The foundation of the Niederwalddenkmal was laid on September 16, 1877 by the German emperor Wilhelm I. The 38 meter high monument with the 10.5 meter statue of "Germania" symbolize the "Wacht am Rhein" (poem by Max Schneckenburger which might be translated with "Watch on the Rhine") and remember the restoration of the German Empire directly after the Franco-Prussian War.
