Statue of Charles IX in Göteborg, Bronze equestrian monument at Kungsportsplatsen, Göteborg, Sweden
This bronze equestrian monument portrays King Charles IX in full military armor, created by sculptor John Börjeson in 1904. It stands at the intersection of Östra Larmgatan and Kungsportsplatsen in central Göteborg.
Lieutenant Colonel Albert Jacobsson of the First Göta Artillery Regiment launched the project in the late 1890s, arguing that Karl IX, founder of the predecessor of Göteborg, deserved a statue. John Börjeson's bronze was cast at Otto Meyer's foundry in Stockholm in 1903 and inaugurated on 7 September 1904 by Oscar II on Östra Hamngatan. Traffic forced a move in 1935–36 to the east side of the street, where the king now faces west.
The nickname "Kopparmärra" comes from Göteborg humour: Karl IX actually rides a stallion, but "märr" is an older word for a mare, used to poke fun at the statue. The work is bronze, not copper, though the name suggests otherwise. The pedestal carries an excerpt from the city's royal privileges and Karl IX's calendar, and his motto Iehovah solatium meum.
The statue stands on the east side of Kungsportsplatsen, northeast of the crossing with Södra and Östra Larmgatan, facing west. It is reached on foot through the surrounding pedestrian streets. The bronze rider and the 5.6-metre granite plinth can be viewed from street level at any hour.
The nickname "Kopparmärra" comes from Göteborg humour: Karl IX actually rides a stallion, but the word märr (an old term for a mare) was used to mock the statue, which is bronze rather than pure copper. The 6,659 kg sculpture is 88 percent copper and 12 percent tin.
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