The soldier in iron

The „Wehrmann in Eisen“ (Soldier in Iron) from 1914 was erected to attract donations in the course of WWI to support war widows and orphans and is today located in the Rathausarkaden (City Hall Arcades) in Vienna’s Stadtplanungshaus (City Planning Building) directly next to the entrance to the MUSA, a location of the Wien Museum.

In the course of so-called war nailings, those willing to donate could hammer a nail into the limewood figure in the shape of a knight, designed by the avowed National Socialist Josef Müllner. Originally placed at Schwarzenbergplatz, there are about 500,000 nails in the sculpture. During WWII, the action was repeated in favor of the Heroes‘ Memorial in the Outer Burgtor and the base of the figure was nailed.

As a trigger for the idea, the medieval „Stock im Eisen“ (stick in the iron) on the square of the same name near St. Stephen’s Cathedral is considered the oldest surviving nail tree and found in the 20th century a large number of imitators throughout Europe.

The saying above the figure reads:

Der Soldat von Wien erinnert sich der Zeit,
Als unerschöpflich wie des Krieges Leid
Liebe war und Barmherzigkeit“

(The soldier of Vienna remembers the time,
When inexhaustible as the war’s suffering
Love was and mercy)