Description Coin
Description Coin
The coin motif by the artist Bodo Broschat from Berlin implements the actually immaterial theme in a surprisingly powerful way. Staged almost like a film, the radical composition brings together different thematic blocks: St. Paul's Church, the constitutional document and the female allegories “Unity”, “Law” and “Freedom”. With its vivid relief, the coin arouses curiosity about the timelessness of basic democratic principles that were written down for the first time and in a formative way.
Backgroundinformation
Backgroundinformation
The 2 euro commemorative coin “175. Paul’s Church Constitution Anniversary” honors a truly formative historical event.
The Paulskirche constitution was passed on March 27, 1849 by the first freely elected all-German parliament and promulgated one day later. It did not come into force because the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm IV rejected the imperial crown associated with the constitution: he only wanted to rule by the grace of God and not legitimized by the sovereignty of the people. The Paulskirche Constitution combined monarchical and democratic principles of legitimation and granted constitutional protection under the rule of law, which even offered the possibility of an individual constitutional complaint (a principle that still applies in the Federal Republic of Germany today). Along with “unity,” “freedom” was the defining idea of the Constitution, which included many corresponding rights that we now take for granted: freedom of speech and religion, freedom of assembly, freedom of the person, and freedom of science and the press. Central elements and aspects of the constitution were later taken up and expanded upon by the Weimar Constitution and the German Basic Law. As a place steeped in history, the Paulskirche stands as a symbol of a democratic awakening that has been renewed again and again throughout German history. The memory of the Paulskirche constitution conveys historical context and awakens understanding for sustainable concepts of democracy. The question of living democracy and the participation of all members of a society in the state and community are today more important and urgent than ever.
