Östermalm, Stockholm, Sweden - panoramio (66)

The Aviator Monument ( sv, 'Flygarmonumentet') is a

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...

that stands at

Karlaplan Karlaplan is an open park-plaza area in Östermalm in central Stockholm, Sweden. History Lindhagenplanen was a general plan presented with a proposal for street regulation in Stockholm in 1866 by a committee headed by the lawyer and politician ...

in central

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Sweden. The statue was a gift from the Swedish Aeronautical Society in memory of different Swedish aviation pioneers who fell in both the North Pole expedition of 1898 and in the Swedish aviator era in 1917. The task to build the

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...

was given to the famous sculptor

Carl Milles Carl Milles (; 23 June 1875 – 19 September 1955) was a Swedish sculptor. He was married to artist Olga Milles (née Granner) and brother to Ruth Milles and half-brother to the architect Evert Milles. Carl Milles sculpted the Gustaf Vasa statu ...

. The Aviator Monument was finished in 1931.

The statue

The monument is a sculpture of a large

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

with outstretched wings about to lift. Height 185 cm, width 750 cm and depth 185 cm. On the plinth which the statue is standing on are reliefs of

Icarus In Greek mythology, Icarus (; grc, Ἴκαρος, Íkaros, ) was the son of the master craftsman Daedalus, the architect of the labyrinth of Crete. After Theseus, king of Athens and enemy of Minos, escaped from the labyrinth, King Minos suspe ...

, balloonists and early warplanes. Milles thought that an eagle would be an excellent

symbol A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...

. Inside the shallow monument there is an urn, which contains medals for each fallen Swedish pilot.

History

Based on his sympathy towards Hitler, some art historians think that the Aviator Monument is an expression of Carl Milles admiration for Nazism. The

with its outstretched wings is often associated with the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

symbol, The Nazi Eagle. In the 1940s, young Swedish Nazis used the monument as a meeting point, and a place for gathering and commemoration. During this time young socialists sabotaged the statue with

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

in protests against Nazis. The Swedish Air Force used it as a monument for a wreath-laying ceremony. The original purpose of this statue is to honour fallen pilots such as

Salomon August Andrée Salomon August Andrée (18 October 1854, in Gränna, Småland – October 1897, in Kvitøya, Arctic Norway), during his lifetime most often known as S. A. Andrée, was a Swedish engineer, physicist, aeronaut and polar explorer who died while ...

, Nils Strindberg and Knut Fraenkel who died in the North Pole expedition in 1898. The monument was taken down during the construction of the

Karlaplan metro station Karlaplan metro station is a station on the red line of the Stockholm metro, located at Karlaplan in the district of Östermalm. The station was opened on 2 September 1967 as part of the extension from Östermalmstorg to Ropsten Ropsten is a c ...

and re-erected again in 1967.

References

External links

jr4itspfkarlaplan
{{coord, 59, 20, 17, N, 18, 05, 25, E, region:SE-AB_type:landmark_source:dewiki, display=title Monuments and memorials in Sweden Outdoor sculptures in Stockholm 1931 sculptures Bronze sculptures in Sweden Sculptures of birds Sculptures by Carl Milles Vandalized works of art in Sweden Aviation art