Tomb of Maria Magdalena Langhans, Sepulchral monument in Hindelbank church, Switzerland.
The tomb of Maria Magdalena Langhans is a sandstone monument inside the village church of Hindelbank, in the canton of Bern. It features a carved gravestone that appears to break apart, with a female figure and a child emerging from the stone.
The sculptor Johann August Nahl created this monument in 1751 in memory of Maria Magdalena Langhans, who had died in childbirth. The work was among his first major commissions in Switzerland and helped establish his name as a sculptor.
The carving shows a gravestone breaking open, with a woman and her newborn rising from it, making the idea of resurrection visible in stone. An inscription by the Bernese poet Albrecht von Haller gives the monument a personal, literary voice that visitors can still read today.
The monument is inside the church in Hindelbank and can be seen during regular opening hours. Since it is a small village church, checking current opening times before visiting is a good idea.
Shortly after it was finished, copies of the monument were made in wax, clay, and porcelain and circulated as far as England. This early spread shows how a single work from a small Swiss village could travel across Europe.
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