Ernst-August-Denkmal, Bronze equestrian statue in Mitte, Germany

The Ernst-August-Denkmal is a bronze equestrian statue of King Ernst August I in hussar uniform, riding his horse Ibrahim, on a pedestal of reddish-brown granite from the Brocken massif in the Harz. The rider holds the reins, the horse's right foreleg is raised, and the pedestal bears the metal inscription "DEM LANDESVATER / SEIN TREUES VOLK".

In February 1855 a committee led by Oberhofmarschall Ernst von Malortie launched a public appeal for a monument to King Ernst August I, who had died in 1851. Donations fell short of the estimated 35,000 Taler, so King George V covered part of the cost. The commission went in 1856 to Christian Daniel Rauch, with execution by his pupil Albert Wolff. The monument was unveiled on 21 September 1861 before 23,000 attendees.

Locals call the meeting point "Unterm Schwanz" — "under the tail" — because people arrange to meet beneath the horse's flowing tail. The monument shares this role with the Kröpcke clock as one of Hanover's main rendezvous spots. The inscription "DEM LANDESVATER SEIN TREUES VOLK" ("To the father of the country, his loyal people") gave rise to a satirical counterpart in Göttingen.

The monument stands on Ernst-August-Platz directly in front of Hanover's main railway station, so it is reached on foot from the station exits and by tram or U-Bahn stopping at the station square. The statue is not at its original spot: it was shifted slightly toward the station, and the stepped substructure people used to sit on was removed in 1975.

The monument does not stand exactly where it was unveiled: during the 1971 subway works it was moved to the Leineschloss, returned in 1975, and placed slightly shifted toward the station. The city also removed the stepped substructure people used to sit on. The bronze foot bears a date error: the king's accession was carved as 20 June 1827 instead of 1837 and corrected about two weeks after the unveiling.