Hermann Monument – New Ulm
Fondly known as Hermann the German, this New Ulm icon was inspired by a similar monument near Detmold, Germany. The colossal figure, sculpted by Alfonz Pelzer in a pavilion designed by Julius Berndt, served as an important symbol for members of the Sons of Hermann, a German-American fraternal organization. Through the determined efforts of Minnesota’s 53 lodges, the monument was started in 1888 and dedicated in 1897. Constructed of sheet copper over iron, the 32-foot statue stands on a 70-foot iron column encircled by a spiral staircase to the dome, which is supported by ten iron columns on a Kasota stone base. In 1998, straight-line winds damaged the Hermann Monument and further investigation of the statue’s condition determined that extensive restoration was necessary. The City of New Ulm funded the year-long, $1.2 million project and Hermann was raised to his pedestal in 2004, in time to celebrate New Ulm’s Sesquicentennial.
