People gathered at the harbor that day and little by little, the darkness wrapping around the statue revealed a striking woman with a large breast that was barely hidden by her dress. But most scandalously, she held two tiny nude figures in her hands – Pope Martin V and Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund. One could only imagine what was going through the minds of the people of Konstanz as they watched the statue rotate on its axis, completing one cycle in four minutes. Perhaps learning that the statue was a sex worker named Imperia, things started to make sense. Beast Travel Digest Get the whole world in your inbox. Imperia is located at the edge of Konstanz harbor on Lake Constance, or what the Germans call Bodensee. It is one of the first things people see when arriving by boat and is eagerly sought after by tourists arriving from land. In 2018, Konstanz’s CEO of Marketing and Tourism told Südkurier that of the 6 million people who visited the city, 1.6 million visited Imperia. “It is a curious work of art that cannot be ignored. It spins on its axis, making it a moving target for the eyes,” Thea Mostyn of the Konstanz Tourism Board explained to The Daily Beast. “The statue is certainly beautiful and has a fascinating, informative story.” In the 1990s, the Bodensee Ship Company and the Konstanz Tourist Association commissioned Peter Lenk to create a statue. Lenk is a German sculptor best known for creating satirical sculptures and art—often related to nudity or human genitalia. His work, such as Friede sei mit Dir, an artwork depicting the large genitalia of a former newspaper editor on the side of a building in Berlin, and Ludwigs Erb, which features nude German politicians such as Angela Merkel, have caused controversy and discussion throughout Germany. “Peter Lenk had not disclosed details of what exactly [the statue] would be. He invoked artistic license and offered to take it down if he didn’t like it,” Mostyn said.
1142697922
The nine-meter-high Imperia statue, a work of art by the sculptor Peter Lenk, stands at the entrance to Konstanz harbor on Lake Constance next to the historic ship Konstanz. Drone recording.
Getty
In 2018, the Südkurier reported that the 1993 mayor of Konstanz, Horst Eickmeyer, who was aware of Lenk’s fame, told the artist: “Do whatever you want — but please don’t put a naked woman.” Lenk promised but worked on the statue in secret. After the big reveal, Imperia was clearly clothed, but it was what she represented that caused controversy and intrigue in Konstanz. To understand the meaning behind Imperia, we must look to the past. In 1409, the Roman Catholic Church found itself with three Popes and thus in an era called the “Great Schism”. After the papal election of 1378, the church split into two factions, each supporting a different pope—Gregory IBI in Rome or Benedict III in Avignon. The Roman Catholic Church tried to correct itself in 1409 with another election at the Council of Pisa, but this resulted in a third Pope, John XXII. Not happy with the schism, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund pressured Pope John XXIII to convene the Council of Constance in Konstanz, Germany. From 1414-1418, the council worked to choose a new pope and reform the church so that schism would not happen again. During the four years of the Council of Constance, Catholic priests and cardinals engaged the services of about 700 female sex workers, according to Ulrich von Richenthal who wrote the chronicle of the council. (Some sources say it was closer to 1,500 women.) Imperia is representative of those sex workers who were paid for their services by the council’s holy men. Lenk chose the name, “Imperia,” from Honoré de Balzac, a 19th-century French novelist who wrote La Bella Imperia (or The Fair Imperia). The satirical piece of fiction recounts how priests and cardinals of the Council of Constantia visited brothels, specifically pointing out a sex worker, Imperia. Balzac described her as follows: “Imperia was the most precious, the most fantastic girl in the world, though she passed for the most dazzling and beautiful, and the one who best understood the art of mocking cardinals and softening the most resistant soldiers and oppressors. of the people.” Imperia was a fictional character, but Lenk found it a fitting name for his statue. After all, he holds the naked Holy Roman Emperor in one hand and Pope Martin V (who was elected in 1417 at the end of the synod) in the other, pointing out the irony of this moment in history when holy men did things that the Church which is considered “unholy”. At first, the city’s opinions on Lenk’s creation are divided. “The majority were open-minded and found the figure appropriate and nice. “A not-so-small minority, especially conservatives and devout Catholics, refused to accept it and demanded that the ‘eye madness’ be eliminated,” Mostyn said.
1040778914
Two people walk along the harbor promenade in front of the so-called ‘Imperia’, a statue at the harbor entrance, just before sunset in Konstanz, Germany, August 13, 2013.
Getty
Although there was a brief “battle of letters to the editor in the local press”, almost 30 years later, Imperia is now an important and famous part of Konstanz’s landscape. Her presence no doubt sparks debate about sex work and how the profession has existed for centuries, serving even the highest levels of the Catholic Church at times. No wonder it’s a favorite stop on city tours. As Mostyn said, “Imperia has become a staple of the city’s skyline. Most Konstanzers (even those who initially disapproved of her) carry Imperia in their hearts, and almost every guest is enthralled by her.”
