Mendelssohnruhe

Mendelssohnruhe is a memorial in Frankfurt am Main dedicated to the composer Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. It stands in the Oberwald area of Frankfurt City Forest. A roughly one-metre syenite stone carries a bronze plaque donated by the Jeanrenaud family, Mendelssohn’s in-laws. The plaque recalls Mendelssohn’s connection with Frankfurt. The memorial dates from the early twentieth century, marking a centenary and an anniversary linked to Mendelssohn. It commemorates a forest festival where several of his choral works received their first performances. Mendelssohn attended that celebration and later described it in letters to his mother. The account connects that festival with his forest walks and Six Songs to be Sung Outdoors. Forest workers buried the memorial during the Nazi regime. Its rediscovery and restoration after the Second World War preserve a record of music, memory and Frankfurt’s history. Footpaths, bicycles and horses reach this spot near Oberschweinstiege. Aircraft noise from Frankfurt Airport can sometimes interrupt the forest’s quiet.