Kyffhäuser Monument

The Kyffhäuser Monument stands on a long rocky ridge in the Kyffhäuser range of central Thüringen. It rises 81 metres above a plain called the Goldene Aue, about six and a half kilometres north of Bad Frankenhausen. The site includes the ruins of a medieval imperial castle built a thousand years ago. The castle’s upper keep, 17 metres high, still overlooks the valley. A deep well, 176 metres down, was once the castle’s water supply. The monument was raised between 1890 and 1896 to honour Emperor William I. Bruno Schmitz, its architect, also designed Germany’s two largest memorials. The Kyffhäuser Federation, a veterans’ group from the 19th century, organised its construction. Inside the castle ruins a museum shows finds from excavations and tells the story of Frederick Barbarossa. The tower’s 247 steps lead to a platform with wide views across Thüringen. Visitors find a massive sandstone statue of Barbarossa lying beneath his knights. Nikolaus Geiger carved the figure from local stone in 1896. Above it towers an equestrian statue of William I, cast in copper sheets over a steel frame. The tower’s crown is visible for many kilometres. Below, terraced gardens and the old castle gate recall the Hohenstaufen age.