Winkelrieddenkmal

About

The Winkelried memorial was erected in memory of Arnold von Winkelried, who sacrificed his life in the Battle of Sempach on the 9 July 1386. According to the Swiss historiography, the Swiss wouldn't be able to break through the firmly positioned order of Habsburg pikemen. At a moment, Winkelried decided to throw himself into the pikes and therefore open a passage through the Austrian defensive front, which made way for an attack of the Swiss confederacy which then led to a Swiss victory in the Battle of Sempach.

In the case of the Winkelried memorial, the main aim of the people of Stans was not to commemorate the hero, but provide the city of Stans with a representative memorial. Therefore, the people of Stans chose Arnold von Winkelried, as he was a regionally known national figure. The local media would later write that such a monument would attract visitors to the town. The initiative for a new monument came from Anton Albert Durrer (1793–1865), who deemed the Winkelried statue that stood on a central fountain of Stans erected in 1723 as dated and on 14 July 1853 made the corresponding application to the Stans town council while also organizing a fundraising campaign for the realization...