Goddess of Victory

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Gëlle Fra is a Luxembourgish term for Golden Lady. The monument, located in Constitution Square in Ville Haute Quarter in Central Luxembourg has been one of the bus stops of tourists and local alike when they happen to pass by the place. It is dedicated to the thousands of Luxembourgers who volunteered in the armed forces of the Allied Powers in World War I.

A 21-metre obelisk is the center of the monument. Atop of this grand structure stands a glided bronze statue of a Nike, the goddess of victory or Queen of Freedom. The lady is holding a laurel wreath as if crowing the city of Luxembourg for all that it has been through before, during and after the great wars. The sculptor, Claus Cito, a native Luxembourger also added two more bronze figures at the foot of the obelisk representing the Luxembourgish soldiers that volunteered to serve France: one is seen lying at the base of the statue, having died in the war in the midst of serving the country and the other one is shown sitting mourning for his friend. The monument was opened in public in 1923

 Despite the deep representation of the monument for Luxembourg, it aroused public controversy at the time it was proposed and installed. Opposition had come from the conservative Catholic majority of citizens, and at the inauguration ceremony Grand Duchess Charlotte and the Bishop of Luxembourg were absent.

 During the World War II, when Luxembourg was occupied by the Nazi forces, the Germans dismantled several portions of the monument. After the war, it was only partially restored. The lady herself remained to be unaccounted for until it was found hidden beneath the main stand of the national football stadium on January 1980. Later, the additions were made to honor Luxembourg forces who served during World War II and Korean War.

The lady also sometimes goes to expositions. She was removed from the obelisk and went to a world expo in Shanghai in 2010.

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