Freiligrath memorial

The Freiligrath-Denkmal stands in Rolandswerth, a district of Remagen in the Ahrweiler district. It sits beside the footpath that leads from the B9 federal road up to the Rolandsbogen. The path passes the island of Nonnenwerth just before the monument. The monument was unveiled on 17 June 1914, the 104th birthday of the poet Ferdinand Freiligrath. It was built to thank him for starting the campaign to rebuild the Rolandsbogen after it collapsed in December 1839. Freiligrath had launched the appeal in the Kölnische Zeitung. Donations paid for both the Rolandsbogen and this statue. The design uses basalt lava and Franconian shell limestone arranged in stepped terraces. At the centre is a plain pedestal about one metre high topped by a life-size bronze bust of Freiligrath. The sculptor was Siegfried M. Wiens, Freiligrath’s nephew, who worked in London. The restored site offers views across the Rhine to the Rolandsbogen and the island of Nonnenwerth.