120 Liszt Denkmal in Weimar

120 Liszt Monument in Weimar

The unveiling of the Liszt Monument in the Park an der Ilm in 1902 attracted great attention.

Present at the ceremony were His Royal Highness Wilhelm Ernst, by the Grace of God Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, artists from Germany and abroad, as well as a representative of the Royal Hungarian Government.

The life-size statue of the composer, pianist, and conductor was crafted from white Carrara marble.

The pedestal is integrated into a curved balustrade with benches.

This symmetrical framing of the marble statue consists of yellowish-white dense Jura limestone with fossil inclusions, complemented by a decorative pavement made of colored natural stone.

A total of 68 artists submitted designs, and the selection fell on the 31-year-old sculptor Hermann Hahn.

Since he never met Franz Liszt personally, he relied on available reference materials for his design.

Hermann Hahn worked as a sculptor and professor in Munich, but he was originally from Thuringia, born near Hildburghausen and raised in Rudolstadt.

His works can be found across Germany, and even in the USA—one of his Goethe monuments stands in Chicago.