Beginning at the end

As you know, I'm on the tracks of my great-great-grandfather Konrad Maurer, who was in the 19th century a Bavarian scholar of Scandinavian history, and a particular friend of Iceland.

I am beginning this journey at the end. This is Konrad's grave in Munich. The three rocks are basalt columns from Iceland and were brought to Germany and erected on his grave in 1998. Such rock that appears in naturally straight columnar form is a special geologic feature of Iceland, caused by volcanism.

This is the inscription (the lower part is bilingual, in German and Icelandic):

KONRAD MAURER
RECHTSHISTORIKER
1823-1902

VALERIE MAURER
1833-1912

Dem Erforscher des nordischen Altertums
Dem Förderer isländischer Freiheit
Dem Freunde Islands

Brautryðjandi á sviði norrænna fornfræða
frumkvöðull í frelsisbaráttu Íslendinga
velgjörðamaður Íslands