Don’t forget to head downstairs to the underground room where you can find the remains of an unknown soldier, as well as soil taken from battlefields and concentration camps.
One of the finest Neoclassical buildings in Berlin, Neue Wache was originally designed to look like part of a fortified Roman encampment. To that end, famed architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel built this old guardhouse with sturdy towers at each of its four corners, and an imposing six-column Doric colonnade at the front. The result is powerful yet elegant, with elements of ancient Greek temples blending with the strong military theme.
Changing Hands
Neue Wache was commissioned by King Frederick William III of Prussia as a guardhouse for his Royal Palace across the road. It was completed in 1818, and retained its function for 100 years, until the fall of the German monarchy at the end of the First World War. The building has been rededicated several times since then, until finally being christened with its current name, the “Central Memorial of the Federal Republic of Germany for the Victims of War and Dictatorship” in 1993.
Beneath the Oculus
As you approach the building, take a moment to admire the splendid frieze at the top of the columns, which is decorated with intricately carved bas-reliefs of the Roman goddess of victory. On the pediment above are more carvings, depicting the symbolic figures of Battle, Victory, Flight and Defeat. Inside, Neue Wache is largely bare, save for a single statue entitled "Mother with her Dead Son”. It was designed in 1938 by Käthe Kollwitz, who lost her youngest son in the First World War, and serves as a poignant reminder of the tragedy of war.
Discover Berlin’s monuments, museums, and memorials dedicated to commemorating the dark, difficult and turbulent years of the Second World War. With an expert private guide, you will explore Germany’s capital city through the lens of its role in the Holocaust and Hitler’s war, uncovering many horrors and unsung feats of heroism.
On your private tour, you will:
Today Berlin is a thriving urban metropolis, famous for its alternative culture, art, music, theatre, and multi-ethnic food scenes. But its past is more tumultuous than most, and the city is full of monuments, murals, museums, and memorials dedicated to commemorating the horrors of the Holocaust, and the darkest days of Soviet rule behind the Iron Curtain.
Your guide will talk you through the history of Berlin and its role as Hitler’s Headquarters during the Second World War. You’ll see many historic monuments from the grandeur of the 19th Century Brandenburg Gate, to the small but incredibly moving brass plaques known as the Stolpersteine (stumbling blocks) that name every single person taken by the Nazis.
You’ll have the opportunity to pay your respects at the very moving, haunting Holocaust Memorial as well as pass by the locations of Hitler’s bunker and office.
Explore the beautiful Tiergarten Park, and hear the stories of desperate Berliners who used the park as farmland and for firewood after the war. Learn about the final moments of World War II in Europe. See the bullet holes, shrapnel and Soviet graffiti that cover the Reichstag building.
This tour explores the German culture of memory while talking about those who lost their lives and were persecuted. A visit to Berlin is a reminder to never forget.
Explore the highlights of Berlin on this half-day family-friendly walking tour, learning about the 20th-century history of Berlin in a vivid and engaging way.
On your private, family-friendly tour, you will:
Explore the beautiful German capital city of Berlin with an expert private guide on this immersive family-friendly half-day tour. You'll learn about Berlin's turbulent century from the humiliation of the Prussian Empire after the First World War, to Hitler's Rise to power, the Holocaust and horrors of World War II, the Iron Curtain dividing East from West during the Cold War years, the toppling of the Berlin Wall, and finally Berlin's emergence as a successful, leading capital city known for its architecture, food, culture, music, art and so much more!
Berlin confronts its difficult past - with many moving and sombre memorials to the Holocaust and those who perished during the Nazi regime. You and your family will see many of these important memorials on your fascinating tour, from Checkpoint Charlie to the Holocaust Memorial, from the plaque commemorating the book burnings to the remains of Hitler's last bunker, as you also discover modern Berlin.
Your tour finishes with tickets to the amazing German Spy Museum, in the very heart of Berlin - which was famously known as the city of spies during the Cold War! The museum has amazing interactive displays, a tricky lazer maze, cyphers and passwords to decode, and engaging exhibits that tell the story of espionage dating as far back as the ancient Romans! You will learn the cypher technique invented by Julius Caesar - which is still used by spies today! You'll learn about the secret service methods used by Oliver Cromwell, by Napoleon Bonaparte and by both the English and the Germans during World War I and II - as well as during the Cold War. A wonderful way to bring the past to life for your family!
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