From 1868 onwards, Bismarck monuments were erected in many parts of the German Empire in honour of the long-serving Prussian minister-president and first German Reichskanzler, Prince Otto von Bismarck. Today some of these monuments are on the soil of other countries including France, Poland and Russia as well as the former German colonies on other continents.
The Bismarck monuments were the most visible and permanent expression of the veneration of Bismarck within the Empire. The size and cost of these symbols ranged from commemorative plaques to large monuments incorporating several groups of figures such as the Bismarck Memorial in Berlin. The flood of Bismarck monuments of all kinds constituted the third major wave of monument building in the German Empire after the warrior and victory monuments for the so-called Wars of Unification of 1864, 1866 and 1870–71, and the Emperor William monuments.
Even before the unification of Germany, in the days of the North German Confederation, monuments were built in honour of Bismarck. The first Bismarck Monument, a 12 metre high obelisk, was erected in 1868 in Gross-Peterwitz in Silesia. A year later, a Bismarck tower was opened as an observation tower in Ober-Johnsdorf in Silesia . Both monuments were the result of private initiatives. While the obelisk has since been destroyed, the Bismarck tower still exists, albeit in ruins. See Bismarck Tower, Janówek.