n Michael Iatrou Street between the church of Aghii Pandes and the modern graveyard, the visitor will find an exceptional sculptured monument, one of the most important of 19th century Greece; known as the lion of Bavaria, which dates from 1840 -1841.
The lion, which is carved into the rock on a monumental scale, seems to be sleeping. The sculptor of this beautiful monument was the German, Christian Siegel, who was the first professor of sculpture at Athens Polytechnic. The model for the work was the Lion of Lucerne, by the famous Danish sculptor, Bertel Thorwaldsen.
Below the lion there is an inscription in German that informs us that this monument was commissioned by Ludwig of Bavaria, father of Otto first King of Greece, in memory of the Bavarian soldiers in Otto’s escort who died during the typhoid epidemic in Nauplion which devastated the area between 1833 and 1834.
The Bavarians were buried in the graveyard of Aghii Pantes and in an area north east of Evaggelistria which became known as the ‘Bavarian monuments’. Later, their bones were exhumed and were taken to the crypt of Nauplion’s Catholic Church.
Today, the area in front of the Lion of Bavaria has been turned into a small park with benches, to provide a place to rest during a tour of the city.
Geographical Coordinates
Lion of Bavaria, Nafplio
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