Fontenay-Denkmal

The Fontenay monument stands in Hamburg-Rotherbaum, a quiet quarter near the city centre. It honours John Fontenay, a merchant, shipowner and ship broker who traded in Hamburg between 1801 and 1835. The sandstone stele carries a bronze relief portrait of Fontenay and a small crater above its base. The monument was first recorded in 1878 when it stood among elms and was taller than today’s version. Ebba Tesdorpf sketched it in 1895, and in 1926 it was moved to its present site beside the war memorial. The bronze plaque was added about 1907, but stolen in 1945; the stele itself was damaged in the Second World War. Visitors find a simple stone column topped by a bronze portrait and a small crater. The base is of Obernkirchner sandstone, and the upper parts have been renewed several times, most recently in 2004. The surrounding street is named Fontenay, close to the older war memorial in a peaceful neighbourhood.