Ernst-August-Denkmal
Ernst-August-Denkmal stands before Hanover’s main railway station, where a bronze rider marks a central meeting place. Albert Wolff created the equestrian statue in 1861 to honour King Ernst August of the former Kingdom of Hanover. The king wears a Hussar uniform and sits on Ibrahim, his named horse, above a reddish-brown granite pedestal. The stone came from the Brocken massif in the Harz mountains and carries the inscription “DEM LANDESVATER / SEIN TREUES VOLK.”
A committee of officials, officers, nobles and clergy commissioned the monument in 1855. Public donations funded part of the work, while King George V provided further support when the money fell short. Bernstorff & Eichwede cast the bronze, and workers transported the heavy granite from Harzburg to Hanover. The statue moved to Leineschloss during Stadtbahn construction in 1971, then returned in 1975 slightly away from its original position.
The surrounding fence disappeared from the scene long ago, but the nickname “Unterm Schwanz” remains familiar. It refers to the horse’s tail and captures the monument’s role as a place where people arrange to meet. The base also records Ernst August’s birth, reign and death, giving the busy square a direct link to Hanover’s royal history.
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Image: Unknown authorUnknown authorPublic domain 
Image: Urheber des Ernst August Albums: Wilhelm August Degèle, Carl Fink, Carl Oesterley, Wilhelm Kretschmer, Justus Heinrich Jakob Molthan, Klindworth's Hof-Druckerei ...Public domain 
Image: Unknown artistUnknown artistPublic domain 
Image: Foto: Niedersächsisches Landesmuseum Hannover;, Medaille: Heinrich (Friedrich) Brehmer;, Skulptur: Albert Wolff und Christian Heinrich HesemannCC BY 4.0 
Image: JoachimKohler-HBCC BY-SA 4.0
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