Schwerin has dedicated an entire square to the honorary citizen and named it after her in the context of the Federal Garden Show 2009. In addition, a bronze statue commemorates the famous Schwerin flower arranger. Bertha Klingberg was born in Hamburg on 21 October 1898, trained as a florist in Rostock at the age of 14 and came to Schwerin with her son after her husband died in the First World War. From then on, she could be found plying her trade at the butcher's market.
She always wore the Rhena costume, which earned her the reputation of being a "true original". The people of Schwerin knew her simply by the name of "the flower woman". And they were about to know her much more! Even at the high age of 91, it was she who collected 17,000 signatures in Schwerin to campaign for Schwerin as the state capital. Her commitment to her adopted city paid off. In 1993, Bertha Klingberg was awarded the Ring of Honour of the state capital Schwerin. In 2002, the city made her an honorary citizen. She died at the age of 107.
The statue shows her like this: Sitting on a wall, she almost tenderly holds a bunch of flowers in her arms. Not only did she love everything that blossoms and greens, but she also wears her Rhena costume with pride: the white bloomers with fine decorative folds on the sleeves, and the black dress skirt, calf-length, hem and neckline with decorative borders, gold and silver. A noble cloth, made of black silk and embroidered with flowers, covers the shoulders. So does the apron. And enthroned on her head is a bonnet with ornamental ribbons and bows, white lace all around, ribbed and with a floral pattern. This is how she felt comfortable. This is how she will be remembered.
Bernd StreiterThe artist Bernd Streiter was born in Havelberg in 1962. He studied Art Education and German at the Humboldt University in Berlin and later painting and graphic arts in Leipzig. He claims of himself: „The zeitgeist can slide down my hump. I follow my enthusiasm, the light of my life.“
In doing so, he looks for the magic behind ordinary things and sticks to the „classically eternal“, as he says. His materials should be able to last a long time. He made Bertha Klingberg in bronze in 2010.
