“Mother Earth” Monument

“Mother Earth” is a gravestone sculpture by Ernst Barlach, set up in Szczecin Central Cemetery. It shows a seated elderly woman, roughly hewn, with a rough texture. The present monument is a copy unveiled in 2011, and the original stands in Germany.

Where the sculpture came from

It was commissioned by the Szczecin timber merchant Richard Biesel as the main element of a family tomb. In 1920 Barlach made a plaster model at a scale of 1:2 in Güstrow, and in 1921 the Hamburg artist Friedrich Bursch transferred it to shell limestone. The sculpture is 146 cm high and was placed in plot 26 of the cemetery. As early as the 1920s it was regarded as one of the most valuable works in this necropolis and appeared on local postcards.

The original and the copy

After 1945 the sculpture was left forgotten in the cemetery. In 1963 Bernhard Blaschke of the GDR, organiser of the Ernst Barlach museum in Güstrow, drew attention to it. After four years of negotiations, decided at government level, the original was taken in 1967 to that museum. At the beginning of the 21st century the Association for the Central Cemetery initiated the recreation of the monument. The copy in artificial stone was made by the Szczecin sculptor Monika Szpener, and it was unveiled in November 2011.

Practical information

• Place: Szczecin Central Cemetery in the Gumieńce district, plot 26.
• The monument stands within the cemetery, so the rules of conduct appropriate to a necropolis apply there.
• Check the cemetery's opening hours with the manager before your visit.