Fountains/ Statues, Colmar

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"A military ground for Exercises was developed on the premises in 1793 , and was named "Champ-de-Mars". It was developed into a public park in 1808 in its southern part, while the Place Rapp area remained the privileged site of military review as well as festive and sportive demonstrations. The Rapp monument was erected in 1856, built by Bartholdi. Jean Rapp was born in Colmar and was one of the great generals of Napoleon."

In 2004, to commemorate the centenary of the death of the sculptor "Auguste Bartholdi, a composite statue of 19 meter high, was erected. This is a reproduction of the statue given by France to the United States in 1886. In Colmar there is a museum dedicated to the sculptor.

It represents the Marshal Jean Roesselmann, who lost life in defence of Colmar to the door of Bâle against the lévêque in Strasbourg in 1262 convoitises.
It is noted that the features of the face of the statue are those of the Mayor Hercule Jean-Baptiste de Peyerimhoff. This fountain was erected by Bartholdi in 1888, and it's constructed of bronze.

Lazare de SCHWENDI (1522-1583), Imperial bailiff, fought in Hungary and captured the town of Tokaj (Tokaj) in 1565. According to legend, it would have taken a few plants of the famous wine which he donated to the city of Kaysersberg. Since then, these few plants widely multiplied and made the reputation of any of the Alsatian vineyards under are Tokay dAlsace.
Frédéric-Auguste BARTHOLDI made the statue of SCHWENDI in 1898 , vine plant, which overlooks the fountain in the place of former customs in Colmar.

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"Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi was born in Colmar on 2 August 1834 and died in Paris on 4 October 1904, and is one of the great French sculptors of the 19th century. This pupil of Ary Scheffer made his name in 1855 with a magnificent statue of general Rapp. Bartholdi created numerous public monuments of patriotic and republican inspiration, and remains the inspired creator of the Statue of Liberty enlightening the world, now in New York harbour. This monument was erected in 1907 and is the work of the statue sculptors Hubert Louis-Noel and Antoine Rubin."

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"This work by Auguste Bartholdi was unveiled in 1894, and celebrates the memory of Gustave Adolphe Hirn (Logelbach 1815 - Colmar 1890), one of the great men of science of the 19th century. Hirn was a physicist, mathematician, astronomer and philosopher and a corresponding member of the Institute, and affiliated to numerous European academies. The application of his research in thermodynamics and in petroleum technology made him one of the pioneers of modern industry."

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"Jean Roesselmann was a provost of the Imperial town of Colmar in the 13th century, and died on 25 October, 1262 during a victorious battle defending the freedom of the city, against the Bishop of Strasbourg's supporters. This statue is the work of Auguste Bartholdi, inaugurated in 1888, and bears the features of Hercule de Peyerimhoff, the mayor deposed by the German authorities, a few years after the annexation of Alsace, for refusing to submit to the new regime."

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"Théophile-Conrad Pfeffel (1736-1809), who lost his sight in 1757, devoted his life to literature and teaching: in 1773 he founded a military academy for training young Protestants unable to attend the Royal Academy, and in 1803 was made president of the Evangelical Consistory of Colmar. He left a collection of poems, fables, stories and short stories. This statue which was made by Charles Geiss in 1927 is a sandstone copy of the original work by André Friedrich (1859)."

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"Lazare de Schwendi (1522-1583) was a diplomat turned commander under the Holy Roman Empire for which he was rewarded with the domain of Hohlandsberg, near Colmar. According to legend, the vine stern held by his statue evokes the Tokay vines brought back from his campaigns in Hungary, which in fact the pinot gris established in Alsace from the Middle Ages. This work by Bartholdi was exhibited at the 1897 Paris Exhibition and then moved to this fountain which was inaugurated in 1898."

Barholdi is Colmar's most well-known son. His Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886, as a gift of friendship from France to the US. In Colmar you can visit the Barholdi Museum as well as the the house where he was born. There also many public works by Barholdi, notably the statue of General Rapp and Bruat Fountain in Place Rapp.