Isted Lion
Encyclopedia
The Isted Lion is a Danish
war monument
originally intended as a monument of the Danish victory over Schleswig-Holstein
in the Battle of Isted
(Idstedt
) on July 25, 1850 — at its time the largest battle in Scandinavia
n history. Others perceived it more as a memorial for the Danish dead in the battle.
Originally erected in Flensburg
, Schleswig
, it was moved to Berlin
by Prussia
n authorities and remained there until 1945. It was returned to Denmark as a gift from the United States Army
and was located at Søren Kierkegaards Plads
in Copenhagen
. In September 2011 it returned to Flensburg.
Following the Danish victory over Schleswig-Holstein
in the First War of Schleswig
(1848–51), Danish sculptor Herman Wilhelm Bissen
was commissioned to create a monument to the ordinary Danish soldier. Although not an actual Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
, his monument reflected a similar idea. This monument Landsoldaten (the Foot Soldier) was unveiled in Fredericia
in 1858.
At the following banquet, it was decided to start a public subscription of funds for a second monument, and one of the options discussed was a statue of General Frederik Rubeck Henrik Bülow, the commander of Fredericia during the German siege
of the town. Through the intervention of politician Orla Lehmann
, it was decided that the funds would instead be used for a monument commemorating the Battle of Isted. Like the previous monument, this commission was awarded to Bissen.
The lion is derived from the arms of Denmark
and Schleswig
which contain three and two blue lions, respectively. In order to create a perfect image of a lion, Bissen travelled to Paris
to study a lion held in the Jardin des Plantes
and created a life-size model before returning to Denmark.
Bissen completed his first plaster model in 1860, and the bronze
cast was completed by June 1862. The statue's plinth
of Bornholm
stone was decorated with four round metal relief
s depicting four Danish officers from the war; Generals Gerhard Christoph von Krogh
and Friderich Adolph Schleppegrell
and Colonels Hans Helgesen and Frederik Læssøe. The finished monument was approximately four meters tall, and carried the following inscription:
Isted den 25. Juli 1850. Det danske Folk reiste dette Minde
(Isted, 25 July 1850. The Danish people set this memorial)
The statue was unveiled on the 12th anniversary of the battle, July 25, 1862, at St. Mary's Cemetery in Flensburg
, Schleswig
's largest city. Among the celebrities attending the ceremony was fairy-tale writer Hans Christian Andersen
.
Erecting the monument in Flensburg rather than Copenhagen
or Isted
, was seen as a provocation by the region's German nationalists who opposed the Danish claim to sovereignty over the area. The decision to let the lion face south reinforced this feeling.
to the region, culminating in the German victory in the Battle of Dybbøl
. In the following peace settlement, Denmark surrendered both Schleswig and Holstein, leaving the monument on the German side of the new border.
Following the occupation of Flensburg by German
forces, German nationalists attacked the monument and tried to topple it. They succeeded in removing the tail and part of the lion's back but failed to destroy the statue due to the intervention of German authorities.
The Prime Minister of Prussia, Otto von Bismarck
, ordered the monument to be dismantled, and its parts were originally stored in the courtyard of the Schleswig Estates
in Flensburg. In 1867, the lion and the four reliefs were moved to Berlin
at the order of Generalfeldmarschall
Friedrich Graf von Wrangel
.
The reassembled lion was erected in the Zeughaus
(Arsenal) in Berlin on February 9, 1868. Following the transformation of the arsenal into a military museum in 1875, the lion was transported to the Cadet Academy in Lichterfelde, and erected there in April 1878. The lion remained there for more than 60 years.
In 1874, a zinc
copy of the monument was erected in Berlin in a public park, Schweiz, near the Colonie Alsen association of war veterans. This monument was paid for by banker Wilhelm Conrad. A path leading up to the statue was fittingly dubbed, Straße zum Löwen, i.e. the Road to the Lion.
On the copy, the reliefs of the four Danish officers were replaced with a single image of the German officer Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia
, in effect reversing the meaning of the original monument. In 1938, the Danish press reported the existence of the copy of the historic monument, and at roughly the same time, the zinc copy was moved to Heckeshorn near the Wannsee, where it remains today. This location is close to the building housing what would later be known as the Wannsee Conference
. The statue in Berlin was repaired in 2005.
