Monument General Hoche

The Monument General Hoche stands in Weißenthurm, a small town northwest of Koblenz on the Rhine. It marks the grave of Louis Lazare Hoche, a French general who led his troops across the river here on 18 April 1797. His victory at the Battle of Neuwied followed days later. Hoche died just five months afterwards in Wetzlar. The early-classical monument is said to be Germany’s largest and oldest French memorial.

The monument was funded by Hoche’s soldiers and French officers under General Championnet. A 2 000-livre fund was set aside in 1797 for its upkeep and the education of local youth. The Frauenberg hill was chosen because it overlooked the crossing and battle site. Architect Peter Joseph Krahe designed the structure, though some credit city builder Trosson or General Kléber. The obelisk rises eight metres above a circular mound of basalt blocks.

Visitors find a round mound thirty-two metres wide, built up with masonry and light shafts. A three-tiered base supports a sarcophagus-like section topped by the tapering obelisk. The Rhine-facing side bears the inscription ‘L’ARMEE DE SAMBRE ET MEUSE A SON GENERAL EN CHEF HOCHE’. Four copper reliefs on the pedestal show key moments: Wissembourg 1793, Quiberon 1795, the Vendée 1796 and Neuwied 1797. Inside the hollow obelisk, Lahn marble panels line the walls.