de Reiterdenkmal - Südwester Reiter , Windhoek - then Alte Feste, Namibia The monument honours the soldiers and civilians that died in the German Colonial wars. But has also been the sight of much - unfortunate controversy. It had been inaugurated on 27 January 1912, the birthday of the German emperor (at the time) Wilhelm II. The Reiterdenkmal was financed privately and designed by Berlin sculptor Adolf Kürle. The equestrian statue is 4.5 metres (15 ft) tall and made from solid bronze. It was smelted in Berlin and shipped to German South-West Africa in 1911. It has a plaque mounted on it that remembers those that died in the colonial wars and expeditions that happened in South West Africa. The monument is unusual when compared to other monuments like it, even those at the time as it displays a corporal on horseback, and not someone of nobility. The Reiterdenkmal has long been controversial. Its continued display of German superiority caused the Cabinet of Namibia, in 2001, to unanimously decided to build an Independence Museum at the site opposite the Christuskirche, at the place the Equestrian Monument stood. The removal of the statue was explicitly endorsed. When in 2009 construction of the museum began, the monument was wrapped, disassembled, and stored at a warehouse. The storage place was kept secret in order not to attract vandals and memorabilia collectors. In 2010, the monument was re-erected in front of the Alte Feste. BUT on the night of 25 December 2013, Christmas day, an order apparently came down from the state to Police Inspector-General Sebastian Ndeitunga; to have the statue removed and be stored in Alte Feste. This Golden Rider of the South-West has since, never been seen. This is our history; we remember. This is Germany - German South West Africa
Posted on: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 20:32:55 +0000
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