Square Hansi (mit Stele)

Hansi, his real name was Jean Jacques Waltz (1873-1951), was a painter, draftsman and caricaturist. On the eve and during the First World War, he used his eloquence against the Germans, who annexed Alsace in 1871.

Jean Jacques Waltz was born in Colmar in 1873, two years after the area was annexed by Germany. He was the son of André Waltz, a butcher who became manager of a library and then the Unterlinden Museum. During his studies of the “Beaux Arts” in Lyon from 1892 to 1895, he discovered that he had a nostalgic connection with France. He then returned to Alsace and worked first in Cernay and then in Logelbachas a textile designer. In 1909 he resigned to devote himself solely to drawing.

Even before the war, the work of the man who bore the pseudonym “Hansi” from 1907 was characterized by a strong anti-German feeling.

Jean-Jaques Waltz was a graphic artist, draftsman and local historian from Colmar, who was known by the stage name Hansi.

This monument, by General Rapp (1771-1821), was Bartholdi's first public monument. He was only 20 when he created it in 1854. It was originally exhibited on the Champs Elysées in Paris and designed at the 1855 Universal Exhibition. In 1856 the statue was oriented towards Colmar. This colossal bronze statue was altered by the Nazis in 1940. It was placed on an identical pedestal in 1948. the image dominates the square of the same name, transformed and car-free since the summer of 2000.
Source: www-visit-alsace.translate.goog/en/235008827-monument-to-general-rapp/?_x_tr_sl=en&_x_tr_tl=nl&_x_tr_hl=nl&_x_tr_pto=sc
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