Look out for figures and scenes on the frieze in sculpture, lettering and mosaics. Representations of Germania, Father Rhine with a crown of vine leaves, the enemy Napoleon seated on a cloud and Commander General von Hartmann uniting the Southern and German States can be seen.
The Victory Column commemorates the triple victory of the Prussian army against the Danes, the Austrians and the French in quick succession. 66 metres from the ground, Victoria, also known by Berliners as Goldelse or ‘Golden Lizzy,’ is an enormous golden statue that towers over Berlin from the centre of the Tiergarten park.
Finished in 1873, the memorial is built on a solid pink granite base, the same rock that was quarried for the Soviet memorial in Treptower Park.
The Victory Column originally stood in the Platz der Republik at the end of the Siegesallee, but was moved in 1939 as part of the monumental plans to redesign Berlin into Welthauptstadt Germania - the world capital.
The Nazis relocated the column to its present site at the eastern end of the Tiergarten, a large intersection on the city axis that leads from the former Berlin City Palace through the Brandenburg Gate to the western parts of the city. This relocation probably saved the monument from destruction, as the Americans heavily bombed its previous location at the end of the war.
As a central attraction in Berlin, it’s an extremely popular place from which to view the city and is one of the cheaper towers too. Ascend the 285 steps (with several places to stop and rest) for a superb lookout point.
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