Stadtgeschichtliches Museum Leipzig

History of the monument

With an abundance of historical photographs and drawings, the exhibition in the Ruhmeshalle presents the history of the concept, the construction and the reception of the monument. The photographs, many of which have not been published yet, are printed on 21 giant textile banners and show the events of the monument’s history in mosaic form, starting with the first idea to build a memorial in the year 1813 via the numerous commemorative structures in 19th-century Leipzig through to the erection of the biggest monument in Europe between 1898 and 1913. The instrumentalization of the monument in the 20th century is a subject of discussion, as is the present process of its integration into a European context. The highlight of the exhibition is a specially produced 20-minute documentary showing a wide range of moving pictures of Leipzig’s landmark from many film archives.