Elberfelder Armenpflegedenkmal

The neoklassizistische Elberfelder Armenpflegedenkmal stands on the Kirchplatz of the former Alte reformierte Kirche in Wuppertal-Elberfeld. It was created by the local sculptor Wilhelm Neumann-Torborg and unveiled in 1903 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Elberfelder System. The monument once featured a bronze group of a young woman feeding an elderly man, symbolising the biblical work of mercy. The work honours three pioneers of Elberfeld’s early social welfare system: Daniel von der Heydt, Gustav Schlieper and David Peters. Their portraits appeared on bronze medallions around the granite pedestal. Neumann-Torborg’s design, though runner-up in the 1901 competition, was chosen by the city council and later modified to give the medallions greater prominence. After the Second World War the bronze sculpture vanished and the pedestal was buried. It was recovered in 2003 and, after a public fundraising campaign led by Hans-Joachim Camphausen, a new bronze figure was cast in 2011. Today the restored monument stands again on its original site, its tall granite base topped by a more than two-metre bronze figure framed by the medallions of the three reformers.