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Plaque with portrait of Carl von Rabenhaupt

Bas Galis

About this artwork.

At the corner of Rabenhauptstraat and Hereweg is a building called Huize Rabenhaupt. The sandstone plaque above the first floor is a portrait of Carl von Rabenhaupt. He is depicted with a frowning expression, an abundance of ringlets and a jabot. The portrait was made by Bas Galis in 1929.
 
Army chief Carl von Rabenhaupt defended the city of Groningen in 1672 against the invasion of the Bishop of Münster, nicknamed Bombing Berend (Bommen Berend). The hostile soldiers, over 20,000 in number, besieged the city from the south, in the area where Rabenhauptstraat and the Kempkensberg are now located. After a week-long siege, in which about 4,600 soldiers from the Munster-Cologne army and about 100 inhabitants of the city were killed, the bishop ended the shelling. The siege was lifted on 28 August and Groningen was finally set free. Every year on this date the town jesters celebrate this event with the Bommen Berend festival.
 
A little further down Rabenhauptstraat, at number 65 near the Grafisch Museum, a Rabenhaupt plaque commemorates this illustrious battle.

Location.

Rabenhauptstraat 1

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Facts & Figures.

  • Design
    Bas Galis

  • District
    Rivierenbuurt & Herewegbuurt

  • Year of creation
    1929

  • Art type
    Art in / on a building, Facing brick

  • Material
    Sandstone

  • Dimensions
    h 0,55 x b 0,55 m

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