Isted Lion

Isted Lion
Istedløven
Danish Palace and Properties Agency
Danish: Slots- og Ejendomsstyrelsen
For victory in the Battle of Isted
Unveiled25 July 1862 in Flensburg
Location
Designed byHerman Wilhelm Bissen
ISTED
DEN 25. JULI 1850

REJST 1862

2011 wieder errichtet als Zeichen von Freundschaft und Vertrauen zwischen Dänen und Deutschen

The Isted Lion (or Flensburg Lion) (Danish: Istedløven or Flensborgløven; German: Flensburger Löwe or Idstedter Löwe) is a Danish war monument originally intended as a monument of the Danish victory over German-minded Schleswig-Holstein insurgents in the Battle of Isted (Idstedt) on 25 July 1850, during the First Schleswig War which was a civil war within the Danish Realm, although with troops from Prussia supporting the Schleswig-Holstein insurgents. At its time it was the largest battle in Scandinavian history.

Others perceived it more as a memorial for the Danish dead in the battle.[1]

Originally erected in Flensburg, Schleswig during still Danish rule, it was moved to Berlin by Prussian authorities after Prussian conquests in the Second Schleswig War of 1864 and remained there until 1945. It was returned to Denmark as a gift from the United States Army and was located at Søren Kierkegaards Plads in Copenhagen. In September 2011 it was returned to Flensburg.

  1. ^ Kragelund, Britta (February 2002). "Istedløven". Dansk-Skånsk Tidsskrift no. 1, 2002 (in Danish). Archived from the original on 2007-03-10. Retrieved 2006-07-14.