Memorial to the Baden Fallen of 1849
Pictures and text by Mark R. Hatlie
These pictures were taken on March 25, 2006, in what is now a park in Karlsruhe. The park is called "Alter Friedhof" (Old Cemetery) and gravestones are still visible along the edges, even near where children's swings are set up. The park is located between Kapellenstrasse and Kriegsstrasse. This marker is located near Ostendstrasse, at the opposite end of the park from the Franco-Prussian War memorial.
I assume that the marker is for those who died suppressing the Revolution of 1848-1849.
I had stopped to photograph the memorial to the Franco-Prussian War in the same park, and spotted this memorial by pure chance on my way back to the car. I was running out of daylight, however, and the pictures did not turn out very well.
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This is the side visible from the cemetery/park. It is actually the back, however. There is little difference other than the faded text on the other side, however. |
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There is a text along the top of the memorial which is very hard to read. I managed to decipher enough to recognize them as Bible quotes. The verses are shown below on this page. |
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The dead are listed on side panels by unit and then by rank. |
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The year 1849 and the caption indicate that this is probably meant to be the front of the monument, the side facing the street. The caption reads, "Died the death of heroes" (Es starben den Heldentod). |
The Bible verses quoted around the top of the monument are as follows:
- Front: from the apocryphal book 2 Macc 7:2 "We are ready to die, rather than to transgress the laws of our fathers" (Eher sterben wir, als dass wir die Gesetze unserer Väter übertreten). The reference to transgressing the law might be meant as a jab at the rebels against whom this war was fought.
- Back: from John, 15:13, a common phrase on later German war memorials: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" ("Niemand hat größere Liebe denn die, daß er sein Leben läßt für seine Freunde")
- Left: from Revelations 2:10, also common on later German war memorials: "be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life" ("Sei getrost bis an den Tod, so will ich dir die Krone des Lebens geben")
- Right: Psalm 101:6: Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me (Meine Augen sehen nach den Treuen im Lande, daß sie bei mir wohnen). The reference to faithful, which is the same word as "loyal" in Germany, may also have been chosen to fit the context of this war.
