Monument to the Battle of the Nations
— — stone keeping the weight of an October.
Not only on a wall.
“The Völkerschlachtdenkmal rises 91 metres above the field where the Battle of Leipzig closed in October 1813, the largest engagement in Europe before the First World War. Completed in 1913 for the centenary, it is one of the tallest monuments on the continent. Granite porphyry on a concrete core, a crypt below, the Hall of Fame above, and 500 steps up to a viewing platform over the Saxon plain. A heavy building for a heavy memory. from the studio
Monument to the Battle of the Nations, on ceramic.
Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.
Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.
The place, in three passes.
The Monument to the Battle of the Nations — Völkerschlachtdenkmal in German — stands at the southeastern edge of Leipzig, Saxony, on the ground where coalition armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria, and Sweden defeated Napoleon's forces on 16-19 October 1813. The structure rises 91 metres, making it one of the tallest monuments in Europe. It was designed by Berlin architect Bruno Schmitz, with sculptural figures by Christian Behrens and Franz Metzner, and inaugurated on 18 October 1913 to mark the battle's centenary. The base houses a crypt; 500 steps lead to a viewing platform over the city.
The monument is built around a concrete core clad in granite porphyry quarried in Saxony, with sculptural figures cut into the facade by Franz Metzner and Christian Behrens. The Archangel Michael presides at the entrance; inside, four 9.5-metre Totenwächter — guardians of the dead — surround the central crypt. The Hall of Fame above carries colossal seated warriors representing virtues claimed for the German soldier. The building took fifteen years to complete and consumed an estimated 26,500 granite blocks. The weight is felt before any of the iconography is read.
The monument is open to visitors year-round, with admission to the interior and the viewing platform managed by the Stadtgeschichtliches Museum Leipzig. The adjacent Forum 1813 museum sits at the base and gives the historical context most visitors need before climbing. Tram line 15 from Leipzig Hauptbahnhof reaches the site in under twenty minutes. The 500-step climb is steep and not wheelchair-accessible above the lower levels; a lift reaches the intermediate platform. Allow at least ninety minutes for the museum and the monument together.