Prof. Rick McCormick was invited to give a short talk on Schiller. You can read his remarks in this PDF.
More information on Schiller and the sculpture in his honor can be found on Public Art St. Paul's website.
For 105 years, a sculpture of German literary giant Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (1759-1805) has presided over the gateway to Como Park. It was commissioned from artist Ignatius Taschner by St. Paul's German American community and gifted to the City in 1907. Having braved over a century of Minnesota winters, this cultural treasure has been completely restored by Public Art Saint Paul.
The community is invited to rededicate the sculpture with triumphant fanfare and choral voices on Saturday, May 11th at 10:00am. The rededication will be held at the Schiller sculpture site near the Como Park gateway at Lexington and Eastbrook drive. In case of rain, the program will move indoors to the Como Park Visitor Center Auditorium.
A Minnesota Chorale performance of Ode to Joy from Beethoven's 9th Symphony will celebrate the sculpture's rededication. Saint Paul City Councilmember Amy Brendmoen will officiate, along with Honorary German Consul Christa Tiefenbacher Hudson, Saint Paul Parks and Recreation Director Michael Hahm, and Public Art Saint Paul President Christine Podas-Larson. University of Minnesota Professor Rick McCormick will speak of Schiller and students of the Twin Cities German Immersion School will recite a Schiller poem.