Following the defeat of Nazi Germany
in World War II
, Henrik V. Ringsted - correspondent from the Danish newspaper Politiken
- "rediscovered" the monument in Berlin
and approached the United States Army about a possible return of the statue. The issue ultimately reached the desk of General Dwight D. Eisenhower
, the Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe, who demanded an official request in order to allow the return of the monument. Such a request was promptly delivered by Danish Foreign Minister
John Christmas Møller
. Møller said, "The removal of this sepulchral monument, which in this country is considered a national sanctuary, and its erection in a German military academy, caused a resentment which till this very day is still alive in wide circles of the Danish people."
In the autumn of 1945 the paperwork had been completed, and an American army convoy headed for Copenhagen, where it arrived on October 5. On October 20, the lion was officially handed over to King Christian X
. In what was considered an interim solution, the lion was placed in a courtyard on the rear side of the Royal Danish Arsenal Museum (Tøjhusmuseet) and placed on a mere wooden plinth.
From 1945 to 1947, a large number of Danish politicians advocated for a re-annexation of Southern Schleswig
, and in particular Flensburg
- resulting in a fierce political debate. As the debate ended with a confirmation of the existing border, the same politicians ruled out the possibility of returning the statue to a German-ruled town. On a number of occasions, controversy over the monument resurfaced, as a new generation of politicians began advocating for its return to a German-administered Flensburg.
In 1999, construction of a new public square
near the museum began, prompted by a relocation of the Danish Royal Library
to a neighbouring site. Debate about moving the lion to this more prominent position began, and the Ny-Carlsberg Foundation volunteered to pay for the relocation. The wooden plinth was replaced with a bigger one made of brick, and the statue was reunited with its four reliefs for the first time in more than a century. The finished result was unveiled on the 150th anniversary of the battle, July 25, 2000, by Danish Minister for Culture
Elsebeth Gerner Nielsen. In her speech, she expressed the wish that the statue would be returned to Flensburg. In a Parliament debate on November 20, 1998 she had previously stated that the statue should be returned to Flensburg, since this was the wish of the Danish minority there.
A committee in Fredericia
, already the home of Bissen's other main work, the statue of the Foot Soldier, was lobbying for moving the monument there.
.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
war monument
Monument
A monument is a type of structure either explicitly created to commemorate a person or important event or which has become important to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, or simply as an example of historic architecture...
originally intended as a monument of the Danish victory over Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
in the Battle of Isted
Battle of Isted
The Battle of Isted took place on July 25, 1850, near the village of Idstedt, today Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The battle was part of the First Schleswig War....
(Idstedt
Idstedt
Idstedt is a village in Schleswig-Flensburg district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is located c. 10 km. NNW of the city of Schleswig and east of the Bundesautobahn 7.The Battle of Isted happened there on 24-25 July 1850 during the First War of Schleswig....
) on July 25, 1850 — at its time the largest battle in Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n history. Others perceived it more as a memorial for the Danish dead in the battle.
Originally erected in Flensburg
Flensburg
Flensburg is an independent town in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the region of Southern Schleswig...
, Schleswig
Schleswig
Schleswig or South Jutland is a region covering the area about 60 km north and 70 km south of the border between Germany and Denmark; the territory has been divided between the two countries since 1920, with Northern Schleswig in Denmark and Southern Schleswig in Germany...
, it was moved to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
by Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n authorities and remained there until 1945. It was returned to Denmark as a gift from the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and was located at Søren Kierkegaards Plads
Søren Kierkegaards Plads
Søren Kierkegaards Plads is a harbourside public square on Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It occupies a strip of waterfront between the Black Diamond, whose main entrance faces the square, and the Frederiksholm Canal. Away from the water, the square is faced by Christian IV's...
in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
. In September 2011 it returned to Flensburg.
Flensburg
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
in the First War of Schleswig
First War of Schleswig
The First Schleswig War or Three Years' War was the first round of military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig-Holstein Question, contesting the issue of who should control the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. The war, which lasted from 1848–1851,...
(1848–51), Danish sculptor Herman Wilhelm Bissen
Herman Wilhelm Bissen
Herman Wilhelm Bissen was a Danish sculptor.Bissen first studied painting in Copenhagen, then became a pupil of the sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen. In 1824, he travelled to Rome and met Christian Daniel Rauch in Berlin. Under the influence of Thorvaldsen, his style changed from romanticism to...
was commissioned to create a monument to the ordinary Danish soldier. Although not an actual Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier refers to a grave in which the unidentifiable remains of a soldier are interred. Such tombs can be found in many nations and are usually high-profile national monuments. Throughout history, many soldiers have died in wars without their remains being identified...
