Mendelssohn-Denkmal, Bronze statue in Leipzig, Germany
The Mendelssohn Monument is a bronze figure of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy in a long robe, holding a book and a stylus, standing on a reddish-brown stone pedestal inscribed with his name in gold. A seated bronze female figure and cherub-like figures flank the base. The monument stands among bare trees and buildings near St. Thomas Church.
The original monument was erected in 1892, but the Nazi regime removed it from public space in 1936. The current work is a detailed reconstruction that was reinstalled in 2008 near St. Thomas Church.
The pedestal carries the inscription "Edles nur künde die Sprache der Töne" on its back, and bronze medallions on the sides stand for sacred music (an organ) and secular music (masks, a vase with a dance scene, flutes and a sword). The monument faces the Thomaskirche, where Mendelssohn gave organ concerts and conducted his own choral works.
The monument stands near the western portal of St. Thomas Church and is easily reached on foot. The location offers a calm setting for viewing the work and exploring the historic church buildings nearby.
The 2008 replica was funded by a 50,000-euro donation from patron Wolfgang Jentzsch, with the remaining cost of 355,000 euros covered by the Leipzig regional council, the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Foundation and the city. Sculptor Christian Schulze of Dresden rebuilt the lost work from photogrammetric surveys of old photographs, and the casting was done at the Lauchhammer art foundry.
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