Hermann Heights Monument
The Hermann Heights Monument is a statue in New Ulm, Minnesota, depicting Arminius, an ancient Cheruscan known locally as Hermann the German. It is the only National Register of Historic Places property of its kind in Minnesota and serves as a remembrance of the German ancestry of many Minnesotans. Visitors can climb a spiral staircase to an observation platform at the base of the statue for views of the town and the Minnesota River Valley. The monument was inspired by the Hermannsdenkmal in Germany, with the setting designed by Julius Berndt. Created by Alfonz Pelzer, it was dedicated in 1897 and later restored in 1998 and 2004.
October 2024 © Schwerdf · CC BY 4.0
July 2021 © Greg Gjerdingen · CC BY 2.0
© Jet Lowe · Public domain
July 2016 © Tony Webster · CC BY-SA 2.0
July 2016 © Tony Webster · CC BY-SA 2.0
Identification | |
| Title | Hermann Heights Monument |
| Type | monument and sculpture |
| Local name | Hermann the German |
| Subject | Arminius (Hermann the German) |
Location and ownership | |
| View from observation platform | the town and the Minnesota River Valley below |
| Visitor access | visitors can climb a spiral staircase to an observation platform at the base of the statue |
| Location | New Ulm, Minnesota, United States |
Historical context | |
| Commissioned by | Julius Berndt and the Sons of Hermann |
| Financed by | the Sons of Hermann |
| Initiators | German immigrants |
| Model | the Hermannsdenkmal near Detmold, Germany |
| Symbolic meaning | German patriotism, with additional emphasis on German-American friendship and integration |
| Historical reference | Arminius and the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, where Germanic tribes under Arminius defeated Roman legions XVII, XVIII, and XIX under Publius Quinctilius Varus in AD 9 |
| Historical interpretation | Arminius was later promoted in Germany as Hermann Deutsch; after Tacitus was rediscovered in the 15th century, German Protestant intellectuals in the first half of the 18th century reinterpreted him as a hero of Alemanni resistance to Roman, that is, papal, authority; in the 19th century he also came to symbolize Pan-German unity and resistance to Revolutionary France and its language |
| Purpose | to commemorate German ancestry among Minnesotans and the German victory over Rome at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest |
Appearance | |
| Pose | gazing eastward with an upraised sword |
| Interpretation of pose | freedom from Rome |
Physical characteristics | |
| Top statue height | just under ten meters |
| Overall height | about 31 meters |
| Base | eight-meter-high dome supported by eleven columns |
Materials | |
| Base material | dolomitic Kasota limestone |
| Top statue material | copper |
Creator | |
| Top statue designer | Alfonzo Pelzer |
| Top statue manufacturer | W. H. Mullins Manufacturing Company, Salem, Ohio, United States |
History and restoration | |
| Restoration | structural and cosmetic restoration projects in 1998 and 2004 |
| Arrival of statue | 1890 |
| Construction delay | construction was repeatedly delayed because of a lack of money |
| Dedication | 25 September 1897 |
| Completion | 25 September 1897 |
| Groundbreaking | 1888 |
Significance | |
| Historic designation | the only National Register of Historic Places property of its kind in Minnesota |
| National Register of Historic Places | added in 1973 |
| Congressional designation | In 2000, the United States Congress designated the Hermann monument in New Ulm as the official symbol of the historical heritage of German immigrants in the United States and as a symbol of all citizens of Germanic heritage |
| Size ranking | third-largest copper monument in the United States, after the Statue of Liberty and Portlandia in Portland, Oregon |
Other | |
| Related cultural work | Hermann the German: The Scandal that Rocked New Ulm!, a comedy stage play first staged at the 2014 Minnesota Fringe Festival and later performed at the New Ulm Actors Community Theatre |