, his monument reflected a similar idea. This monument Landsoldaten (the Foot Soldier) was unveiled in Fredericia
Fredericia
Fredericia is a town located in Fredericia municipality in the eastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark, in a sub-region known locally as Trekanten, or The Triangle...
in 1858.
At the following banquet, it was decided to start a public subscription of funds for a second monument, and one of the options discussed was a statue of General Frederik Rubeck Henrik Bülow, the commander of Fredericia during the German siege
Battle of Fredericia
The Battle of Fredericia was fought between soldiers of Schleswig-Holstein and Denmark on July 6, 1849 at Fredericia in Denmark. The battle was a part of the First Schleswig War, which was a conflict between Schleswig-Holstein, supported by several German states, and Denmark...
of the town. Through the intervention of politician Orla Lehmann
Orla Lehmann
Peter Martin Orla Lehmann was a Danish statesman, a key figure in the development of Denmark's parliamentary government....
, it was decided that the funds would instead be used for a monument commemorating the Battle of Isted. Like the previous monument, this commission was awarded to Bissen.
The lion is derived from the arms of Denmark
Coat of arms of Denmark
The royal coat of arms is more complex. The shield is quartered by a silver cross fimbriated in red, derived from the Danish flag, the Dannebrog. The first and fourth quarters represent Denmark by three crowned lions passant accompanied by nine hearts; the second quarter contains two lions passant...
and Schleswig
Coat of arms of Schleswig
The coat of arms of Schleswig depicts two blue lions in a golden shield. It is the heraldic symbol of the former Duchy of Schleswig, originally a Danish province but later disputed between Danes and Germans. The region has been divided between Germany and Denmark since 1920 and the symbol...
which contain three and two blue lions, respectively. In order to create a perfect image of a lion, Bissen travelled to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to study a lion held in the Jardin des Plantes
Jardin des Plantes
The Jardin des Plantes is the main botanical garden in France. It is one of seven departments of the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle. It is situated in the 5ème arrondissement, Paris, on the left bank of the river Seine and covers 28 hectares .- Garden plan :The grounds of the Jardin des...
and created a life-size model before returning to Denmark.
Bissen completed his first plaster model in 1860, and the bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
cast was completed by June 1862. The statue's plinth
Plinth
In architecture, a plinth is the base or platform upon which a column, pedestal, statue, monument or structure rests. Gottfried Semper's The Four Elements of Architecture posited that the plinth, the hearth, the roof, and the wall make up all of architectural theory. The plinth usually rests...
of Bornholm
Bornholm
Bornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea located to the east of the rest of Denmark, the south of Sweden, and the north of Poland. The main industries on the island include fishing, arts and crafts like glass making and pottery using locally worked clay, and dairy farming. Tourism is...
stone was decorated with four round metal relief
Relief
Relief is a sculptural technique. The term relief is from the Latin verb levo, to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is thus to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane...
s depicting four Danish officers from the war; Generals Gerhard Christoph von Krogh
Gerhard Christoph von Krogh
Gerhard Christoph von Krogh was a Danish military officer.The son of Friderich Ferdinand von Krogh and Rosina Elizabeth von Frankenberg, on 6 February 1813 he married Siegfriede Victorine Knuth....
and Friderich Adolph Schleppegrell
Friderich Adolph Schleppegrell
Friderich Adolph von Schleppegrell was a Dano-Norwegian military officer.He was born in Brunlanes. He became a military officer in 1807, and took part in the Gunboat War for Denmark-Norway...
and Colonels Hans Helgesen and Frederik Læssøe. The finished monument was approximately four meters tall, and carried the following inscription:
Isted den 25. Juli 1850. Det danske Folk reiste dette Minde
(Isted, 25 July 1850. The Danish people set this memorial)
The statue was unveiled on the 12th anniversary of the battle, July 25, 1862, at St. Mary's Cemetery in Flensburg
Flensburg
Flensburg is an independent town in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the region of Southern Schleswig...
, Schleswig
Schleswig
Schleswig or South Jutland is a region covering the area about 60 km north and 70 km south of the border between Germany and Denmark; the territory has been divided between the two countries since 1920, with Northern Schleswig in Denmark and Southern Schleswig in Germany...
