Tauzieher
Shell limestone sculpture at the Rheinauhafen — Cologne's first freestanding sculpture in public space, standing around 6½ metres tall.
The Tauzieher is a shell limestone sculpture erected at Cologne's Rheinauhafen in 1910/1911. It was the first freestanding sculpture in the city's public space.
Source: Wikipedia
At a Glance
- Type
- Shell limestone sculpture
- Erected
- 1910 to 1911, unveiled on 4 March 1911
- Height
- Around 6½ metres, just over half of which is the plinth
- Sculptor
- Nikolaus Friedrich
- Location
- Altstadt-Süd, Innenstadt district, at the Rheinauhafen
- Notable
- Cologne's first freestanding sculpture in public space
- Protected
- Listed monument since 1 July 1980
When unveiled in March 1911, the Tauzieher became the first free-standing sculpture in Cologne's public space – and it was twice the size of the original, which had caused such a stir at a 1908 exhibition that art enthusiasts launched a collection and the city council approved a 10,000-mark subsidy to make the enlarged version possible.
Age comparison
Age compared with other places in Cologne.
Origins
Sculptor Nikolaus Friedrich, born in Cologne but living in Charlottenburg, exhibited a figure at the 1908 Vereinigung Kölner Künstler show at the Cologne Flora that drew considerable praise from art circles. The desire to install a greatly enlarged version in a Cologne square prompted a fundraising campaign among local art patrons. As the collected sum fell short, the city council approved a grant of 10,000 Marks on 23 March 1910.
Location and Execution
The site chosen was an open area at the Holzmarkt in front of the then-new harbour, to the right of the swing bridge at the foot of the Malakoff Tower. Scaffolding went up in September 1910, and the finished figure turned out roughly twice the size of the original 1908 statue.
Significance
The nude figure carries the message that anyone willing to work can earn their own prosperity. In September 1911, an unknown author took up this very tension in a poem.
Listed Monument
Together with the swing bridge and the railing along the quay wall, the Tauzieher was placed under monument protection on 1 July 1980 — making it one of the first Cologne cultural monuments listed under the newly enacted preservation law.
Timeline
- 1908Nikolaus Friedrich exhibits the original figure at the Kölner Flora.
- 1910-03-23City council approves a 10,000 mark subsidy for the installation.
- 1910-09-21Construction scaffolding erected to begin installation of the monument.
- 1911-03-04Unveiling of the Tauzieher at the Rheinauhafen.
- 1911-09A poem addresses the symbolic contradiction of the naked Tauzieher.
- 1980-07-01Tauzieher listed as a protected monument (No. 66).
Map
Blue dots: other places nearby — tap to explore.
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Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-06-27