Since the rediscovery of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing's tomb in 1833, efforts have been made in Braunschweig to provide a proper appreciation for the Enlightenment poet, and with the support of the later director of the Municipal Museum, Karl Schiller, the eminent sculptor Ernst Rietschel statue design; The casting of the monument was completed in 1849 and the result was a bronze statue, the head of which was formed from a bust by the sculptor Christian Friedrich Krull.