's largest city. Among the celebrities attending the ceremony was fairy-tale writer Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author, fairy tale writer, and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "The Snow Queen," "The Little Mermaid," "Thumbelina," "The Little Match Girl," and "The Ugly Duckling."...
.
Erecting the monument in Flensburg rather than Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
or Isted
Idstedt
Idstedt is a village in Schleswig-Flensburg district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is located c. 10 km. NNW of the city of Schleswig and east of the Bundesautobahn 7.The Battle of Isted happened there on 24-25 July 1850 during the First War of Schleswig....
, was seen as a provocation by the region's German nationalists who opposed the Danish claim to sovereignty over the area. The decision to let the lion face south reinforced this feeling.
Berlin
In 1864, war returnedSecond War of Schleswig
The Second Schleswig War was the second military conflict as a result of the Schleswig-Holstein Question. It began on 1 February 1864, when Prussian forces crossed the border into Schleswig.Denmark fought Prussia and Austria...
to the region, culminating in the German victory in the Battle of Dybbøl
Battle of Dybbøl
The Battle of Dybbøl was the key battle of the Second War of Schleswig and occurred on the morning of 18 April 1864 following a siege lasting from 7 April. Denmark suffered a severe defeat against the German Confederation which decided the war...
. In the following peace settlement, Denmark surrendered both Schleswig and Holstein, leaving the monument on the German side of the new border.
German Confederation
The German Confederation was the loose association of Central European states created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to coordinate the economies of separate German-speaking countries. It acted as a buffer between the powerful states of Austria and Prussia...
forces, German nationalists attacked the monument and tried to topple it. They succeeded in removing the tail and part of the lion's back but failed to destroy the statue due to the intervention of German authorities.
The Prime Minister of Prussia, Otto von Bismarck
Otto von Bismarck
Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg , simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a Prussian-German statesman whose actions unified Germany, made it a major player in world affairs, and created a balance of power that kept Europe at peace after 1871.As Minister President of...
, ordered the monument to be dismantled, and its parts were originally stored in the courtyard of the Schleswig Estates
Estates of the realm
The Estates of the realm were the broad social orders of the hierarchically conceived society, recognized in the Middle Ages and Early Modern period in Christian Europe; they are sometimes distinguished as the three estates: the clergy, the nobility, and commoners, and are often referred to by...
in Flensburg. In 1867, the lion and the four reliefs were moved to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
at the order of Generalfeldmarschall
Generalfeldmarschall
Field Marshal or Generalfeldmarschall in German, was a rank in the armies of several German states and the Holy Roman Empire; in the Austrian Empire, the rank Feldmarschall was used...
Friedrich Graf von Wrangel
Friedrich Graf von Wrangel
Friedrich Heinrich Ernst Graf von Wrangel was a Generalfeldmarschall of the Prussian Army. He was nicknamed Papa Wrangel....
.
The reassembled lion was erected in the Zeughaus
Zeughaus
The Zeughaus of Berlin is the oldest structure on the Unter den Linden. It was built by the Brandenburg Elector Frederick III between 1695 and 1730 in the baroque style, to be used as an artillery arsenal...
(Arsenal) in Berlin on February 9, 1868. Following the transformation of the arsenal into a military museum in 1875, the lion was transported to the Cadet Academy in Lichterfelde, and erected there in April 1878. The lion remained there for more than 60 years.
In 1874, a zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
copy of the monument was erected in Berlin in a public park, Schweiz, near the Colonie Alsen association of war veterans. This monument was paid for by banker Wilhelm Conrad. A path leading up to the statue was fittingly dubbed, Straße zum Löwen, i.e. the Road to the Lion.
On the copy, the reliefs of the four Danish officers were replaced with a single image of the German officer Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia
Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia
Prince Friedrich Carl Nicolaus of Prussia was the son of Prince Charles of Prussia and his wife Princess Marie of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach . Prince Frederick Charles was a grandson of King Frederick William III of Prussia and a nephew of Frederick William IV and William I...
, in effect reversing the meaning of the original monument. In 1938, the Danish press reported the existence of the copy of the historic monument, and at roughly the same time, the zinc copy was moved to Heckeshorn near the Wannsee, where it remains today. This location is close to the building housing what would later be known as the Wannsee Conference
Wannsee Conference
The Wannsee Conference was a meeting of senior officials of the Nazi German regime, held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee on 20 January 1942. The purpose of the conference was to inform administrative leaders of Departments responsible for various policies relating to Jews, that Reinhard Heydrich...
