statue Freiherr Karl vom und zum Stein

A bronze statue stands before the Prussian Landtag, the seat of the Berlin House of Representatives. It honours Karl Freiherr vom Stein, the Prussian statesman and reformer who lived from 1757 to 1831. Sculptors Hermann Schievelbein and Hugo Hagen created the work between 1864 and 1869 in the Realist style, and it ranks among the masterpieces of the Berlin school of sculpture. The monument carries the inscription ‘DEM MINISTER / FREIHERRN VOM STEIN / DAS DANKBARE VATERLAND’. The 3.3-metre figure shows Stein walking beside a column, wearing the Order of the Black Eagle on his cloak. His left hand rests on a walking stick while his right hand greets the viewer. Four virtues—piety, truth, willpower and patriotism—are carved on the 4.5-metre pedestal, alongside reliefs representing hope, courage, popular uprising and victory. The figure of patriotism holds a ribbon of the Monumenta Germaniae Historica, an institution Stein founded. The frieze beneath depicts Stein’s role in modernising Prussia and driving out Napoleonic rule. Side panels show the creation of the State Ministry, the Landwehr militia, the Battle of Leipzig and the opening of the Landtag. Corner scenes include the emancipation of the peasants, Alexander I’s visit to Stein, Stein and Gneisenau’s oath against Napoleon, and the municipal ordinance. After moving several times—from Dönhoffplatz in 1875 to Unter den Linden in 1981—the statue now occupies its present position in front of the Prussian Landtag.