Ludwigsdenkmal, Worms

The Ludwig Monument is a monument built in 1895 on the initiative of the city administration and with funds from the population on what was then the parade ground in Worms on the Rhine. It commemorates the military achievements of the Hessian Grand Duke Ludwig IV, who died in 1892, as commander of the Grand Ducal troops, especially the Grand Ducal Hessian Infantry Division before Gravelotte and Metz in the war of 1870/71.

Here he commanded his troops in the war against France, the country that had elevated his ancestor from landgrave to grand duke by Napoleon's grace, and under the command of Prussia, from whose troops as late as 1866 his predecessor Grand Duke Ludwig III had temporarily fled to Worms from his dominions on the right bank of the Rhine.

The design of this 24.30 m high monument was made by the city architect Karl Hofmann, who also designed the Rhine bridge, the water tower and the hospital. The sculptural decoration was made by the sculptor Johann Hirt. The monument was unveiled on July 15, 1895 in the presence of Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig and his sister Princess Victoria.

With the construction of the monument, the Paradeplatz, today Ludwigsplatz, was redesigned as a green ornamental area with a central water basin and a small fountain. The monument itself was created at the western end of the square, consisting of an oval fountain basin, behind which an obelisk is enthroned on a pedestal with a gargoyle. Symmetrically flanked by steps and two stone lions.

The monument survived the bombings of the Second World War with little damage, but in the post-war period the ornamental structure was converted into a public parking lot. It was not until the construction of an underground parking garage under Ludwigsplatz, opened in 1975, that the monument was removed. In the early 1990s, the above-ground parking spaces were abandoned again and the square was redesigned with a continuous, light-colored stone pavement. In the course of this, the monument returned to its original location as a reconstruction in a modified plan form.