The Destroyed City

The Destroyed City is a war memorial on Plein 1940 in Rotterdam, made from bronze and brass. The six-meter figure shows a human body with an absent chest, its arms reaching toward the sky in an expression of despair.

The monument recalls the German air raid on May 14, 1940, which obliterated the medieval center and claimed 900 lives. The sculpture was unveiled in 1953, more than a decade after the attack that forever changed the city.

Sculptor Ossip Zadkine designed the monument after traveling through Rotterdam and witnessing the destruction firsthand. The open chest of the figure symbolizes the city's lost heart, while the raised arms express the pain felt by residents after the bombing.

The memorial stands on a granite base near the Maritime Museum, accessible by public transport from Rotterdam Central Station. The open square allows visitors to walk around the sculpture and view its form from different angles.

The granite blocks beneath the statue were originally intended for a sculpture of Adolf Hitler in Berlin but were repurposed for this memorial. Zadkine worked on the design for more than three years before arriving at its final form.

Location: Rotterdam

Inception: 1953

Creator: Ossip Zadkine

Official opening: May 15, 1953

Architectural style: reconstruction-period architecture

Height: 600 cm

Made from material: bronze, Yellow copper

Part of: Top 100 of Dutch monuments 1940-1958, Sleutelwerken

GPS coordinates: 51.91764,4.48307

Latest update: December 5, 2025 22:28