The national or Niederwald monument designed by Prof. Johannes Schilling is a prominent landmark in Rüdesheim - popularly known as "La Germania".

It was made to commemorate the uniting of most of the small German states under the Prussian chancellor Bismarck into a new German Empire
after the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71). Germania is supposed to gaze vigilantly towards France, but her sense of direction is very poor. :-p

This area used to be a Royal hunting ground of Charlemagne and subsequently used as a commercial forest.