Jan-Wellem-Denkmal

The donation came at the tail end of the dispute over Mülheim's annexation: the city had given up its fight for independence in 1913, and the merger with Cologne took effect on 1 April 1914. Officially, manufacturer Christoph Andreae donated the monument to mark his firm's 200th anniversary in Mülheim (1714–1914). That occasion, however, fades into the background — political motives are widely considered the driving force. The timing of the unveiling on 28 April 1914 supports this interpretation: roughly 28 days after annexation, but nearly two months before the actual anniversary date. The same Andreae family also donated Cologne's Bismarck monument during the Kulturkampf.

Many of Mülheim's craft and industrial businesses were owned by Lutheran or Reformed proprietors whose settlement in the area stemmed from the Elector's tolerant religious policy. The Andreae family itself was forced to leave Cologne in 1714 as Protestants. Their cloth manufactory, founded in Cologne in 1687, was relocated to Mülheim, where it received residency rights on 18 June 1714.

The 3.15-metre figure shows Jan Wellem in hunting attire — boots, rifle, and tricorn hat — standing on a Baroque-style pedestal bearing the Mülheim city coat of arms. Two plaques below read "Jan Wellem (1658–1716)" and "Unserem König 1711" ("To Our King 1711").

Johann Wilhelm visited Mülheim on several occasions, as the town lay on the route to Bensberg, and neighbouring areas were among his hunting grounds. During a visit in 1711 he was crowned Shooting King of the St. Sebastian Marksmen's Association and received a chain with a bird and shield.

The monument originally stood on the southern side of Wiener Platz. After the Second World War it was moved to the Stadtgarten at the junction of Jan-Wellem-Straße and Fürstenberger Straße.