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Reiterdenkmal, Windhoek

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  • Art
  • Tour Agency
  • Landmark Historical Place
  • Landmark & Historical Place

Description

The Equestrian Monument, more commonly known under its German original name Reiterdenkmal and the name Südwester Reiter (Rider of South West), is a statue in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. It was inaugurated on 27 January 1912, the birthday of German emperor Wilhelm II. The monument honours the soldiers and civilians that died on the German side of the Herero and Namaqua War of 1904–1907, a situation that caused controversy about its current role in a democratic Namibia that has shed its colonial occupation and gained independence. The bronze statue, without its granite pedestal, is currently in storage in the courtyard of the Alte Feste.Creation and erectionThe Reiterdenkmal was financed privately and designed by Berlin sculptor Adolf Kürle. The equestrian statue is 4.5m tall and made from bronze. It was created in Berlin and shipped to German South West Africa in 1911. After its arrival in Swakopmund it was transported by train to Windhoek. The plinth is 5m tall and consists of approximately 180 granite rocks from Okahandja. It has a plaque mounted on it that remembers the German soldiers and civilians that died in the Herero and Namaqua War of 1904–1907, as well as in the Kalahari Expedition in 1908. The translation of the inscription is:

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