Beethoven (1170-1827) spent his childhood in Bonn, located in western Germany on the Rhine River. The city also holds an annual festival in his honor.

Artist Markus Lüpertz's monument consists of two busts in what he calls a free interpretation and an effort to visual capture Beethoven's oeuvre.

The bronze sculpture measures 2.7 meters (nearly nine feet) and weighs over a ton.

kbm /ng (dpa, stiftungkunst.de)