Der Segler

Der Segler stands at Kiel harbour, where a bronze sailing figure rises above the waterfront. Karlheinz Goedtke created the sculpture in 1962. A fifteen-metre-high concrete pillar lifts the artwork above the harbour, making its human form visible from the surrounding maritime setting. Kiel’s connection with sailing gives the scene its natural context.

Goedtke unveiled the work for Kieler Woche in June 1962. The sculpture leaves out the sail, its most recognisable nautical element. That omission asks you to complete the vessel in your imagination, while the bronze figure and tall pillar keep the idea of movement anchored above the harbour. Goedtke studied in Stettin and Berlin, then worked as a freelance sculptor in Ratzeburg after the Second World War. His public works across Schleswig-Holstein often use human and animal forms, linking this solitary sailor with a wider body of regional sculpture.