Millions of tourists flock to this small German city each year to see this top attraction
A prostitute, a pope, and an emperor walk into a bar…
What sounds like the beginning of a bawdy joke is actually the subject of arguably the most famous statue in Konstanz, Germany.
Named Imperia, the 29.5-foot-tall statue weighs 18 tons and was erected in August 1993. Designed by sculptor Peter Lenk, Imperia stands on the edge of the Konstanz Port on Lake Constance.
She is one of the first things people see when arriving by boat, and boy is she a sight to behold.
A city commissions a statue. What could possibly go wrong?
In the 1990s, the Bodensee Ship Company and Konstanz’s tourism association commissioned Peter Lenk to create a statue, presumably to increase tourism to their humble city. Lenk is a German sculptor known for making controversial art, often intertwining nudity, politics, and culture.
Then-mayor Horst Eickmeyer reportedly had only one request of the artist, “Do what you want — but please don’t put up any naked women.” Technically, Lenk fulfilled his promise.
The sculpture is of a beautiful and voluptuous woman whose robe barely covers her massive…
