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Lessing Monument on Gänsemarkt

Lessing Monument on Gänsemarkt

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Lessing Monument on Gänsemarkt

Recommended by 204 hikers out of 209

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Location: Hamburg, Germany

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Best Hikes to Lessing Monument on Gänsemarkt

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1. Speicherstadt Hamburg – View of the Elbphilharmonie loop from Hamburg-Veddel

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2. View of the Outer Alster – Outer Alster loop from Hauptbahnhof Nord

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3. Speicherstadt, Hamburg – Speicherstadt loop from Sternschanze (Messe)

19.3km

05:00

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Hard hike. Very good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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November 21, 2022

During the Christmas season, the memorial disappears between the stalls of the Christmas market.

Translated by Google •

JR56

January 5, 2023

When it was unveiled on the 100th anniversary of the death of the poet Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729–1781), the monument by sculptor Fritz Schaper provoked fierce criticism, as a casually seated poet was considered undignified. A petition for change was even submitted – unsuccessfully. The larger-than-life bronze figure on a 2.5-meter-high granite pedestal was the winning design in a sculpture competition. The five remaining works depicted statues or colossal busts, while Fritz Schaper was the only one to create a seated statue, winning the competition. The depiction is highly detailed and lifelike. The monument was located on Hamburg's Gänsemarkt square after Lessing lived in the Hanseatic city from 1767 to 1770, where he worked as a dramaturge and consultant at the newly opened Hamburg National Theater.

Work Details
Fritz Schaper: Lessing Monument (1881, Bronze)
Gänsemarkt, 20354 Hamburg (Neustadt)

Coordinates: 53.55514, 9.9885

sh-kunst.de/fritz-schaper-lessingdenkmal

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JR56

May 14, 2022

The Lessing Memorial on the Gänsemarkt in Hamburg is a work of art created by the Berlin sculptor Fritz Schaper. It was erected in 1881 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing.
The memorial is located in the center of the Gänsemarkt. It consists of a 2.20-meter-high bronze figure on a 2.50-meter-high granite pedestal. It weighs approximately 4.5 tons.

Lessing is depicted larger than life and seated on a chair. He wears an 18th-century costume consisting of a skirt, frilled jabot, waistcoat, knee breeches, silk stockings, and buckled shoes. His clothing features many details, right down to the folds of his stockings and the seams of his trousers.

Lessing's facial features are depicted in a slightly idealized manner. In contrast to lifelike portraits, his eyes are somewhat smaller, his forehead less high, and his cheekbones more pronounced. This can be interpreted as Schaper's attempt to give Lessing's face an expression of energy and intellectual boldness.[4] The two halves of the face express different emotions: the right appears somewhat melancholic,
the left shows the hint of a smile.

The chair on which Lessing sits is covered by his wrinkled traveling coat.
Lessing's sitting posture is described as casual. His body is turned slightly to the side and backward, his head turned in the opposite direction to the right. His right arm rests on his thigh, while his left rests on the back of the chair. In his left hand, Lessing holds a closed book, using his index finger as a bookmark. Lessing's right leg is bent backward, while his left leg is pushed forward,
a posture similar to that of stage actors and orchestral musicians.

A round bronze plate bearing the signatures of Fritz Schaper and the foundry H. Gladenbeck and Son serves as the base for the chair and Lessing's feet.

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lessing-Denkmal_(Hamburg)

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Elevation 50 m

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Location: Hamburg, Germany

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Lessing Monument on Gänsemarkt

1. Speicherstadt Hamburg – View of the Elbphilharmonie loop from Hamburg-Veddel

2. View of the Outer Alster – Outer Alster loop from Hauptbahnhof Nord

3. Speicherstadt, Hamburg – Speicherstadt loop from Sternschanze (Messe)

Other Popular Places to Check Out

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