Kiepenkerl Denkmal (Traveling Merchant Statue), Munster

The bronze statue of a traveling merchant with a wooden stick and a pannier backpack (historically known as Kiepenkerl), located in Spiekerhof shopping street, lends its name to the whole neighborhood of Kiepenkerlviertel in the Old Town of Münster.

Kiepenkerle is the common term for peddlers in the Low German-speaking area (between Sauerland and Hamburg), who, in the old days, traded in salt and other goods in return for food. The name derives from the Kiepe, a wicker basket, with which the Kiepenkerle walked across the country on their business.

The original monument, made of plaster with a copper coating, was created by sculptor August Schmiemann and installed in 1896. The sculpture depicted a tradesman with his Kiepe, dressed in the typical outfit of the day: linen smock, scarf, cap, with a walking stick and a whistle.

The monument remained intact after the allied air raids on Münster in 1943 and was even used by the Nazi propaganda in 1944 as a symbol of stoicism, featured in a poster that said: "Nevertheless and nevertheless – Where is almost!". When the US Army invaded the city, though, the statue was destroyed by a tank.

Immediately after the war, a competition was launched to recreate the statue. The winner – sculptor Albert Mazzotti Jr. – was commissioned to cast a bronze copy true to the original. The new statue was inaugurated on September 20, 1953, by the then Federal President of West Germany, Theodor Heuss.

Another copy of the Kiepenkerl sculpture, made of stainless steel, was created by Jeff Koons in 1987. It is currently displayed at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden on the National Mall in Washington, DC, USA.