Gella+Fra

=Gella Fra=

Paige Bjerke - Luxembourg City
Gella Fra is a monument in Southern Luxembourg City, located in Constitution Square. It is made up of three bronze statues sculpted by Claus Cito. The two at the bottom are soldiers, one who died and the other mourning his loss. The third statue sits on top of a 21 meter granite obelisk, Gella Fra, this one represents Nike the Goddess of Victory. She holds a laurel wreath in her hands over the people of Luxembourg. Gella Fra is also commonly referred to as the Golden Lady. It was originally constructed in 1923 to represent the volunteers of World War I. Even though Luxembourg stayed neutral during the war 3700 volunteers fought with the French army and 2000 unfortunately died . During World War II, the Nazi forces came into the city and took it down in October of 1940. When the war ended several pieces were recovered, but Gelle Fra, the statue on top was not found. She made a quick appearance in 1955 but then quickly disappeared again until she was found under the National Stadium in 1981. The monument was then restored by 1984 and was open to the public June, 23 1985. At this time the monument was rededicated to the volunteers of World War I, World War II, and the Korean War.

In 2001, a Croatian artist named Sanja Ivekovic created a statue called the Lady Rosa of Luxembourg. It was almost an exact replica of the Gella Fra. The only difference was that the Lady Rosa was pregnant. This statue was meant to depict the many different issues of womanhood. It showed the child bearing role that women have in society, but also tried to bring light to the sexual violence that women face. Many people thought that this 2nd Golden Lady, Lady Rosa, undermined the patriotic message of Gella Fra. After several debates, the Lady Rosa was eventually taken down.

The original Gelle Fra is now in the Luxembourg Museum but the replicated monument still stands in Luxembourg City. In 2010 she traveled to the Shanghai World Expo and returned home to the museum in January 2011. Today she represents the freedom and resistance of the Luxembourg people. Standing 21 meters tall she can be seen from many places in the city.