Erlkönig

You just have to be careful not to drive past it.
Otherwise a beautiful monument in an idyllic place.

The Jena Erlkönig is a monument in Jena.It stands on the way from Wenigenjena to Kunitz in the Saaleaue in front of a rock face and reminds of the ballade by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Originally executed by Theodor Wolff as a wooden sculpture, the statue was replaced in 1891 on behalf of the owner of Schloss Thalstein, Wolf von Tümpling, by a stone figure of Otto Späte.It is a mighty, larger than life figure of the Erlkönigs, who, as an old man with a long beard and robe, extends his hand over a pond below him. Actually, the statue carries a sword in the right hand, this was in the context of the recent refurbishment also attached again, but it has unknown people removed or destroyed.According to a legend, Goethe is said to have learned the story of the Erlkönig from a farmer in the inn "Grüne Tanne" and to have written it in a poem. The location of the ballad should be identical with the location of the monument; the landscape on the spot with its trees and the fog, which is common on all flood plains, should be recognizable in the poem. Another, now refuted legend tells of a ride of Goethe from Jena to Dornburg and the inspiration of the poet through the ascending hall fog.On April 27, 1990, the 0.6-acre site was placed as a surface natural monument under protection. Since 2004, the monument is a designated station of the Saale cycle path. The scenic route leads cyclists past the Erlkönig monument to Thalstein Castle and on to Kunitz.
(Wikipedia)