Barbara-Denkmal, Military memorial at Friedrich-Ebert-Ring, Koblenz, Germany
The Barbara-Denkmal at Friedrich-Ebert-Ring in Koblenz is a military memorial featuring a central figure with two allegorical companions. The structure also works as a fountain with water features integrated into the design.
The memorial was commissioned in 1903 by veterans of the 8th Rhenish Field Artillery Regiment, which was stationed in Koblenz from 1820 to 1887. Munich sculptor Georg Schreyögg won the 1906 competition, and the monument was inaugurated on 6 October 1907 at the eastern end of Kaiser-Wilhelm-Ring. It was dismantled in 1956 after wartime damage and rebuilt near its original site in 2014–2015.
Saint Barbara, patron saint of artillerymen, closes the muzzle of a cannon with her right hand and holds a palm branch in her left. The seated figure of War rests a hand on the scabbard, not the hilt, and has no aggressive gesture; Peace holds a laurel wreath. Bronze tablets on the base once listed the regiment's fallen.
The memorial stands near Christuskirche at an accessible location in the city center. Visitors can easily reach it on foot and view it from the outside without any special requirements.
The bronze name plaques for the fallen of the 8th Rhenish Field Artillery Regiment, mounted on the plinths of the War and Peace figures, were probably melted down during the Second World War. The 2015 inauguration was attended by the Koblenz Army Music Corps, and speakers stressed that the memorial is not a classic war memorial but a warning for peace.
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