The Kyffhäuser Monument

This seemed like a good way to finish off the imperial portion of our trip, visiting the Kyffhäuser Monument. Built from 1890-1896, this monument celebrating German imperial ambitions is another that links Kaiser Wilhem I with Frederick Barbarossa. It was built on top of the remains of a castle, which some historians believe dates back to the Hohenstaufen period based on the stone work-- the Hohenstaufens being Barbarossa's family. The idea behind the monument: setting the White Beard on the Red Beard's Throne...

It's an impressive monument, with a small museum. You can climb all the way to near the top, via a set of corkscrew steps that reminded me of those they had in the Statue of Liberty when I climbed it as a kid back in the '70s.

Kaiser Wilhelm I is a cast bronze equestrian statue. He's flanked by the female figure of Germania, and a male warrior figure embodying the martial spirit (which the literature on site apologizes for--"it meant something different in the 19th Century) of the German people. At the bottom carved from stone in exquisite detail, is Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, looking very fierce.Read more