Kriegerdenkmal bei der Kilianskirche, War memorial near Kilianskirche, Bad Windsheim, Germany.
The war memorial at Kilianskirche is a stone figure in Bad Windsheim that rises about 8 meters and shows an armed warrior in full armor. The figure holds a downward-pointing sword and displays Windsheim's insignia on its breastplate.
The memorial was built between 1927 and 1928 to honor soldiers who died in the wars of 1870 and 1914-1918. Plaques were added later to also commemorate those who fell in the Second World War.
Locals call the knight figure the 'Bad Windsheimer Roland', though the name is misleading: a true Roland statue stood for medieval town rights, while this one commemorates the dead of 1870/71 and the First World War. The left side of the canopy reads 'Den Lebenden zur Mahnung' — a warning to the living.
The memorial stands on the market square beside the Kilianskirche, not at a street address; approach it on foot across the square. The eleven-metre monument can be viewed from ground level, and the inscription "Den Lebenden zur Mahnung" is on the left side of the canopy above the knight.
The name is misleading: a true Roland statue stood for medieval town rights, while this knight was unveiled on 16 September 1928 for the dead of 1870/71 and the First World War. Of 31 entries in a 1919 competition, the design by sculptor Philipp Widmer and architect Fritz Mayer won, executed 1927–1928 by M. Waldmann.
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