Prussia Columns

The Prussians are two pillars about 15 m tall monuments that were built in the years 1854 and 1855 on behalf of the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm IV on the southeast coast of the island of Rügen in Neukamp and Great Stresow. Both towns are now districts of official free community Putbus.

The monument at Neukamp was inaugurated on October 15, 1854, at the United Stresow exactly one year later, on the 60th birthday of Frederick William IV. Parts of the pedestals and especially the column drums were from one of the largest boulders in northern Germany, the Great Stone at Nardevitz on Jasmund peninsula of Rügen, beaten. This is still impressive, about three feet from the ground, towering boulder was thus largely destroyed. (see also: erratics on and around Rügen)

The monuments should remember the landings of Brandenburg and Prussian troops later in 1678 or 1715 and demonstrate the claim to power of Prussia over the southern Baltic Sea region. That the Peace of Westphalia of 1648 to Swedish Pomerania Rügen was associated by each briefly wrested from the Swedish rule, but then ceded by respective peace treaties back in Sweden.

Historical Background

Neukamp

In the Swedish -Brandenburg War (1674-1679) succeeded Frederick William, the " Great Elector " of Brandenburg, allied with the Danish king Christian V, in September 1678 by an invasion of Ruegen, to conquer the island. The Danes landed under the command of Admiral Nils Juel on September 13, 1678 on the Wittow peninsula and established after the expulsion of the weak Swedish occupation in Wittow at the transition to Schaabe at today Juliusruh a jump, which is still well preserved as archaeological monument (from the south coming right on the entrance sign ).

The Great Elector landed on the same day with the Brandenburg troops (7000-8000 men) under the command of Field Marshal Derfflinger of Greifswald Greifswald Bodden coming with its fleet of 350 sailing ships and 150 rowboats, on the southeastern coast of Rügen in Neukamp. The entrenched there Sweden under King Mark were pushed back by Altefaehr to local Fährschanze and then to Stralsund Stralsund and besieged by the mainland and the island. The fort surrendered on October 12, 1678 cut off from supplies and reinforcements.

The today well-preserved ski jump at Neukamp located directly behind the monument.

In the Treaty of Saint- Germain of June 29, 1679 Brandenburg had then but Vorpommern, Rügen and thus, again return to Sweden.

Great Stresow

As part of the Great Northern War (1700-1721), the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm I. landed, allied with the Danish king Frederick IV, on 15 November 1715 his troops ( 20000-24000 man) under the leadership of the "Old Dessauer " in Great Stresow and drove the Swedes who. , under the leadership of their king Karl XII were, from the island of Rügen to Stralsund Stralsund on the, which was for some time besieged by the Danes and Prussians, but received so far Swedish replenishment on Rügen. After further siege to the trapped in the city of Stralsund Sweden revealed on December 23, 1715, where Charles XII. could escape only in a fishing boat on the Baltic Sea. Nevertheless, Prussia had again returned to Sweden as a result of the peace agreement of 14 August 1719 the island.

Erection of monuments

The designs for the given by Friedrich Wilhelm IV commissioned monuments date from the architect Friedrich August Stiller. The sculptor Wilhelm Forward resulted from the statues. These are each about 3.40 m high and as well as the capitals, where the statues are then available on the granite pillars, made ​​of Saxon sandstone. The total cost amounted at that time to exactly 6815 Reichstaler.

Recent History to the Present

1985, 130 years after the erection of monuments, historic preservation, experts from VEB Dresden on the occasion of an investigation, the stability of the column in question. After a crisis meeting on September 11, 1990 in Berlin Putbus a stonemason and restorer was awarded the contract for dismantling of both monuments. End of November 1991, both monuments were then dismantled and transported the column drums, capitals and statues for Werkstatthof the master mason in Berlin- Pankow. There were originally supposed to be made ​​copies of the column drums, capitals and statues, as was discouraged because of severe damage of the original parts from a " repair ". The column drums were once centrally connected together with iron pins. Due to the strong corrosion of many decades in these iron connecting pieces of granite had been blown in part, what had led primarily to the collapse hazards caused by the formation of cracks and splits. But the statues are so heavily eroded by weather and lightning strikes that some contours are already irretrievably destroyed. The material to be prepared for any copies, so Elbsandstone for the capitals and statues and Bornholm granite - from the yes and the boulder at Nardevitz is, the once the six five -ton column drums were beaten - it would be easily procurable.

