Information stele at the Karl Marx Monument is inaugurated
Ceremonial handover on 9 October, 10 a.m. - Followed by the opening of the "DENKmal Karl Marx" exhibition in the Open Space
To mark the 50th anniversary of the Karl Marx Monument, an information stele will be inaugurated on Saturday, 9 October at 10 a.m. on Brückenstraße with important facts about the history and significance of the monument. Media representatives are cordially invited to attend.
Mayor Michael Stötzer will inaugurate the stele together with a Chemnitz citizen who donated to its erection. In May, the City of Chemnitz called for financial contributions to the project. Eleven citizens made the production of the stele possible with a contribution of 250 euros each. They are all named on the 2.20 metre high pillar. The stele costs around 3,000 euros in total.
The contents of the information stele are written in German and English and will also be published on www.chemnitz.de/geschichteentdecken after the inauguration.
Following the inauguration of the stele, the exhibition "DENKmal Karl Marx - propagated, scorned, marketed - a monument to the city's history" will be opened in the "Open Space" exhibition room at Brückenstraße 10. The exhibition focuses on the historical upheavals in the city, the history of the monument's creation and its changing significance, as well as humorous and contemporary thoughts on this special monument.
The birthday of Chemnitz's most famous landmark will be celebrated throughout Saturday with a colourful programme centred around the Karl Marx Monument.
The complete programme can be found at www.chemnitz.de/nischeln.
History: Karl Marx Monument
The Karl Marx Monument, one of the largest portrait busts in the world, was unveiled on 9 October 1971. It was designed by the Russian sculptor Lev Yefimovich Kerbel. The original intention was to create a full-body sculpture of Karl Marx, but Kerbel opted for the head as it stands today in the city centre.
The Karl Marx head consists of 95 individual parts, which were cast in bronze in Leningrad and then transported to its current location. It was reassembled on the granite plinth in today's Brückenstraße. VEB Germania was commissioned to weld and fill the joints.
The Karl Marx Monument also includes the quote by Karl Marx "Proletarians of all countries, unite!" in various languages, which is attached to the building behind it. At the time, the two artists Volker Beier and Heinz Schumann assembled the written mirror from 174 parts and produced it in painstaking detail.
Information steles
Further steles are to be erected with the help of sponsorships - for example in the Rosenhof, at the theatre square and at the Schloßbergmuseum. Citizens who donate at least 250 euros can be named on the respective stele.
If you are interested, please contact the City of Chemnitz Citizens' Office by e-mail: buergerbuero(at)stadt-chemnitz.de or by telephone on 0371 488 1512.