Hackher Lion

Graz

The original Hackher Lion by Otto Jarl was unveiled in 1909 to mark the 100th anniversary of the successful defence of the Schlossberg against French trops. The bronze statue was dedicated to Major Franz Hackher zu Hart, who was celebrated as a hero in 1809, Hackher had successfully defended the Schlossberg as commander in the War of the Fifth Coalition against Napoleon, which was generally unfavourable for Austria. The victorious French ordered the fortress to be razed in the same year. The monument was melted down during the Second World War. A referendum in Graz in 1963 led to its reerection, which Wilhelm Gösser realized in 1966 with a loose replica of the original lion.