Germania

This monumental painting by Philipp Veit is a unique testimonial of German history. A female figure towers before a flat landscape. She carries a flag of black, red and gold, her breast bears the crest of the German Confederation with the double-headed eagle. Other national symbols are the crown of oak leaves, the sword and olive branch standing for strength and peace-loving nature as well as the broken chains for freedom. The allegorical figure represents the unified German nation. In 1848, her outstanding portrait was hung in St. Paul’s Church, Frankfurt, during the first all-German Parliament. The painting impressively symbolises the call to create a civic constitution uniting all the German federal states.