Equestrian Statues
WHS containing equestrian statuary (a person seated on a horse). With date and historical background.
Connected Sites
| Site | Rationale | Link |
| Bamberg | The Cathedral contains "The Bamberg Horseman" from the early 13th Century. It is considered the earliest monumental equestrian statue in Europe since Classical antiquity. It is also one of the earliest to depict Horseshoes. | |
| Belfries | A sculpture of an equestrian statue of Louis XIV decorates the façade of the belfry of the town hall of Dunkerque. (Nomination file, p. 36) | |
| Bom Jesus do Monte | Saint Longinus riding a horse | |
| Budapest | the leaders of the 7 Magyar tribes as part of the Millennium Memorial in Heroes Sq (1900). Also Stephen I (1906 -Fisherman's Bastion), Prince Eugene of Savoy (1900 -Buda Castle), Francis II Rakoczi (In front of Parliament Building). Artur Gorgey Palota ut/Toth Arpad setany. Leader of 1848 revolution | |
| Camagüey | In Ignacio Agramonte Park (1911):Ignacio Agramonte, a general in Cuba's Wars of Independence against Spain in the 19th century | |
| Cartagena | Simon Bolivar (1900), Plaza de Bolivar. The plaza was originally the "Plaza de la Catedral" and later the "Plaza de la Inquisicion". It was remodelled as a park and renamed in 1896 and the statue of Bolivar himself added in 1900 | |
| Damascus | Saladin, In front of the Citadel (1993 to mark 800th anniversary of his death) | |
| Edinburgh | Duke Of Wellington (1852) "The horse is Copenhagen, a favourite of the Duke's - a superb battle horse that was unflinched by gunfire. He was ridden by the Duke throughout the whole Battle of Waterloo. Later he was retired to the Duke's estate of Stratfield Saye where he died aged 29 in 1836 and was buried with full military honours." Also background to the politics of the statue in the link. Edinburgh also has an equestrian memorial to the Royal Scots Greys Regiment (1906) in West Princes St Gardens. It commemorates the regiment's service in the Boer War. | |
| Ferrara | At the square in front of the cathedral, there's a statue of Niccolo III d'Este seated on a horse. | |
| Florence | Ferdinando I de' Medici,by Giambologna and completed by Tacca (1608). On the Piazza della Santissima Annunziata. Made with bronze from captured Turkish galleys. Cosimo I de Medici by Giambologna (1594) on Piazza della Signoria. | |
| Kraków | The Tadeusz Kościuszko Monument at the entrance to Wawel Castle. | |
| L'viv | Dasnilo Galitsky Halyts'ka Sq. "Daniel of Galicia", King of Rus and founder of L'viv. Credited with developing western contacts in 13th C whilst the area was still under Mongol suzerainty | |
| Lima | Pizarro, Lima City Walls Park behind the Convent of San Francisco. Was located in Plaza des Armas until 2002 but was moved in response to indigenous opposition. Also not really of Pizarro! See Link. Bolivar - Legislative Palace (1859). Erected when the Plaza del a Inquisicion was renamed - replica of statue in Caracas. | |
| Loire Valley | King Louis XII in front of Blois Castle | |
| Lyon | Statue of Louis XIV in Place Bellecour. Originally created in 1713 it was melted down for cannon in the French Revolution! A second (different) statue was installed in 1825 | |
| Madara Rider | Early mediaeval relief (c710 AD) of a mounted warrior killing a lion. It possibly represents a Khan of the nomadic Bulgars who had recently arrived in the area. It and the related inscriptions provide important clues to this period of Bulgarian history | |
| Mexico City and Xochimilco | Charles IV (1802), In front of Palacio de Mineria on Tacuba st/Plaza Tolsa (named after the sculptor). 2nd largest cast bronze statue in the World. Saved from melting down during the struggle for independence. | |
| Monastery of Batalha | of Nuno Alvares Pereira, in front of the monastery | |
| Morelia | Presiding over Morelos Square, the largest public square in the Morelian historic district, is the equestrian monument to Morelos, cast in bronze | |
| Naples | Charles III of Boubon and Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (III of Sicily and IV of Naples! By Canova. Erected to celebrate the return of the Spanish family after a decade under Napoleon's rule.) both in Piazza del Plebiscito. Victor Emmanuel II Piazza Municipio | |
| Nelson Mandela Legacy Sites | Union Buildings: statue of Louis Botha, the first PM | |
| Old Havana | Grand statue of Máximo Gómez (Cuba's military commander in its War of Independence (1895-1898)), right near the fortifications | |
| Oporto | King Peter IV (1866), Liberdade Sq. He holds the constitution he fought to protect. Vimara Peres (1968), In front of the Cathedral. The first "count of Portugal in 868AD | |
| Padua’s fourteenth-century fresco cycles | Gattamelata at the Basilica of St. Anthony | |
| Paris, Banks of the Seine | Gilt bronze statue from 1874 of Joan of Arc on horseback by Fremiet in the Place des Pyramides. The statue on view today is not the original as the sculptor decided to have a second go later and make Joan bigger in relation to the horse. There are other versions of the same statue in Nancy, Melbourne, New Orleans LA, Philadelphia PA and Portland OR | |
