The Land Soldier (Landsoldaten)

The bronze infantryman on the green in front of the Prince's Gate is one of the most famous statues in Denmark. Cast in 1858, the Land Soldier commemorates the Danish foot soldiers who broke out of Fredericia's gates on 6 July 1849 and routed a much larger Schleswig-Holstein force besieging the town.

The figure is unusual in being defiantly modest: a private soldier with his foot resting on a captured cannon, helmet pushed back, beard trimmed but not styled. He stands looking outward across the field where the battle was fought. Quick visit, but the centrepiece of the old town.

things to do sight
A story
Sculptor Herman Wilhelm Bissen modelled the Land Soldier on a real veteran of the 1849 battle, Peder Hansen, and unveiled the figure on 6 July 1858 — the ninth anniversary of the sortie. It was the first public statue in Denmark to honour a common soldier rather than a king. Every 6 July the town still gathers around the statue for a torchlit ceremony to remember the battle.