Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Stele in Hamburg-Mitte, Germany
The Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy stele is a stone monument in Hamburg-Mitte, near the site where the composer was born. It takes the form of a large, dark stone block topped with a relief portrait of Mendelssohn, facing the church of St. Michael.
The monument was installed in 1997 to mark the 150th anniversary of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy's death. It was commissioned by the Felix Mendelssohn Society of Hamburg and created by artist Sören Ernst.
The back of the stele has the opening notes of the violin concerto in E minor carved directly into the stone. Visitors who walk around the monument can read them like a short musical phrase.
The stele stands on Ludwig-Erhard-Strasse in Hamburg-Mitte and is easy to reach on foot when exploring the area around the Michaelis church. Walking around it takes only a moment and allows visitors to see all sides of the stone.
Mendelssohn was born in Hamburg but left the city as a toddler, so his connection to Hamburg is little known compared to his ties to Leipzig or Berlin. The stele stands close to where his family home once was before it was destroyed during the war.
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