User:MissDuke87

Background and General Data

The "Skulpturenboulevard” (English: “Boulevard of sculptures”) was a central part of the Initiative Germany – Land of Ideas, which, under the patronage of the Federal President Horst Köhler, was a joint project of the German Federal Government and the German economy, represented by the Federal Association of the German Industry (BDI). This initiative was aimed at conveying a positive image of Germany in general and as a location for industry for the country itself and for foreign countries.

The campaign’s corporate design and the design of the statuary was devised and executed by the Berlin design agency Scholz & Friends Identify. The agency won several international awards for this campaign – for example the EVA Award 2006. The statuary was situated in central places of Berlin’s city center such as the Bebelplatz and the Gendarmenmarkt. Several small festivities took place for the unveilings where politicians, members of the initiative or representatives of the involved companies gave speeches. On March 10, 2006, the first statue “Der moderne Fußballschuh” (English: “The modern soccer shoe”) was unveiled in the Spreebogenpark. The last statue unveiled on May 19, 2006 in the Lustgarten was called “Relativitätstheorie” (English: “Theory of relativity”). In fall 2006, the statues were removed. One statue, “Das Automobil” (English: “The automobile”) was transferred to Munich – it is unclear what happened to the other works.

The total cost, from planning up to the realization, amounted to 300,000 to 350,000 euros per figure. All statuary was made of the modern synthetic material Neopor® and they were coated with a shiny white paint prepared specially for this. The time of production amounted to about two months each, the final assembly on the sites took up to three days.

Boards in both German and English provided detailed information on the symbolism of each object along the path exemplifying Germany’s research landscape and cultural history.

Second Assessment

Frankfurt was one of the centers of the revolutionary movement of the pre-March era. Ludwig Börne, a publicist born in the Frankfurter Judengasse in 1786, became an outstanding figure of the Young Germany due to his satirical writings. Even though the Bundestag and the municipal authority, who feared for their reputation, tried to forbid these political associations and to suppress the propagation of liberal writings, the city’s oppositional circles were filled with revolutionary spirit at the latest after the July Revolution of 1830. However, the step from idealistic enthusiasm to vital action failed miserably. […] Nevertheless, the mostly ineffective event had a chilling effect on Frankfurt’s civil elite because from that point on, a garrison of 2,500 Austrian and Prussian soldiers defied the municipal sovereignty, and the baronial diplomats of the Bundestag denigrated the Free City of Frankfurt as a liberal nest. […]

At the beginning of March 1848, the revolutionary mood spilled over from France to Germany. As everywhere else, freedom of the press and freedom of assembly, the constitutional equality of all citizens, amnesty of the people arrested due to political offences and the general armament of the people were demanded in Frankfurt, too. On March 3, the Senate granted all demands except the complete emancipation of the Jews. The reform associations of the “Montagskränzchen,” informal weekly meetings, pressed for a constitutional reform for Frankfurt also. A constituent assembly, elected by all citizens, was to develop a new constitution as a replacement for the constitution of the Free City of Frankfurt existing since 1816.

On March 9, the black-red-golden flag was flying on top of the federal palace. On March 31, the pre-parliament met at the hurriedly converted Paulskirche. The church’s walls and windows were decorated with black-red-golden flags, the pulpit was veiled by a cloth, the organ hidden behind a broad curtain that showed a fresco by Philipp Veit: Germania with flag and sword, to her right and left a laurel wreath with patriotic verses. The presidential table was set up instead of the altar.