Fritz Koenig

Fritz Koenig
Fritz Koenig in 2015
Born	(1924-06-20)20 June 1924 Würzburg, Germany
Died	22 February 2017(2017-02-22) (aged 92) Landshut, Germany
Nationality	German
Education	Academy of Fine Arts in Munich
Known for	The Sphere

Fritz Koenig (20 June 1924 – 22 February 2017) was one of the most important international German sculptors of the 20th century.

Koenig's main work and most famous work is The Sphere. The world's largest bronze sculpture of modern times once stood on the plaza beneath the two World Trade Center towers in Lower Manhattan until the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.^[1] The artifact, weighing more than 20 tons, was the only remaining work of art to be recovered largely intact from the ruins of the collapsed twin towers after the attacks. With its damage deliberately left unrepaired, the sculpture now stands in Manhattan's Liberty Park as a memorial to the victims of the September 11 attacks.

Koenig's oeuvre includes other works, including other memorials. Numerous works by Koenig and his renowned collections with artifacts from antiquity to the 20th century are located in the Koenigmuseum in Landshut, which he designed and established by the Fritz and Maria Koenig Foundation.