Frederick Barbarossa Memorial (Silifke)
Frederick Barbarossa Memorial (Turkish: Frederik Barbaros Anıtı) is a monument dedicated to Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I located in Mersin Province, southern Turkey.
Location
It is at 36°23′44.4″N 33°50′36.1″E / 36.395667°N 33.843361°E about 9 km (5.6 mi) west of
Göksu River and Ekşiler
village on the other side of the river.
History
Göksu River
today. There are discrepancies in the historical accounts of how exactly Frederick Barbarossa drowned.
Memorial
An inscription was placed close to the point of Frederick's demise by the Embassy of
Federal Republic of Germany in 1971.[1] However, when the highway was widened by the General Directorate of Highways, a larger monument with a larger than life statue of the emperor was inaugurated at the present place on 11 May 2012.[2][3] The new location was determined by the German ambassador Prof. Pascal Hector. The bilingual (German and Turkish
) inscription is identical to that of 1971 and reads:
- Holy Roman-German Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, who was in friendly agreement with the Seljukid Sultan Kılıçarslan II for a free passage, drowned in Göksu River around this place while going to Palestine with his army.
The text, although not in perfect accord with the historical fact, conveys a peaceful message.[a]
The statue disappeared a year after the inauguration. Only the base of the monument is left.[5]
Suggestions
According to local historian Dr. Mustafa Erim, Silifke citizens ask for a statue of
Seljukid sultan in 1190, next to that of Frederick Barbarossa.[6]
Notes
- Frederick Barbarossa to freely pass through his territories; however, his sons who were local chieftains disagreed and fought against the Crusaders at the Battle of Philomelion and Battle of Iconium.[4]
References
- ^ Gedenkstein (1971) (in German)
- ^ Literature and art academy periodical (in Turkish)
- ^ Haberler page (in Turkish)
- ^ "History of the Anatolian Seljuks". turkishhan.org.
- ^ Neues Monumentaldenkmal (2012) (in German)
- ^ "Anamur newspaper" (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 2021-02-03. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
