Dedicated to the Prussian poet Simon Dach (1605-1659) and the work of the Berlin-based sculptor Alfred Kune, this otherwise mediocre statue whose original form was unveiled in 1912 is most interesting for the historical fact that it’s best remembered for. The story goes that when Adolf Hitler visited the city in March 1939 he was due to address the public from the balcony of the theatre immediately adjacent to the monument, but when he discovered that the girl would have her back facing the Führer he ordered it to be removed. Its replacement was reconstructed using old photographs in 1990. Ännchen von Tarau was a local woman of whom Dach wrote a poem in 1636.
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