The Statue of the Lion of Judah
The Lion of Judah was erected in the square of Addis Ababa Railway Station portraying the devotion of Emperor Menelik’s to link Ethiopia with the outside world by means of the railway line (with the help of his Swiss advisor, then foreign minister, Engineer Alfred IIg).
The bronze statue can be seen immediately in front of the railway station, which was built by the French and inaugurated in 1929. On the Lion of Judah statue are carved in relief the effigies or faces of four high-ranking personalities: Emperor Menelik II in his coronation robes and crown, surrounded by patterns of maize and coffee plants (north), Queen Zewditu in circular relief and with a golden crown on her head (south), Ras Mekonnen with golden crown in a patterned relief, and Negus Teferi in his robe and crown prince hood with patterned decoration. Similarly, to the Equestrian Statue of Emperor Menelik II, the statue of the Lion of Judah was pulled down in the 1936 fascist Italian invasion and taken to Rome where it stayed for 30 years. It was returned after lengthy negotiations and was re-erected on the original site on the same month and day it was first inaugurated. The lion of Judah itself faces to the south with opened mouth, raised left foreleg and carries the Ethiopian flag on a crossbar resting on its shoulder.
