Heldenplatz
48°12′24″N 16°21′46″E / 48.206629°N 16.362913°E Heldenplatz (
Many important actions and events took place here, most notably Adolf Hitler's ceremonial announcement of the Austrian Anschluss to Nazi Germany on 15 March 1938.
History
After the Napoleonic
Kaiserforum
The present-day Heldenplatz on the former outer plaza of the Hofburg was built in the course of the lavish
Semper designed a wide-scale 'general plan', extending from the
Heroes
On the plaza, there are two equestrian statues designed by Anton Dominik Fernkorn with socles by Eduard van der Nüll. The statue of Archduke Charles of Austria, modelled on a popular painting by Johann Peter Krafft, was inaugurated already in 1860. It was meant to glorify the Habsburg dynasty as great Austrian military leaders and underline the leadership of Austria within the German Confederation, though they just had suffered a crushing defeat at the bloody Battle of Solferino. The second statue of Prince Eugene of Savoy was inaugurated in 1865, one year before the Austrian defeat in the Battle of Königgrätz.
The Outer Castle Gate on the southside remained standing when the fortification walls were dismantled. Erected in 1824 by Pietro Nobile according to plans designed by Luigi Cagnola, and inaugurated by Emperor Francis I of Austria in the honour of the veterans of the Napoleonic Wars, it was rebuilt as a war memorial in 1933/34 and houses a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Literature
The historical connotation of Hitler's speech remains strong in the public perception. This is also the reason why Heldenplatz has been the subject of several works of literature, most prominently of Thomas Bernhard's drama Heldenplatz and a poem by Ernst Jandl titled wien: heldenplatz.
External links
- Ernst Jandl. "wien: heldenplatz". Archived from the original on 2003-05-04. Retrieved 2005-01-25.
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