Strassburger Denkmal

The Strasbourg Monument in the Elisabethenanlage park near Basel SBB honors Switzerland's humanitarian aid during the siege of Strasbourg in the Franco-Prussian War. Donated by the French baron Hervé de Gruyer and created in 1895 by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, the sculpture shows a winged genius leading the weeping Alsatia and her child to Helvetia. She holds a shield protectively over those seeking refuge. Relief panels on the base commemorate the reception of the refugees and the tradition of friendship, while a band of coats of arms joins the participating cantons with Strasbourg and Switzerland.