The Victory Column (german: , from ''
Sieg
The Sieg is a river in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Rhine.
The river is named after the Sicambri. It is in length.
The source is located in the Rothaargebirge mountains. From h ...
'' ‘victory’ + ''
Säule'' ‘column’) is a monument in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
, Germany. Designed by
Heinrich Strack
Johann Heinrich Strack (6 July 1805, Bückeburg – 13 June 1880, Berlin) was a German architect of the '' Schinkelschule''. His notable works include the Berlin Victory Column.
Life and work
His father, , was a painter of portraits and vedut ...
after 1864 to commemorate the
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
n victory in the
Second Schleswig War
The Second Schleswig War ( da, Krigen i 1864; german: Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg) also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War was the second military conflict over the Schleswig-Holstein Question of the nineteenth century. ...
, by the time it was inaugurated on 2 September 1873, Prussia had also defeated
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
and its German allies in the
Austro-Prussian War (1866) and
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
in the
Franco-Prussian War (1870–71), giving the statue a new purpose. Different from the original plans, these later victories in the
unification wars inspired the addition of the bronze sculpture of
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, the Roman goddess of victory, high, designed by
Friedrich Drake
Friedrich Drake (June 23, 1805, Pyrmont – April 6, 1882, Berlin) was a German sculptor, best known for his huge memorial statues.
Biography
He was the son of a mechanic and served an apprenticeship as a turner in Minden, afterwards being em ...
.
Berliners have given the statue the nickname ''Goldelse'', meaning something like "Golden Lizzy".
The Victory Column is a major tourist attraction in the city of Berlin. Its viewing platform, for which a ticket is required, offers a view over Berlin.
History, design, and influences
Design
The base consists of polished red Swedish granite, measuring 18.8 meters square and 7.2 meters high. The base contains four bronze reliefs depicting scenes from the three victories. Measuring 12 meters wide and 2 meters high, they were designed by
Moritz Schulz,
Karl Keil,
Alexander Calandrelli, and
Albert Wolff. Upon the base is a round hall with 16 granite columns measuring 4.7 meters high. Along the hall's circumference is a glass mosaic designed by
Anton von Werner. Four sandstone columns rise above this hall, the first three containing 20 gilded gun barrels each, 12 pounders from the Danish victory, 8 pounders from the Austrian victory, and 4 pounders from the French victory. On top of the fourth sandstone column resides the 8.52 meter tall
gilded bronze victory.
The relief decoration was removed in 1945. It was restored for the 750th anniversary of Berlin in 1987 by the French president at that time,
François Mitterrand.
Locations
![Reichstag und Siegessäule um 1900](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Reichstag_und_Siegess%C3%A4ule_um_1900.jpg)
![Aussicht_von_der_Siegessaeule](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Aussicht_von_der_Siegessaeule.jpg)
The Victory Column originally stood in
Königsplatz (now Platz der Republik). In 1939, as part of the preparation of the monumental plans to redesign Berlin into
Welthauptstadt Germania
Welthauptstadt Germania () or World Capital Germania was the projected renewal of the German capital Berlin during the Nazi period, part of Adolf Hitler's vision for the future of Nazi Germany after the planned victory in World War II. It wa ...
, the
Nazis
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...
relocated the column to its present site at the ''
Großer Stern'' (Great Star). At the same time, the column was augmented by another 6.5 metres, giving it its present height of 66.89 metres. The monument survived
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
without much damage. Surrounded by a
street circle, the column is also accessible to pedestrians through four tunnels, according to plans by
Albert Speer. A spiral staircase leads to a viewing platform under the statue.
[
]
Historical significance
During the Battle of Berlin of 1945, Soviet troops nicknamed the column "the Tall Woman". Polish Army troops, fighting alongside their Soviet allies, hoisted the Polish flag on the column on 2 May 1945 at the end of the Battle in Berlin.
During the allied victory parade in 1945, the French tricolour
The national flag of France (french: link=no, drapeau français) is a tricolour featuring three vertical bands coloured blue ( hoist side), white, and red. It is known to English speakers as the ''Tricolour'' (), although the flag of Ireland ...
was raised atop the column on the statue by French troops.
It served as the location for Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
's speech in Berlin as a US presidential candidate during his visit to Germany on 24 July 2008.
In popular culture
The golden statue atop the column, cast in 1873 by the Aktien-Gesellschaft Gladenbeck foundry in Berlin, was featured in the music video to U2's 1993 "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
"Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" is a song by rock band U2. It is the fifth track on their 1993 album, '' Zooropa'', and was released as the album's third single on 22 November 1993. The song reached number one in Ireland and reached the top 10 in ...
".
In Wim Wenders' ''Wings of Desire
''Wings of Desire'' (, ; ) is a 1987 romantic fantasy film written by Wim Wenders, Peter Handke and Richard Reitinger, and directed by Wenders. The film is about invisible, immortal angels who populate Berlin and listen to the thoughts of its ...
'' (1987), the column is one of many such high places in the city where angels sit and look down.
During the years of the techno Love Parade
The Love Parade (german: Loveparade) was a popular electronic dance music festival and technoparade that originated in 1989 in West Berlin, Germany. It was held annually in Berlin from 1989 to 2003 and in 2006, then from 2007 to 2010 in the Ruh ...
, the column was a meeting point where large numbers of people danced together.
The Berlin queer monthly magazine '' Siegessäule'' was named after the monument, founded 1984 as a gay publication. The Berlin Pride ( CSD parade) usually includes the column on its route for the symbolism.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berlin Victory Column
1873 sculptures
Buildings and structures in Mitte
Monumental columns in Germany
Monuments and memorials in Berlin
Terminating vistas in Germany
Victory monuments
Tiergarten (park)
Sculptures of Victoria (mythology)
1873 establishments in Germany