When you visit the Austrian city of Tulln, on the banks of the Danube River, you can see the figures as you approach the park on the banks of the Danube River. The figure of a woman gracefully holds her skirts as her headdress seems to flutter in the wind. Opposite her, at the centre of the tableau, a man stands with one foot forward; his left hand grasps the sword at his side, yet he holds his right forearm across his chest, and his head is uncovered. He is clearly a warrior, but he has not come to fight. This is Etzel, or Attila, striding larger than life out of the medieval German epic poem the Nibelungenlied (The Lay of the Nibelungs) to meet his bride Kriemhild against the backdrop of Tulln’s scenic gardens and riverside park. The monument seems almost overly grand for its surroundings; it looks old. However, it was actually erected in 2005.
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