Lessing Monument in Braunschweig Audio guide

Monument to an Enlightenment poet

The Lessing Monument in Braunschweig commemorates one of the most important German thinkers of the Enlightenment, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing. It was ceremonially unveiled on September 29, 1853, on today’s Lessing Square. The creation of the memorial was linked to the rediscovery of Lessing’s grave in 1833 and to the city’s growing effort to honor an author closely associated with Braunschweig.

The design was worked on by the Dresden sculptor Ernst Rietschel, one of the leading artists of his time. The bronze statue was cast by the Braunschweig bell-founder Georg Howaldt, for whom it was an exceptionally important commission. The figure stands 2.60 meters tall, and the head was modeled on a portrait bust by Christian Friedrich Krull. The base is made of Harz granite, giving the monument a solid and restrained expression in keeping with the period of its creation.

For Braunschweig, the monument also had technical significance, as it was the first statue of a human figure in the city. During the Second World War, it was moved to Wendhausen to protect it from damage. In 1947, it returned to its original site. Today it is not only a tribute to Lessing’s personality, but also evidence of how urban memory and public space took shape in the 19th century.