Reiterdenkmal, Windhoek, Colonial monument in Windhoek, Namibia

The Reiterdenkmal is a bronze equestrian statue by Berlin sculptor Adolf Kürle, 4.5 metres tall, showing an oversized Schutztruppe rider in uniform: he holds the reins of a standing horse in his left hand and grips a rifle resting on his thigh with the right. It stood on a 5-metre plinth of about 180 unhewn granite blocks from Okahandja, with a dedication plaque on the front. The statue is now stored in the courtyard of the Alte Feste.

The monument was inaugurated in 1912 to commemorate German soldiers and civilians who died during colonial conflicts in the region. It originates from the period when Germany controlled South West Africa as a colonial territory.

The rider's head was covered with a linen bag and the statue decorated with flowers by Herero activists in 1959, days after the Old Location Uprising killed 11 people. In 2008, 51 wooden crosses bearing Otjiherero names were placed around it, and a Namibian flag was pushed into the rifle barrel. Between the wars it was one of two main sites for the German minority's war remembrance.

The bronze rider now stands in the sealed courtyard of the Alte Feste, where it was placed after its night-time removal on 25 December 2013; the courtyard is not open to visitors. The former site opposite the Christuskirche is now occupied by the Independence Memorial Museum, and the spot in front of the Alte Feste holds two statues erected in March 2014.

The rider's head was covered with a linen bag and the statue decorated with flowers by unknown Herero activists in 1959, days after the Old Location Uprising killed 11 people. In 2008, 51 wooden crosses bearing Otjiherero names were placed around it, and a Namibian flag was pushed into the rifle barrel.