Further damage occurred during disassembly. The designated master stonemason impact drills used in order to solve the said iron pins, held together the different parts of the granite. Thereby in part pieces were pried at the respective ends of the drums. The to be seen on the drum ends boreholes show this clearly. The transport to Berlin did not go smoothly, because it broke the statue of Friedrich Wilhelm I of Great Stresow in the legs. Also, the head broke away and was re-adhered by the master stonemason.

Due to ongoing lack of money in the Rügen, which is owned by the monuments, was in the following years, with the exception of the completion of the capitals, hardly worked on the project. Here, for example, plays a role that in the granting of subsidies making copies over the restoration of original monuments has a lower priority.

One in March 2003 decided upon by the working group " Prussia pillars" stages plan was the following: First, the pedestals of both monuments, the column drums and finally the stills should take its rightful place again until 2010. Even parts of the pedestals were at Neukamp disordered around the location of monuments. The idea of ​​this phased plan was that a visible beginning must be made ​​to attract sponsors and increase the willingness to donate. Looking for sponsors for this project, for example, even the royal houses of Denmark and Sweden were contacted by the Ruegen district council president.

In April 2004 it was decided that the original parts to the 150th anniversary of the inauguration of the first column of Prussia, ie until 15 October 2004 to reclaim the island. However, that journey alone failed again to financing problems, as only a symbolic amount of € 500 was entered in the budget of the district for the two monuments.

In October 2004, the 3.30 m high pedestal of Prussia column could be recovered in large Stresow. As the result of prior soil investigations suggested, in the establishment of this monument of the soil had been solidified to a depth of 5.80 m with stones of a previously located at this place megalithic tomb. This was again confirmed in the work of the foundation. The required about 20,000 euros were from donations, applied by the district savings bank complaints, and the German Foundation for Monument Protection.

On 2 September 2005, the original parts were unprocessed transported from Berlin to Putbus and has since then presented in an open area on the avenue road, near the Circus, the public. Here, too, happened to the master stonemason a misfortune. The already broken statue of Friedrich Wilhelm I still embraced him in the workshop. Here, the braid, the nose, parts of the brim of the hat and the arm broke off. After almost 15 years now all the parts are back on Rügen to allow an independent assessment by experts. An information board pointed out that it is history of the two monuments and campaigned for donations to their reconstruction.

On April 28, 2006, a symposium on the recovery and restoration of both monuments in Putbus was performed. The organizer of the symposium was the State Office of Culture and Preservation of Mecklenburg- Vorpommern. This gave the following possibility of restoring the original part crystallized: The original parts are centrally pierced in the longitudinal axis. Piece by piece should then be placed after the repair of the damage to the column, with the help of introduced through the bore solid stainless steel tubes, the loads of each part are included. Accordingly, each of the column supports only its own weight, the inner stainless steel construction and is not visible with a new foundation but the overall loads. Although this solution is controversial, but would (only ) cost about 80,000 euros per column. Faced with a budget deficit of approximately 9.5 million euros in the Rügen at the end of 2007, but the money would not be in the year 2008.

In the summer of 2008 succeeded at least prepare the pedestal in Neukamp again - without taking into account the proposed solution at the symposium.

On 10 July 2012, the column of Neukamp " offices for building structures GmbH" by the company " historic preservation Mühlhausen " was rebuilt after an engineering concept. The figure of the Great Elector, was set up on 22 August 2012.