Strassburger Monument, Memorial sculpture in Elisabethenanlage, Basel, Switzerland

The Strassburger Monument stands in the Elisabethenanlage next to Centralbahnplatz, across from Basel SBB station, not in St. Alban. The Carrara marble group shows a winged genius leading Alsatia, in Alsatian dress and with a weeping child, toward Helvetia, who holds a shield over her and takes her outstretched hand. Two relief panels on the pedestal show the aid to Strasbourg and the 1576 Hirsebrei journey; a band of coats of arms runs around it.

In August 1870, Prussian General von Werder ordered artillery fire on Strasbourg. Basel set up an auxiliary committee on 4 September; committees in Bern and Zurich joined. On 8 September, mayors Otto von Büren of Bern and Melchior Römer of Zurich obtained General von Werder's consent, and after 15 September almost 1,800 civilians were brought out. Around 1890, Baron Gilbert Hervé-Gruyer asked the Federal Council to fund a memorial; Basel was chosen, Bartholdi modelled it in Carrara marble, and it was inaugurated on 20 October 1895.

The figures carry names and costumes: the winged Genius leads Alsatia, in Alsatian dress and accompanied by a weeping child, toward Helvetia, who holds a shield over her and takes her outstretched hand. The base reliefs pair the 1870 relief effort with the 1576 Zurich boat carrying a millet porridge pot to Strasbourg, and a heraldic band shows Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft on one shared coat of arms, plus Bern, Zurich, Strasbourg and Switzerland.

The monument stands in the Elisabethenanlage, the green space bordering the Centralbahnplatz directly opposite Basel SBB station, so it is reached on foot from the station exits without any transfer. The surrounding lawns and paths are level and step-free, and the statue can be viewed from the pavement at any hour.

The lower relief shows the 1576 "Hirsebrei" episode: a boat carried a pot of millet porridge from Zurich to Strasbourg as a pledge of help. A band of coats of arms runs around the pedestal, joining Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft on one shield with Bern, Zurich, Strasbourg and Switzerland.