Monument unveiled in Pforzheim

The now famous long-distance journey of Bertha Benz 120 years ago helped the automobile achieve the breakthrough it was looking for. On August 5, 1888, she and her two sons set off in the patent motor car designed by her husband, Carl Benz, and drove the 106 kilometers from Mannheim to the town of her birth, Pforzheim, returning to Mannheim a few days later. With the exception of one or two minor incidents, the patent motor car functioned perfectly.

To mark the 120th anniversary of this pioneering achievement, the town of Pforzheim will unveil a monument in honor of Bertha Benz and the first long-distance trip in automotive history at 4 p.m. on May 3, 2008. Bertha Benz was born on May 3, 1849. The celebrations are to be attended by her great-granddaughter Jutta Benz.

“Bertha Benz’s long-distance journey was the start of a triumphant march which the automobile has continued to make around the world ever since,” said Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG. “Today it is represented in infinite variations on every continent, creating individual mobility and supplying all our daily needs.”

The sculpture, created by the Pforzheim artist René Dantes, is a representation of movement, since, as Dantes put it, “this historic journey of 1888 was a moving experience in every sense of the word.” At the same time, Dantes’ stylized figure of Bertha Benz aboard the three-wheeled patent motor car looks straight ahead, symbolizing the tremendous impact the world’s first automobile had on the future mobility of mankind.

The sculpture occupies a conspicuous position at Waisenhausplatz in Pforzheim’s historic center, positioned between the CCP Congress Center and the municipal theater. The site is bordered on one side by Zerrennerstraße, one of the town’s main thoroughfares. In addition, the work of art also stands close to the historic route taken by Bertha Benz through Pforzheim, for it was here in the town center that she demonstrated the reliability of the great invention on several occasions.

On the day of the unveiling ceremony, Waisenhausplatz is to play host to a whole program of activities for children and adults. One of the main attractions will be a parade of classic cars featuring approximately 15 vehicles from different eras, including several from Mercedes-Benz. One after the other, these cars will document a journey back through time, covering 120 years of automotive history and ending when the last vehicle in the parade enters the square – a patent motor car.

Credits: Jarvis