. The statue in Berlin was repaired in 2005.
Copenhagen
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Henrik V. Ringsted - correspondent from the Danish newspaper Politiken
Politiken
Politiken is a Danish daily broadsheet newspaper, published by JP/Politikens Hus.The newspaper comes third among Danish newspapers in terms of both number of readers and circulated copies ....
- "rediscovered" the monument in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and approached the United States Army about a possible return of the statue. The issue ultimately reached the desk of General Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
, the Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe, who demanded an official request in order to allow the return of the monument. Such a request was promptly delivered by Danish Foreign Minister
Foreign Minister of Denmark
The Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs handles Denmark's foreign affairs. The Foreign Minister works in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.The current Minister for Foreign Affairs is Villy Søvndal.-External links:***...
John Christmas Møller
John Christmas Møller
Guido Leo John Christmas Møller, usually known as Christmas Møller was a Danish politician representing the Conservative People's Party.-Life:...
. Møller said, "The removal of this sepulchral monument, which in this country is considered a national sanctuary, and its erection in a German military academy, caused a resentment which till this very day is still alive in wide circles of the Danish people."
In the autumn of 1945 the paperwork had been completed, and an American army convoy headed for Copenhagen, where it arrived on October 5. On October 20, the lion was officially handed over to King Christian X
Christian X of Denmark
Christian X was King of Denmark from 1912 to 1947 and the only King of Iceland between 1918 and 1944....
. In what was considered an interim solution, the lion was placed in a courtyard on the rear side of the Royal Danish Arsenal Museum (Tøjhusmuseet) and placed on a mere wooden plinth.
From 1945 to 1947, a large number of Danish politicians advocated for a re-annexation of Southern Schleswig
Southern Schleswig
Southern Schleswig denotes the southern half of the former Duchy of Schleswig on the Jutland Peninsula. The geographical area today covers the thirty or forty northernmost kilometers of Germany up to the Flensburg Fjord, where it borders on Denmark...
, and in particular Flensburg
Flensburg
Flensburg is an independent town in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the region of Southern Schleswig...
- resulting in a fierce political debate. As the debate ended with a confirmation of the existing border, the same politicians ruled out the possibility of returning the statue to a German-ruled town. On a number of occasions, controversy over the monument resurfaced, as a new generation of politicians began advocating for its return to a German-administered Flensburg.
In 1999, construction of a new public square
Public Square
Public Square is the central plaza in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It takes up four city blocks; Superior Avenue and Ontario Street cross through it. Cleveland's three tallest buildings, Key Tower, 200 Public Square and the Terminal Tower, face the square...
near the museum began, prompted by a relocation of the Danish Royal Library
Danish Royal Library
The Royal Library in Copenhagen is the national library of Denmark and university library of University of Copenhagen. It is the largest library in the Nordic countries....
to a neighbouring site. Debate about moving the lion to this more prominent position began, and the Ny-Carlsberg Foundation volunteered to pay for the relocation. The wooden plinth was replaced with a bigger one made of brick, and the statue was reunited with its four reliefs for the first time in more than a century. The finished result was unveiled on the 150th anniversary of the battle, July 25, 2000, by Danish Minister for Culture
Culture Minister of Denmark
Culture Minister of Denmark is the Danish political minister office responsible for culture, head of the Ministry of Culture of Denmark.The political responsibility for culture, as well as church and education, was with the Kultus Minister from 1848 to 1916 when that post was split up into the...
Elsebeth Gerner Nielsen. In her speech, she expressed the wish that the statue would be returned to Flensburg. In a Parliament debate on November 20, 1998 she had previously stated that the statue should be returned to Flensburg, since this was the wish of the Danish minority there.
A committee in Fredericia
Fredericia
Fredericia is a town located in Fredericia municipality in the eastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark, in a sub-region known locally as Trekanten, or The Triangle...
, already the home of Bissen's other main work, the statue of the Foot Soldier, was lobbying for moving the monument there.
Return to Flensburg
At the request of the city council of Flensburg, the Danish Government decided to return the Isted Lion to its original home in Germany. On September 10 2011 it returned to the military cemetery, where it was first erected. The ceremony was attended by HRH Prince Joachim of DenmarkPrince Joachim of Denmark
Prince Joachim of Denmark, Count of Monpezat, , is a member of the Danish Royal Family. He is the younger son of Queen Margrethe II and Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark....
.