The Classicist memorial consists of a quadratic sandstone plinth, on which stands a prismatic pedestal topped by a sandstone sphere. The inscription HENKE is carved into it facing away from the river. Haenke’s biographical details are also written on the pedestal in German.
The memorial was commissioned by the successful textile entrepreneur F. Z. Römisch, who became wealthy supplying the Austrian army during the Napoleonic Wars. He was famed as a philanthropist. After purchasing the Malá Skála estate he started to build a romantic natural park near the ruins of Vranov castle, which he called the Pantheon. It contained statues and monuments commemorating great Czech historical figures. The ornamentation of the natural park also extended beyond the Pantheon, with Römisch keeping his compatriot and friend Haenke in mind.
The memorial is the work of the Sestroňovice sculptor Ignác Martinec, who was one of many local artists and craftsmen working to bring the lord of Malá Skála’s ideas to fruition. The memorial to Haenke, right on the edge of the natural park, is the only such sculpture to have been preserved; the others were removed during the construction of the railway.
