbarossa sandstone sculpture created by Nikolaus Geiger (1849–1897). The 6.5 m (21 ft) high figure was fashioned on site from several sandstone blocks. At its feet linger knights, mythical creatures and members of his court, with whom the old emperor is lying in wait for resurrection in his underground dungeon. The Barabarossa legend holds, that he would rise again when Germany was in need of his leadership. The emperor himself is depicted as one might imagine an ancient powerful monarch in poems and legends at the very moment of awakening. This moment has been highlighted by the cawling movement of the left hand, that rests in the bottom-long beard and a slightly recessed leg that is not covered by the coat. The emperor doesn't really sleep, he even winks with one eye. Sculptor Nikolaus Geiger decorated the emperor's red beard with the imperial crown, as its original is on display in the Vienna Hofburg.
  Above him towers an equestrian statue of Emperor William I, designed by sculptor Emil Hundrieser (1846–1911) in Neo-baroque style. Wilhelm is depicted as a general, with Pickelhaube and Grand Cross of the Iron Cross, he poses on horseback in a dignified manner. He is flanked by two allegorical sculptures. To the right a Germanic warrior, who represents defense and to the left a woman, holding a pen and an oak leaf wreath, symbolizing history. Both, the Barbarossa and the Wilhelm sculptures represent the idea of the monument's program - the glorification of the monarchy and the military strength of the empire. The whole group has a height of almost 11 m (36 ft) and weighs around 16 tons. The driven copper sheets have a thickness of 2 to 3 mm (0.079 to 0.118 in).
  The Wilhelm sculpture is attached to a 57-metre (187 ft) tower, which is topped by a huge imperial crown. A 247-step stairway leads to a platform on top of the tower, that offers a panoramic view over the Kyffhäuser range to the Harz mountains in the north and down to the Thuringian Forest in the south.
  Since 2014 the site is run by the Kur & Tourismus GmbH Bad Frankenhausen after the Kyffhäuser-Tourismusverband had run into financial difficulties.
caption: The monument around 1900
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