Die Trauernde
A 1949 sculpture by Gerhard Marcks standing in the churchyard of St. Maria im Kapitol, commemorating the victims of World War II.
Die Trauernde — "The Mourning Woman" — is a sculpture in Cologne that serves as a memorial to the victims of the Second World War.
Source: Wikipedia
At a Glance
- Type
- War memorial sculpture
- Artist
- Gerhard Marcks (sculptor and graphic artist)
- Created
- 1949, commissioned by the City of Cologne
- Location
- Lichhof of St. Maria im Kapitol
- District
- Altstadt-Süd, city centre
- Status
- Listed monument in North Rhine-Westphalia
The Trauernde stands in the Lichhof – a medieval 'corpse courtyard' that literally served as a holding place for the dead before burial – linking this modern memorial with a centuries-old site of death beside the Romanesque church of St. Maria im Kapitol.
Age comparison
Age compared with other places in Cologne.
Artist and Commission
The figure was created by Gerhard Marcks, a sculptor and graphic artist. The City of Cologne commissioned the work in 1949 as a memorial to the victims of the Second World War.
Setting in the Lichhof
The sculpture stands in the Lichhof of the Romanesque church St. Maria im Kapitol. The Lichhof is a former burial ground — its name derives from the old German word for a churchyard cemetery — lending the site a quietly solemn atmosphere well suited to a work of mourning.
Timeline
- 1949Gerhard Marcks created the sculpture on behalf of the city of Cologne.
Map
Blue dots: other places nearby — tap to explore.
You might also like
Comments
- Loading comments…
Sources & links
Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-06-26