On 1st and 2nd April 1814, a couple of weeks after the end of French rule, soldiers from Mecklenburg in Northern Germany and Aachen citizens detonated the base of the Tranchot obelisk to take the coins and medals that had been hidden in it. This caused the obelisk to break and tumble down the hill. The Prussians later reconstructed the monument, replacing the French inscription with a German inscription and placing the Prussian eagle on top of the obelisk.