Nathan

The Nathan monument in Wolfenbüttel marks the life and work of the Enlightenment writer Gotthold Ephraim Lessing. It stands on a lawn between the ducal palace, the Lessinghaus, the Herzog August Library and the armoury. The bronze statue shows the title figure from Lessing’s final play, Nathan the Wise, which he wrote just metres away. The bronze figure stands slightly larger than life, modelled on the actor Ernst Deutsch in his stage costume. It wears a long robe, a cap and a chin beard, right hand lowered and left fist pressed to the chest. The back is flattened from chest height downwards, and the bronze base bears the inscription Nathan the Wise. A concrete plinth, about half a metre high, supports the sculpture. Wolfenbüttel keeps Lessing’s memory alive with the Lessinghaus museum where he wrote the play. The square between library and palace is called Lessingplatz, and the street leading north is Lessingstraße. The town also calls itself the Lessingstadt, and its theatre bears the name Lessing-Theater.