The Goethe–Schiller Monument is a public artwork by German artist Ernst Friedrich August Rietschel located in Washington Park, which is in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. The bronze sculpture from 1908 depicts two men, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich von Schiller, one holding a laurel wreath and the other a scroll. The 12 foot artwork rests upon a 26 foot long granite base. The bronze sculpture is a recasting of the statue incorporated into the 1857 Goethe-Schiller Monument in Weimar, Germany. Description The Goethe-Schiller Monument consists of two men standing side by side. One of the men, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe passes a laurel wreath to the younger man, Friedrich von Schiller, who holds a scroll in his proper left hand. Goethe is attired in a knee-length coat, a shirt with a ruffled collar, a vest and leggings. Schiller is attired in a mid-calf length coat, a vest and leggings. The sculpture stands atop a tiered granite base containing an exedra. The sculpture has three inscriptions. On the lowest left side of the sculpture it says: RIETSCHEL, ERNEST F. On the front of the plinth, in incised letters, it says: GOETHE SCHILLER. On the front of the base it says: GOETHE SCHILLER. The granite base contains three plaques. The plaque on the left side reads: Was Du ererbt von Deinen Vätern hast Erwirb es, um es zu besitzen Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1749–1832 Weltbürger – World Citizen These are lines from Goethe’s Faust I.i, "That which you inherit from your fathers / You must earn in order to possess."—Goethe’s Faust, trans. Randall Jarrell, p. 35 (1976). The plaque on the right side reads: Wer nichts waget der darf nichts hoffen Friedrich von Schiller 1759–1805 These lines are from Schiller's Wallenstein: "Who dares nothing, need hope for nothing." The plaque in the center reads: Erected by the German Citizens of Wisconsin and dedicated to the city-June 14, 1908 Rededicated September 4, 1960 German-American Societies of Milwaukee, Wisconsin Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's 250th birthday August 28, 1749 celebrated on August 1, 1999 by the German-American Societies of Milwaukee, Wisconsin The Goethe-Schiller Monument is administered by the Milwaukee County, Department of Parks, Recreation and Culture. Historical information Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich von Schiller were both highly influential German poets, dramatists and writers that became friends in Weimar, Thuringia. The Germans that came to the United States after 1848, as well as