Jahndenkmal

The unveiling fell on Jahn's 150th birthday and simultaneously opened the German Gymnastics Festival (Deutsches Turnfest). The ceremony was attended by Oskar Berger, chairman of the Deutsche Turnerschaft, and a great-grandson of Jahn who had travelled specially from Chicago.

The four "F"s of the Turner Cross refer to the motto of the Deutsche Turnerschaft: "Frisch, Fromm, Fröhlich, Frei" (Fresh, Pious, Cheerful, Free). The design was provided by Adolf Abel, who as Cologne's City Architect was also responsible for the Abel Buildings in front of the RheinEnergieStadion, the Rheinhallen, the Messeturm at Koelnmesse, and the main building of the University of Cologne.

The hill, like the Adenauer Hill to the southeast, was formed from the excavated earth of the Adenauer Pond between them. It was originally intended as a spectator stand; a broad staircase leads to the top, from which the Jahnwiese could be surveyed. The monument was once visible from afar, but tall trees now obscure the view.

A plaque added later commemorates both the 1928 Gymnastics Festival and the German Gymnastics Championships held in Cologne in 1949. In 2011 it featured in the exhibition "In Bewegung – 200 Jahre Turnen" at the German Sport & Olympic Museum. After a member of the German Gymnastics Federation restored it, the plaque was returned to the pillar in March 2012.