Monument du Général Rapp

This statue dedicated to the Empire General Jean Rapp (1771-1821), is the first public monument of Auguste Bartholdi who was only twenty years old when he realized it in 1854. It was originally exhibited on the Champs-Elysées in Paris and presented at the Universal Exhibition of 1855, before being transferred to Colmar in 1856. This colossal bronze statue was shot down by the Nazi occupiers in 1940. Restored after the war, it was rebuilt on an identical base in 1948. Today, it dominates the eponymous square, redesigned and cleared of cars since the summer of 2000.