The Sphere
Bronze sphere recovered from 9/11 ruins, now a memorial.
The world’s largest modern bronze sculpture, *The Sphere*—officially *Große Kugelkaryatide N.Y.*—was created by German artist Fritz Koenig. Weighing over twenty tons, it stood on the Austin J. Tobin Plaza between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center from 1972 until the September 11 attacks. After the towers collapsed, it was the only artwork recovered from the ruins largely intact. Dismantled and stored near a hangar at John F. Kennedy International Airport, it became the subject of the 2001 documentary *Koenig’s Sphere*. The badly damaged sculpture was later installed in Battery Park from 2002 until 2017, when the Port Authority moved it to Liberty Park, overlooking the September 11 Memorial and its original location. Rededicated there on August 16, 2017, it has been kept in the condition it was found in after the attacks, serving as a memorial.
Koenig began the piece in the late 1960s after World Trade Center architect Minoru Yamasaki saw his work at a New York gallery and commissioned a sculpture with a fountain for the plaza. Awarded the contract in 1967, Koenig created the sphere during a phase of his career focused on caryatids—works that stage a struggle with constricting, geometric masses. He intended the sculpture to contrast formally with the skyscrapers. Mounted on a porphyry disk 3.3 feet high and 82 feet in diameter, the sphere rotated once every 15 minutes. The associated Plaza Fountain sprayed 160 gallons of water per second from nozzles in a ring around the sphere, giving the impression it rose from the water. The complex hydraulics were designed at the Technical University of Munich, where Koenig had lectured since 1964. The sculpture is 25 feet high, 17 feet in diameter, and weighs over twenty tons; Koenig called it his “biggest child.”
The work was produced between late 1968 or early 1969 and the end of 1971 in Ganslberg near Landshut, where Koenig lived. A new workshop hall was built for the full-size plaster model. Koenig was assisted by his long-time assistant Hugo Jahn and South Tyrolean sculptor Josef Plankensteiner. From 1969, the plaster elements—dismantled into 67 parts—were cast in bronze at the Munich art foundry Hans Mayr. The bronze segments, totaling seventeen tons, were assembled in Ganslberg. After four years of planning and manufacturing, the finished sculpture was dismantled again, transported to the port of Bremen
- artist
- Fritz Koenig
- nationality
- German
- field
- Sculpture
- material
- Cast bronze
- weight
- Over 20 tons
- height
- 25 feet (7.6 m)
- diameter
- 17 feet (5.2 m)
- installed
- 1971 (World Trade Center plaza)
- current_location
- Liberty Park, New York City
Lore & Background
The creation of the originally titled Große Kugelkaryatide N.Y. dates to the 1960s and early 1970s. After World Trade Center architect Minoru Yamasaki saw Koenig's work in a New York gallery, he asked Koenig to create a sculpture including a fountain for the space between the towers. Koenig was awarded the contract in 1967 by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The sculpture was made between late 1968/early 1969 and the end of 1971 in Ganslberg near Landshut, where Koenig lived. The plaster model required a new workshop hall; Koenig was supported by his assistant Hugo Jahn and sculptor Josef Plankensteiner. The bronze segments were cast in Munich and assembled in Ganslberg, then transported to Bremen and shipped across the Atlantic to New York. The Sphere was installed on the plaza in 1971 and dedicated to 'world peace through trade.'
Reader's Guide
The Sphere is significant as the largest bronze sculpture of modern times and the only artwork recovered largely intact from the collapsed Twin Towers after the September 11 attacks. Its survival transformed it from a decorative fountain piece into a powerful memorial. After being stored near JFK Airport, it was re-erected in Battery Park in March 2002 as a temporary memorial, then moved to Liberty Park in 2017, overlooking the 9/11 Memorial and its original location. The sculpture has been kept in the badly damaged condition it was found in after the attacks, embodying both the destruction and resilience of that day. Its journey from plaza to rubble to memorial reflects the broader process of remembrance and recovery in New York City.
Did You Know?
- The Sphere rotated once around its axis within 15 minutes, mounted on a porphyry disk.
- One hundred and sixty gallons of water per second flowed from the fountain nozzles.
- The sculpture was made of 67 individual bronze segments cast in Munich.
- German film director Percy Adlon made the documentary Koenig's Sphere about the sculpture after 9/11.
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