The bronze statue of Kaiser Wilhelm I

A bronze emperor rides a horse through the center of Düsseldorf, his cloak heavy, his helmet plumed with feathers. This is the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Denkmal, a study in Neobaroque weight and historical longing. It was designed to glorify Wilhelm I as the founder of the German Empire.

Planning for the monument began in 1888. It was designed by Karl Janssen, a professor at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. When the equestrian statue was inaugurated on October 18, 1896, it was originally located at the intersection of Alleestraße and Bolkerstraße - an area that is now called Heinrich-Heine-Allee. The monument is modeled after the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Nationaldenkmal in Berlin.

In 1988, the statue moved to Martin-Luther-Platz. It now sits on a central axis, precisely aligned with the main portal of the Johanneskirche. This specific placement reflects Wilhelm I's role as summus episcopus, the supreme bishop of the united churches as King of Prussia. It places the monarch at the intersection of spiritual and secular power, flanked by the Bismarck-Denkmal and the remaining portion of the Moltke-Denkmal.

The Emperor is accompanied by two bronze figures representing the Genies of War and Peace. Below them, the granite pedestal is decorated with bronze cartouches, coats of arms, and emblems representing the German Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the city of Düsseldorf. One relief captures the fall of the Holy Roman Empire. Another shows a war fury representing the Napoleonic Wars trampling Germania with a whip and torch. A third relief depicts the flight of Queen Louise and her children in 1806.

Another relief depicts Borussia receiving the crown from the federal states during the founding of the Empire in 1871. On one narrow side of the pedestal, a bronze Imperial Eagle stands over fallen flags of the Second Empire. The opposite narrow side features a bronze shield with a Fraktur inscription: "Dem Begründer des deutschen Reiches das dankbare Düsseldorf." The monument stands between the Johanneskirche and the North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry of Justice.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons