Koblenz German Corner (#0607)

I stopped for just a couple of hours in Koblenz so as to revisit the “German Corner” that I had seen 50 years before. Unfortunately I hit it at just the wrong time of day, with the sun at an angle where I could not capture the size of the monument without shooting almost directly into the sun. BUT, the picture I took 50 years before was at a better time (see the link below). One thing you’ll immediately notice is that 50 years ago, there was no statue on top – I’ll comment on that with later pictures.

The monument is known as the Deutsches Eck (German Corner). It is at the point where the Mosel and the Rhine rivers meet; that area was referenced as the Deutsches Eck as far back as 1279. The first monument created here (inaugurated in 1897) was to commemorate the unification that occurred with the Prussian victories in the 1800’s. That monument was severely damaged in WWII and was almost destroyed by the French military government after the war, but was rehabilitated as monument to a different type of German unity – the hope to end the 1949 division of Germany into West and East Germany. With the reunification of Germany in 1990, the site no longer served its purpose as a monument for reunification – but was preserved for historic/tourism value. More details with later pictures.


www.flickr.com/photos/donbrr/3547726973

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)