Ehren­hain Memori­al Grove and War Memorial

The Ehrenhain is a park on Kirchenlamitzer Straße, flanked by a row of historic barns.

This is one of 11 stops on the Weißenstadt digital town tour.

Ehren­hain Memori­al Grove and War Memorial
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The Ehren­hain is a park on Kirchen­lam­itzer Straße, flanked by a row of his­tor­ic barns. At the centre of the park stands the war memori­al. It was erec­ted in hon­our of the sol­diers who fell in both World Wars. It is made of loc­al gran­ite and depicts the monu­ment­al fig­ure of a war­ri­or – a Roland fig­ure. The Roland fig­ure also serves as a sym­bol of free­dom. The Weißen­stadt sculptor Chris­ti­an Neu­per cre­ated the war memori­al, which was ded­ic­ated on 2 Octo­ber 1928. The plinth of the Roland fig­ure shows the years in which each of the wars ended, 1918 and 1945, with the Weißen­stadt coat of arms in the middle. The memori­al is 4.20 m high and weighs around 150 hun­dred­weight. After 1945 the site was enlarged and the park around the memori­al was laid out as the Ehren­hain, a memori­al grove. To this day, a sol­emn wreath-lay­ing cere­mony is held every year on the Nation­al Day of Mourn­ing (Volk­strauer­tag) in remem­brance of those who fell in the two World Wars. The Ehren­hain with its war memori­al is lis­ted as a his­tor­ic monu­ment by the Bav­ari­an State Office for Monu­ment Protection.

At the centre of the park stands the war memori­al. It was erec­ted in hon­our of the sol­diers who fell in both World Wars, is made of loc­al gran­ite and depicts the monu­ment­al fig­ure of a war­ri­or, a Roland fig­ure. The Roland fig­ure also serves as a sym­bol of freedom.

War memorial at the Ehrenhain
The war memori­al at the Ehren­hain today Photo: Flori­an Fraaß

The Weißen­stadt sculptor Chris­ti­an Neu­per cre­ated the war memori­al, which was ded­ic­ated on 2 Octo­ber 1928. The plinth of the Roland fig­ure shows the year in which each war ended, 1918 and 1945, with the Weißen­stadt coat of arms in the middle. The memori­al is 4.20 metres high and weighs approx­im­ately 150 hundredweight.

After 1945 the site was enlarged and the park around the memori­al was laid out as the ‘Ehren­hain’ (memori­al grove). To this day, a sol­emn wreath-lay­ing cere­mony is held every year on the Nation­al Day of Mourn­ing (Volk­strauer­tag) in remem­brance of those who fell in the two World Wars.

The Ehren­hain with its war memori­al is lis­ted as a his­tor­ic monu­ment by the Bav­ari­an State Office for Monu­ment Pro­tec­tion.

In a quiet, tree-lined memorial grove stands a war memorial statue on a round base engraved with the years 1914–1918. Buildings can be seen in the background. The inscription on the base reads: Weißenstadt im Fichtelgebirge, Kriegerdenkmal.
The war memori­al in 1928 Photo: Weißen­stadt Town Archive
Old hand-drawn map of a triangular park with paths, trees and a central circular area, titled “Ehrenhain” in German. The map is aged, shows visible creases and handwritten labels, and is pictured on a stone background.
His­tor­ic plan for the lay­out of the Ehren­hain Source: Weißen­stadt Town Archive
Black-and-white portrait of a middle-aged man with short hair wearing a suit and bow tie, looking directly into the camera with a neutral expression. The timeless styling recalls the dignified calm of a memorial grove, reflecting quiet strength and remembrance.

Chris­ti­an Neu­per was born in Weißen­stadt. After train­ing at the Erhardt Ack­er­mann stone-pol­ish­ing works and spend­ing time abroad in vari­ous coun­tries, he returned to the Fichtel Moun­tains and worked as an artist­ic sculptor. 

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