Emperor William Monument, Monument in Porta Westfalica, Germany

The Emperor William Monument stands on the eastern slope of the Wittekindsberg above the Weser gorge at Porta Westfalica. Built of reddish-brown Porta sandstone, the 88-metre structure rises from a stepped base to a domed top crowned by a golden figure, with an arched opening framing a bronze statue of William I, his left hand on a sword and his right raised in greeting.

The Prussian Province of Westphalia decided on 15 March 1889, by a narrow majority, to build the monument at Porta Westfalica, after the Minden deputy Hösch had proposed the site in April 1888. Construction ran from 1892 to 1896 using Portasandstein quarried in the region, with around 13,000 cubic metres of masonry and 3,000 metres of steps. It was inaugurated on 18 October 1896 before Wilhelm II and Augusta Victoria, with 15,000 to 20,000 people attending.

The monument's name honours William I, German Emperor from 1871, whose bronze statue by Caspar von Zumbusch stands under the dome with his left hand on the sword and his right raised in greeting. The site was chosen to celebrate the unification of the German Empire after the Franco-Prussian War, and the inscription between two coat of arms shields reads "Wilhelm the Great - the Province of Westphalia".

The monument stands on the eastern slope of the Wittekindsberg at about 210 metres above sea level, roughly 170 metres above the Weser in the gorge below. A barrier-free path leads from the car park to the monument, and the stairway at the entrance was renewed during the 2013–2018 works. The ring terrace now holds a restaurant and visitor centre.

The monument stands on the Wittekindsberg above a 100-metre-deep tunnel, the Denkmalstollen, where forced labourers from the Porta Westfalica subcamp of Neuengamme produced armaments for the Luftwaffe from autumn 1944 to spring 1945. British occupation troops blew up the tunnel entrance in 1946, and part of the ring terrace slid away; the damage was patched up in 1956, shrinking the platform.