Fritz Reuter Monument (in Humboldt Park)

Fritz Reuter (1810-1874),  a remarkable German novelist and political martyr, is portrayed on a grand scale through this 9-foot tall bronze monument. Reuter was imprisoned for seven years by the Prussian government for participation in a student political activism club, yet he continued writing and conjuring characters in good humor. He was admired by the German Americans of Chicago who honored him by commissioning  this sculpture. The German- American sculptor Franz Engelsman (b. 1859) was selected to sculpt the piece after he won an 1887 competition. The West Park Commissioners iinstalled and dedicated the monument in 1893.  Originally, four bronze relief plaques along the base of the monument depicted scenes from Reuter’s best-known works.  Unfortunatly, the bronze plaques were stolen in the 1930s, and have never been recovered.