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Hercules statue at the Herkulesteich, Gottorf Castle

Hercules statue at the Herkulesteich, Gottorf Castle

Highlight • Monument

Hercules statue at the Herkulesteich, Gottorf Castle

Recommended by 171 hikers out of 174

This Highlight is in a protected area

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Location: Schleswig, Schleswig-Flensburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

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JR on Tour

September 5, 2025

On the lowest terrace of the Baroque garden is the beautiful Hercules Pond... from it rises the beautifully designed sculpture of Hercules, who swings a club

Translated by Google •

JR56

February 8, 2023

The Hercules Pond is the lowest terrace of the Baroque garden of Gottorf Castle, which Duke Friedrich III had built as the "New Work." The Hercules Pond was named after a giant statue depicting the hero (actually Heracles) fighting the Hydra.

In 1994, work began on recovering the more than 300 fragments of this statue and creating a replica, which was then inaugurated in 1997 along with the re-excavated pond.

galerie-av.de/herkules/index.php

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JR56

February 8, 2023

In the center of the Hercules Pond, below the Gottorf Baroque Garden, stands a nearly six-meter-high water-spouting sculpture group depicting Hercules, wearing a lion's cape and carrying a jagged club on his shoulder, fighting the Lernaean Hydra, a multi-headed dragon. Hercules thus allegorically represents the strong and courageous ruler fighting evil.

The sculpture, created around 1640, is reminiscent in its theme and execution of a work by the Dutch sculptor Adriaen de Vries (1556–1616), created in Augsburg in 1602. However, the Gottorf Hercules is attributed to the Dutch sculptor Cornelis van Mander, who worked as a court sculptor in Gottorf.

The Baroque garden north of the Gottorf Palace Island, created in the 17th century, was considered the most important garden in Northern Europe at the time, but declined in importance from the early 18th century onwards. Restoration work began in 1993.
During the restoration of the silted-up pond, 94 fragments of the sculpture, believed to be lost, were discovered scattered in the mud. A cast was made from these fragments in 1996, and a replica was made from them, which now adorns the pond. Some sandstone originals, such as the face, hand, and upper body of Hercules and the heads of the Hydra, are permanently on display in the Lampidarium of the State Museum.

About the work
Cornelis van Mander: Hercules Statue
(17th century, replica 1996)
Hercules Pond at the Baroque Garden, Sculpture Park Schloss Gottorf, 24837 Schleswig

Coordinates: 54.51689, 9.54002

sh-kunst.de/cornelis-van-mander-herkulesstatue

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Tuesday 9 December

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Location: Schleswig, Schleswig-Flensburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

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Hercules statue at the Herkulesteich, Gottorf Castle

1. Schleswig City Harbour – Königswiesen Park loop from Schleswig

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3. Schleswig Town Harbour – Königswiesen Park loop from Altstadt

Other Popular Places to Check Out

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