This is my nomination for Germany’s second ugliest war memorial. It is located in the southern part of Friedberg just across the street from the abandoned US Army base. At first, I thought it was some sort of bunker or air raid shelter. Note the bristles sticking out of the corners near the top.

On the cement wall in front of the monument are three sets of years: 1870-1871, 1914-1918 and 1939-1945, recalling the Franco-Prussian War, the First World War and the Second World War.

The Franco-Prussian War resulted in the end of the “Second Empire” in France and the founding of the “Second Empire” in Germany. Although the French lost this war and suffered greatly as a result, they were at least able to get rid of their dictatorial Emperor Napoléon III, while the Germans were saddled with a series of blatantly incompetent emperors from the Prussian royal family, who ruled for nearly half a century until the end of the First World War.

Plaque in front of the war memorial

This plaque identifies the monument as an “Ehrenstätte” (literally “Honor Place”) for the fallen soldiers from the city of Friedberg.

The war memorial from behind some trees

My photos in this post are from 2011. I revised the text in 2021.

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