Until 1943, a three-metre-high bronze statue of King Ludwig II stood proudly atop the bastion of Munich’s Cornelius Bridge. The magnificent statue was surrounded by an eleven-metre-high, shell-shaped structure known as a conche, made of pink Untersberg marble. Together, they formed a remarkable monument in honour of the King of Bavaria.

However, the monument’s history took a dramatic turn during the Nazi era. As part of the so-called Reich Metal Donation (Reichsmetallspende), the National Socialists ordered bells and monuments to be melted down so that the recovered metal could be used in the production of armaments. Remarkably, the monument to King Ludwig II was the only monument to a Bavarian ruler in Munich to suffer this fate. Fortunately, the bronze head of the King survived, remaining a precious reminder of the original statue.

The impressive marble conche eventually disappeared from Munich’s cityscape as well. Having lost its original purpose, it was dismantled in 1969.

A remarkable chapter in the monument’s rediscovery began in 2014. The founder of the Ludwig II Monument Association (Ludwig II.-Denkmal e. V.) succeeded in locating and identifying almost all of the original stones – nearly 100 per cent – in the municipal works depot of the City of Munich. This discovery marked a crucial step towards the reconstruction of this historic monument.

Editorially revised with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI).