Wender·Vista
New Ulm Hermann monument
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileMinnesota
above New Ulm, on a bluff over the Minnesota River

New Ulm Hermann monument

— a copper man holding a sword to the sky.

— Minnesota wall art on a ceramic tile, made to order
from $22
Finished by hand in Knoxville. Free US shipping over $75, on your wall in about ten days. Damaged in transit? Free replacement within 30 days; other returns within 30 days. Returns · Contact
— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
In the living room, above the sofa.
— In the living room, above the sofa.
Beside the kettle, propped on the counter.
— Beside the kettle, propped on the counter.
On the nightstand, catching the morning.
— On the nightstand, catching the morning.
In the entryway, first thing you see.
— In the entryway, first thing you see.
A quiet corner of the bath.
— A quiet corner of the bath.
shown in a slim black floating frame · 6 × 6 in
— shown in a slim black floating frame · 6 × 6 in
— bring it home

New Ulm Hermann monument, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

comes gift-ready
— comes gift-ready

Each tile ships in a kraft box, tied with cream ribbon, with a handwritten note from the studio if you'd like to add one.

or build a grouping
— or build a grouping

Three or five different vistas, hung together — a chapter of places you've been, or want to go.

— a note from the studio

“Hermann stands one hundred and two feet above a quiet German-American town on the Minnesota River, his copper sword raised toward a sky that runs from prairie blue to grain-elevator gold. The monument was finished in 1897 by the Sons of Hermann, a fraternal order that wanted a tribute to Arminius, the Cheruscan chief who turned back the Roman legions in the year nine. New Ulm was settled in the 1850s by German immigrants and still keeps the language on its signs. A spiral stair climbs inside the dome to a viewing platform, open in summer, with the river bottom laid out below.

from the studio
— about New Ulm Hermann monument

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

The Hermann Heights Monument stands on a bluff at the western edge of New Ulm, a town of about thirteen thousand on the Minnesota River in Brown County. The statue is one hundred and two feet from base to sword tip and was dedicated on September 25, 1897, by the Sons of Hermann, a German-American fraternal society. The figure honours Arminius, the Cheruscan chief who annihilated three Roman legions at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in the year nine. Congress designated it a national symbol of Americans of German heritage in 2000.

— the stone

The figure was designed by Julius Berndt of New Ulm and executed in hammered copper sheet by Alfonz Pelzer of the W. H. Mullins Manufacturing Company in Salem, Ohio, the same shop that produced the copper Lady Liberty figures topping several state capitols. The dome and supporting cupola are cast iron, with ten Romanesque columns. The whole structure rises from a stone base set into the bluff. The monument was extensively restored in the 1990s, including re-leafing of the sword tip; the copper has weathered to the soft green that copper takes on after a century of Minnesota winters.

— the visit

Hermann Heights Park is on Center Street at the top of the bluff, with free parking and benches under mature oaks. The interior spiral stair and the viewing platform at the base of the figure are open daily from Memorial Day through the end of October; the grounds are open year-round. New Ulm pairs the visit naturally with the Glockenspiel downtown on Minnesota Street, the August Schell Brewery south of town along the river, and the annual Bavarian Blast in mid-July. Modest admission is charged to climb the monument.

— where
United States · New Ulm, Brown County, Minnesota
— position
44.3094° N · 94.4683° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
1 km E
Glockenspiel
carillon clock tower
3 km S
August Schell Brewery
1860 brewery
1 km N
Minnesota River
river valley
N
New Ulm Hermann monument
Glockenspiel
August Schell Brewery
Minnesota River
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about New Ulm Hermann monument — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

A 102-foot copper-and-iron statue and cupola on a bluff above New Ulm, Minnesota, honouring the Cheruscan chief Arminius. Dedicated in 1897 by the Sons of Hermann, a German-American fraternal society.

The German name for Arminius, a Cheruscan chief who defeated three Roman legions under Varus at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in the year nine. He became a unifying symbol in nineteenth-century German nationalism.

One hundred and two feet from base to the tip of the raised sword. The figure itself is roughly thirty-two feet of hammered copper sheet, set on a cast-iron cupola and stone base.

Yes. A spiral stair inside the dome climbs to a viewing platform under the figure. The interior is open daily Memorial Day through late October; the surrounding park is open all year.

New Ulm was founded in the 1850s by German immigrants from the Turner movement and the Cincinnati Land Society. The Sons of Hermann placed their national monument here because the town was the most concentrated German settlement in the country.

Congress designated the Hermann Heights Monument a national symbol of Americans of German heritage in 2000. It is owned and operated locally rather than by the National Park Service.

— about the piece in your home

It carries well. The monument is the defining landmark of New Ulm and a shared touchstone for German-American families across the Upper Midwest. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note from the studio reads as recognition rather than souvenir.

The verdigris copper and prairie-sky palette sits well in Craftsman, Mission, and Heritage interiors. It also pairs naturally with stained wood, leather, and quilts, and reads as a quiet anchor in a room that already carries family pieces.

A single Large holds a sofa or long console on its own. For a stronger statement, a four-tile Mural carries the full vertical of the figure; a nine-tile Mural turns it into the room's main wall.

Yes. Order the Dura Satin or Matte finish for any vertical install with humidity or splash exposure. Both are scratch-resistant and wipe clean, with the same colour as the Glossy show finish.

A microfibre cloth and water. The colour is infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, beneath a thin protective finish, so it will not fade or lift with normal cleaning.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is created and hand-finished by the studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. There is no licensing and no other source for the work.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.
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Lake Superior Maritime Museum
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Lake Vermilion island camp
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