| Paseo del Prado and Buen Retiro | Equestrian of General Martínez Campos by Mariano Benlliure at the Retiro Park, 1907. And Equestrian of King Alfonso XII by Mariano Benlliure at the Retiro Park, 1909. (wiki List of equestrian statues in Spain) | |
| Prague | St Wenceslas in Wenceslas Sq by Josef Vaclav Myslbek who worked on the ensemble for more than 30 years. It replaced an earlier statue of the same saint (which was moved to and is still at Vysehrad) and has served as a national symbol and rallying point | |
| Rammelsberg and Goslar | Goslar: Emperor Friedrich Wilhem I (Barbarossa) and Kaiser Wilhelm I ("Barbablanca"!) 1900 in front of the Imperial Palace as a nationalist statement linking the 2 men | |
| Residences of the Royal House of Savoy | Several, including two at the entrance gate to the Palazzo Reale | |
| Rome | Numerous - Marcus Aurelius (late 2nd C). Only a replica is on display in the Campidoglio see link. Also Victor Emmanuel II (PiazzaVenezia/Capitoline hill), Umberto II (Villa Borghese), Garibaldi (1895 - Piazza Garibaldi), Anita Garibaldi (1932 - nr Piazza Garibaldi), Skanderbeg (Plaza Albania) and Carlo Alberto (Quirinale) | |
| Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France | Église Saint-Hilaire de Melle | |
| San Miguel de Allende | The Plaza Civica in San Miguel de Allende contains a large statue of Ignacio Allende mounted on a horse. | |
| Santiago de Compostela | Inside the Cathedral there is a statue of Saint James Matamoros on his white horse ("an 18th-century work by Jose Gambino") | |
| Schwerin Residence Ensemble | Statue of Niklot | |
| St. Petersburg | The "Bronze Horseman" of Peter I was commissioned by Catherine and stands on a pedestal known as the "Thunder Stone" which has been claimed to be the largest single stone "ever moved by man". The bronze Monument to Nicolas I in front of St Isaacs Cathedral "Unveiled on July 7th 1859, the statue was a technical wonder of its time; it spans six meters and was the first equestrian statue in the world with merely two support points (the rear hoofs of the horse) " (Wiki - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monument_to_Nicholas_I ) . The Bronze horseman also stands on just 2 legs but its tail provides further support! | |
| Upper Middle Rhine Valley | Giant equestrian statue of Emperor William I erected 9 years after his death in 1897 at "Deutches Eke". The original was badly damaged by shells and removed in 1945. After German reunification a decision was made to replace the statue with a replica (after some controversy) and this took place in 1993 | |
| Vatican City | Equestrian of Emperor Constantine I by Bernini (1670) to the north end of the narthex in St. Peter's Basilica; Equestrian of King Charles the Great by Cornacchini (18th century) to the south end of the narthex in St. Peter's Basilica | |
| Venice and its Lagoon | Bartolomeo Colleone Captain General of the Republic. Campo SS Giovanni e Paolo (By Verrocchio - but he died 1488 before the clay model could be cast) See link for history and issues re location. Victor Emmanuel II (1887) Riva degli Schiavoni | |
| Verona | Vittorio Emmannuel II, Piazza Bra. Inscription on the base "on the fifth anniversary of his death, tears are shed for him by the whole of the civilized world: January 9, 1883." It is to thank the sovereign who "with wonderful virtue made a weak and divided Italy into an independent and free whole". | |
| Versailles | Louis XIV (1836). in 1816 Louis XVIII commissioned an equestrian statue of Louis XV for Place de la Concord and the horse was sculpted by one artist. In the end a different "king" was seated on the horse, sculpted by a different person, and a different location was chosen! | |
| Vienna | 4 Field Marshals (von Laudon, von Daun, von Traun and von Khevenhuller) as part of the Maria Theresa memorial at Maria-Theresien-Platz (1888). Archduke Karl (1858 - The 2nd oldest in the world to only have 2 of the horse's legs attached to the pedestal) Heldenpatz.. Prince Eugen (1865) - Heldenplatz. Archduke Albrecht (1899) - in front of Albertina. General Radetzky (1891) Ringstrasse. | |
| Westminster | Richard the Lionheart (1856 - first shown at the Gt Exhibition). Barry, the Palace of Westminster architect, didn't want this statue placed here. | |
| White City of Tel-Aviv | Bronze statue of Meir Dizengoff, first Mayor of Tel Aviv, on 16 Rothschild Boulevard (near Dizengoff's home, now a museum). He apparently loved to ride his white horse trough the streets of Tel Aviv in the 1930s. The statue was designed by David Zundelovich in 2009. | |
| Zacatecas | Pancho Villa, On the summit of Cerro de la Bufa. The Cerro was the site of Villa's great victory at the Battle of Zacatecas (1914) in which the president's force of 12000 was wiped out. Next to him are equestrian statues of his fellows generals Panfilo Natera and Felipe Angeles | |
| Zamość | Jan Zamoyski, the town's founder. In front of the Palace |
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