Fritz Reuter Monument

Fritz Reuter was born on November 7, 1810 in the town of Stavenhagen in the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (now Germany). His father was a farmer as well as the town’s mayor and sheriff. During his younger years, Reuter studied law first at the University of Rostock and then later at the University of Jena. In 1833, Prussian authorities condemned him to death for high treason due to his involvement in a student-run democratic organization. Prussia’s King Frederick William III, however, commuted the sentence to thirty years’ imprisonment. Reuter spent the next five years in a number of different Prussian prisons before being handed over to the authorities of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and placed in Dömitz Fortress. In 1840, after a total of seven years in prison, Reuter was released thanks to a pardon by Frederick William III’s successor, Frederick William IV. Despite leaving his jail cell behind, he carried with him the deleterious health effects from his time in prison for the remainder of his life. 

After gaining his freedom, Reuter made a living as a farmer for ten years before becoming a private tutor in the small Pomeranian town of Treptow an der Tollense (now Altentreptow). In 1853, he published Läuschen un Riemels(“Anecdotes and Rhymes”), a collection of humorous poems. Written in Plattdeutsch or Low German, the volume provided him with his first taste of fame. In the 1860s, Reuter published a series of stories in Plattdeutsch entitled Olle Kamellen (“Old Stories of Bygone Days”). Published in 1860, the first volume of the series contained Ut de Franzosentid (“During the Time of the French Conquest”). An account of his conviction and imprisonment, Ut mine Festungstid (1862; “During the Time of My Incarceration”), composed the second volume. Considered by most to be his masterpiece, Ut mine Stromtid (1864; “From My Farming Days”), made up the third, fourth, and fifth volumes. As a result of his work, Reuter became one of the most popular writers in Germany at the time and garnered a strong following among the German-American community in the United States. Plagued by poor health since his years in prison, he died on July 12, 1874 at the age of sixty-three in Eisenach, Germany. 

Following Reuter’s death, members of Chicago’s German-American community formed a committee to erect a monument in honor of the German writer. The committee organized a design competition to select the artist in 1887. After reviewing submissions, the committee awarded the commission to a relatively unknown German-American sculptor from the city named Franz Engelsman. Dedicated in front of an estimated crowd of 50,000 in the city’s Humboldt Park on May 14, 1893, the monument consists of a nine-foot-tall bronze sculpture of Reuter on a tall granite pedestal. The statue depicts the full-bearded nineteenth-century German writer standing in period attire, his left leg positioned well in front of his right. His left hand holds a book, which is propped up on a tall, relatively thin tree stump that protrudes from the ground directly behind him, while his right hand rests on his chest partially tucked into his vest. At the time of the monument’s unveiling, bronze reliefs featuring scenes from his works graced the sides of its pedestal. Unfortunately, the reliefs were stolen sometime in the 1930s and have never been recovered.

"Fritz Reuter." Encyclopædia Britannica. Web. 20 March 2021 <https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fritz-Reuter>.

"Fritz Reuter Monument." Chicago Park District. City of Chicago. Web. 20 March 2021 <https://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/parks-facilities/fritz-reuter-monument>.

"Reuter, Fritz." The Encyclopedia Americana. New York & Chicago: The Encyclopedia Americana Corporation, 1919.