Chlodwig-Stele / Clovis Stela

The “Chlodwig-Stele” stands at the site where the Battle of Zülpich between the Franks and Alemanni is said to have taken place in 496 as a reminder of this historical event, which also marks the Frankish king Clovis’s conversion to Christianity.

It was inspired by a research colloquium at Burg Langenfeld on the occasion of the 1500th anniversary of the battle. The owner of the castle and patron of the arts, Manfred Vetter, subsequently developed the idea to preserve the awareness of this place and the historical event through a work of art and commissioned the artist Ulrich Rückriem to design a suitable sculpture. The result was a high stela as a landmark on a field diagonally opposite the castle. Following the sculptor’s characteristic practice, an elongated granite cube was divided into seven segments and then re-assembled in its original shape so that drill holes and sawn edges form horizontal lines. Thus the monumental granite stela looks both natural and shaped by art, archaic and modern. The artwork was donated to the City of Zülpich by Henrik Hanstein of Haus Busch (Lempertz Art Auction House, Cologne) and Hans Vetter of Burg Langendorf. In 2001, the stela was transferred to the non-profit foundation Manfred-Vetter-Stiftung für Kunst und Kultur.

Working on the “Chlodwig-Stele” led to a productive collaboration between the artist Ulrich Rückriem and the client Manfred Vetter. Until 2006, five more works were created by the sculptor that were installed near the castle and can be visited along a roughly three-kilometre route. A sculpture called “Ursprung” (Origin) was added in 2017.

http://www.vetter-stiftung.de