Gedenkstätte revolutionärer Matrosen, Rostock

The Memorial of Revolutionary Sailors at Rostock's city harbor commemorates the revolutionary sailors at the end of the First World War. It was created by artists Wolfgang Eckardt and Reinhard Dietrich and officially dedicated on September 16, 1977.

The monumental memorial consists of a pedestal with a 20-meter-long relief wall and a 9-meter-high bronze sculpture. The memorial without sculpture was already opened in 1970 and had an exhibition room, but it has been closed since 1985. In GDR times, the sailor memorial was used for commemorative events in memory of the German-Soviet friendship and the November Revolution of 1918, triggered by the Kiel sailor uprising.

Contrary to popular belief, the monument does not depict the rebellious sailors Max Reichpietsch and Albin Köbis, who were sentenced to death in 1917. This was envisaged in an initial conception. However, the sculptor Wolfgang Eckardt prevailed against the demands of the SED officials who were in power at the time and designed the two nameless men without uniforms and weapons in order to make it clear that political changes can also be implemented without violence.

Rostock's largest bronze sculpture has been secured by a fence since 2013 and is in need of restoration.

On January 28, 2016, the Art Advisory Board of the Hanseatic City of Rostock dealt with the renovation of the dilapidated monument, which is now to be tackled. According to current plans, the monument will be integrated into the new waterfront promenade. A place to spend time on the waterfront is to be created in the process. According to the head of the cultural office, Michaela Selling, the exhibition rooms under the monument cannot be saved and are to be filled in. However, the steps of the quay edge are to be raised up to the sailor monument, and the green areas will be redesigned. There, too, it is planned to display the monument's connection to the Kiel sailors' uprising of 1918 on panels. The redevelopment will cost 3.5 million euros and is scheduled to begin in 2020.