Statue of Friedrich Engels, Manchester explained

Monument Name:Statue of Friedrich Engels
Native Name:Пам'ятник Ф.Енгельсу
Coordinates:53.4734°N -2.247°W
Location:Tony Wilson Place, Manchester, United Kingdom
Type:Statue
Material:Concrete[1]
Height:3.7 m (12 ft)[2]
Complete:~1970s
Restore:2017
Dedicated To:Friedrich Engels

The statue of Friedrich Engels is a 12 ft (3.7 m) concrete statue of German philosopher Friedrich Engels currently located at Tony Wilson Place in Manchester, England.

The Soviet-era statue depicts Engels in a standing pose with his arms crossed, and stands on a pedestal bearing the Cyrillic inscription "Ф. ЕНГЕЛЬС" ("F. ENGELS").

History

First constructed in the 1970s, the statue was originally installed in the village of Mala Pereschepyna in the Poltava Oblast of the Ukrainian SSR. In 2015 Ukraine passed a series of laws that outlawed the public display of Soviet symbols, and the statue was consequently removed from its original position and discarded in a field, having been cut in half at the waist.[3]

The removal of so many Soviet-era monuments in Ukraine prompted the artist Phil Collins to begin searching for a statue of Engels to bring to Manchester, the city in which Engels had been living when he wrote The Condition of the Working Class in England between 1842 and 1844. After two years of searching for a suitable statue of Engels, Collins discovered the statue in its abandoned state and after eight months of negotiations was able to secure permission to transport the statue to England.[4] [5]

The statue was temporarily displayed at several locations across Europe on the journey to England. It was unveiled in its new location in front of HOME on the last day of the 2017 Manchester International Festival.[6] [7]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Engels mustn’t fall . Michael . Mosbacher . 9 March 2022 . thespectator.co.uk . . 14 August 2023.
  2. Web site: Tearing down the statue of Friedrich Engels won’t help Ukraine . Tyldesley . Jordan . 4 March 2022 . newstatesman.com . . 9 August 2023.
  3. Web site: Soviet Engels Statue – Manchester, England . 19 February 2018 . atlasobscura.com . . 14 August 2023.
  4. Web site: Phil Collins: why I took a Soviet statue of Engels across Europe to Manchester . Higgins . Charlotte . 30 June 2017 . theguardian.com . . 14 August 2023.
  5. Web site: Friedrich Engels . Boardman . David . August 2018 . manchesterhistory.net . 14 August 2023.
  6. Web site: A Communist Icon Toppled in Ukraine Is Restored. In England. . Davis . Zephira . 6 August 2017 . nytimes.com . . 14 August 2023.
  7. Web site: Statement from HOME regarding the artwork installation of Friedrich Engels . 4 March 2022 . homemcr.org . . 14 August 2023.