The Johannes Gutenberg Monument is located on the Roßmarkt in Frankfurt am Main. It still commemorates the invention of letterpress printing, its inventor and the printers and publishers working in Frankfurt. The model was ceremoniously presented to the public on the occasion of the city's 400th anniversary. That was in 1840.
The history
The Gutenberg Monument on the Roßmarkt was erected by the German sculptor Eduard Schmidt von der Launitz. The foundation stone was laid on 6 November 1854. It is a fountain monument, erected in neo-Gothic style and with a fine high sandstone base. Three life-size figures stand on the foundation. Under the main cornice are 14 medallion portraits of famous letterpress printers, and below them hang escutcheons of towns that were involved in the invention of printing. At the base of the monument is a large fountain basin. On the occasion of the 400th anniversary, the Gutenberg monument in plaster was presented to the people of Frankfurt. Johannes Gutenberg lived in Frankfurt am Main for three years from 1454. During this time, the printer produced important works such as the Crusade Bull for Pope Calixtus, the Letter of Indulgence and the Turkish Calendar. Johannes Gutenberg succeeded in reproducing writing for the first time with his groundbreaking invention. This made knowledge accessible to all people! Today, his invention is compared to that of the computer and the Internet. Gutenberg is considered a true master and a true founder of media. Not least, he was posthumously named "Man of the Millennium" by Time Magazine. This is another reason why the Gutenberg Monument and the history of printing are still relevant and important today. Engage with the subject, too, during a visit!
The design
The Gutenberg Monument is a Gothic sandstone structure and bears three statues, namely Johannes Gutenberg, the printer Johannes Fust and the publisher Peter Schöffer. The patrons of the art of printing were once: theology, poetry, industry and natural science. They sit symbolically as figures at the corners of the pedestal and, with their other portrait heads, focus on famous book printers, publishers and booksellers of the time. Finally, the represented heraldic figures stand for the oldest European cities of book printers: Frankfurt am Main, Mainz, Strasbourg and the lagoon city of Venice. During your visit to Frankfurt, take a look at the history of printing and visit the Gutenberg Monument in person - it's worth it!
The surroundings
The Gutenberg Monument is located in the heart of Frankfurt, in the city centre, on the centrally located Roßmarkt. The large square flows into Kaiserstraße from the southwest and into Große Gallusstraße from the west. If you walk in a southeasterly direction, you will come to the street Am Salzhaus. To the north, Roßmarkt leads into Goetheplatz, and at the eastern end, one reaches Hauptwache and all of the city's major subway lines. This is also where Katharinenpforte branches off, as Roßmarkt is not only home to the impressive Johannes Gutenberg monument, but also Katharinenkirche, the main Protestant church, built in 1681. The Roßmarkt was already laid out in the Middle Ages. A visit to the Gutenberg Monument can easily be combined with a shopping trip through the surrounding shops. It never gets boring here!
