Emperor William Monument (Porta Westfalica)

The Emperor William Monument (German: Kaiser-Wilhelm-Denkmal), near the town of Porta Westfalica in the North Rhine-Westphalian county of Minden-Lübbecke, is a colossal monument above the Weser gorge of Porta Westfalica, the "Gateway to Westphalia". It was erected to honour the first German Emperor, William I (1797-1888), by the then Prussian Province of Westphalia between 1892 and 1896 and emerged against the background of a rising German national identity. The monument, which is around 88 metres high, is classified as one of Germany’s national monuments.

The architect of this prominent monument was Bruno Schmitz and the sculptor was Kaspar von Zumbusch. Since 2008, the monument has formed part of the Road of Monuments. As a result of its dominant geographical site, it is the most important landmark of the town of Porta Westfalica and of northern East Westphalia.

The Emperor William Monument is located at the extreme eastern end of the range of the Wiehen Hills on the eastern slopes of the Wittekindsberg (294.2 m above sea level (NHN)). It towers above the great gorge of Porta Westfalica, through which the River Weser flows between the Wiehen Hills in the west and the Weser Hills in the east and between the towns of Porta Westfalica in the south and Minden in the north. It is here that the Weser breaks out of the German Central Uplands and winds across the North German Plain. The site used to be on the eastern border of the old Province of Westphalia with Porta Westfalica. The monument lies within the municipality of Barkhausen in the borough of Porta Westfalica.

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