Søfartsmonumentet - Copenhagen, Denmark
N 55° 41.639 E 012° 35.857
33U E 349002 N 6174637
This sculpture is a maritime monument to the Danish Merchant Navy Seamen who lost their lives at sea during World War One. It is situated next to the Langelinie Marina, along the waterfront of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Waymark Code: WMJ3YD
Location: Denmark
Date Posted: 09/19/2013
Views: 30
"Søfartsmonumentet, The Maritime Memorial, was originally created by Svend Rathsack in close cooperation with Architect Ivar Bentsen, and was erected in 1928 to commerorate the 648 Danish Merchant Navy seamen who perished at sea during WW1. The monument was officially inaugurated on 9. Maj 1928 by one of Denmark’s most respected and beloved kings, His Majesty King Christian X.
The figure on top depicts “MINDET” (the memory), and the names of ships and men lost are inscribed at the base of the statue.
The monument was originally carved in limestone from Fakse Kalkbrud, but has deteriorated severely over the years. In 2009 it was therefore decided to re-create the monument, but as limestone production has ceased years ago, another more weather resistant material was opted for, namely marble from the Italian town of Tivoli. Restoration work was commenced by the end of 2009, and is still on-going in 2012.
However, oddly, the monument was re-inauguated on 16. September 2011 by the Head of the Danish Shipowners’ Association, Mr. Peter Bjerregaard." SOURCE
"Svend Rathsack (8 September 1885, Fredericia – 14 December 1941, Frederiksberg) was a Danish sculptor.
After beginning his artistic career as a painter, Rathsack turned exclusively to sculpture in 1913. Adam, his first statue, showns his interest in ancient Greek art which he had developed while studying the Royal Cast Collection (Den_Kongelige_Afstobningssamling). In 1914, while he was in Paris, Rathsack met Johannes Bjerg who became an important influence for him. On returning to Denmark, he crafted works similar to those completed by Bjerg and Einar Utzon-Frank prior to 1920. In 1921, Rathsack travelled to Java where he sculpted a fine black marble bust of Babu Ani.
In 1924, he won a competition for a Maritime Monument on Langelinie, part of Copenhagen's waterfront. The work, which he completed together with Ivar Bentsen, was unveiled in 1928. It consists of a number of narrative reliefs topped by a large winged female figure depicting Memory. He went on to receive several more public commissions, including a monument to the composer Hans Christian Lumbye in the Tivoli Gardens (1930). Built on his own initiative, the Greenland Monument (1938) on the marketplace in Christianshavn, along with a monument to the Faroe Islands, had been in his thoughts as early as the 1920s. But it was only after a trip to Greenland in 1931 that his plans won the approval of Copenhagen's authorities. The work consists of a Greenlander standing before his kayak, placed high on a pedestal above two groups of working women. Rathsack's last works were the Standing Woman [1940-41] and the Hunter (1941), both testifying to his continuing interest in the possibilities offered by standing figures." SOURCE