The Prussian National Monument for the Liberation Wars (german: Preußisches Nationaldenkmal für die Befreiungskriege) is a

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, dedicated in 1821. Built by the

Prussian king The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern who were the hereditary rulers of the former German state of Prussia from its founding in 1525 as the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy had evolved out of the Teutonic Order, a Roman ...

during the sectionalism before the

Unification of Germany The unification of Germany (, ) was the process of building the modern German nation state with federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without multinational Austria), which commenced on 18 August 1866 with adoption of t ...

it is the principal

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

monument to the Prussian soldiers and other citizens who died in or else dedicated their health and wealth for the Liberation Wars (Befreiungskriege) fought at the end of the Wars of the Sixth and in that of the Seventh Coalition against France in the course of the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

Frederick William III of Prussia Frederick William III (german: Friedrich Wilhelm III.; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, w ...

initiated its construction and commissioned the Prussian Karl Friedrich Schinkel who made it an important piece of art in

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron– carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuri ...

, his last piece of Romantic

Neo-Gothic architecture Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

and an expression of the post-Napoleonic poverty and material sobriety in the liberated countries.Sibylle Badstübner-Gröger, Michael Bollé, Ralph Paschke et al., ''Handbuch der Deutschen Kunstdenkmäler / Georg Dehio'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 267. . The monument is located on the Kreuzberg hill in the Victoria Park in the Tempelhofer Vorstadt, a region within Berlin's borough of

Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg () is the second borough of Berlin, formed in 2001 by merging the former East Berlin borough of Friedrichshain and the former West Berlin borough of Kreuzberg. The historic Oberbaum Bridge, formerly a Berlin border c ...

. The monument was conceived at a time of deteriorating relations between the reactionaries and the reformers of the civic movement within Prussia. The monument is of cast iron, a technique en vogue at the time. Its younger socket brick building is faced with grey

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. S ...

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...

and was designed by the Prussian architect Heinrich Strack and realised by the Prussian engineer

Johann Wilhelm Schwedler Johann Wilhelm Schwedler (23 June 1823, Berlin – 9 June 1894, Berlin) was a German civil engineer and civil servant who designed many bridges and public buildings and invented the Schwedler truss and the Schwedler cupola. He is an author of ...

. Its centerpiece is a tapering

turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Objective turret, an indexable holder of multiple lenses in an optical microscope * M ...

of 60 Prussian feet (), resembling the spire tops of

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

churches.

Dedication

On the eastern side of the monument under the memorial inscription for the Battle of Großgörschen (aka Lützen) there is the dedication: "The

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...

to the People, which at his call magnanimously offered its wealth and blood for the Fatherland, to the Fallen in memoriam, to the Living with acknowledgement, to Future Generations for emulation." This dedication was authored by

August Boeckh August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and the fifth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. Its zodiac sign is Leo and was originally named ''Sextilis'' in Latin because it was the 6th month in ...

, a member of the philosophical class of the

Prussian Academy of Sciences The Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences (german: Königlich-Preußische Akademie der Wissenschaften) was an academy established in Berlin, Germany on 11 July 1700, four years after the Prussian Academy of Arts, or "Arts Academy," to which "Berlin ...

commissioned to write it.Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 50. . Frederick William III had rejected three alternative proposals by the philosophical class. This dedication may be considered problematic, inasmuch as it was not the king who had called his people, but the stubborn people, commoners, lower-ranking bureaucrats, military men, and members of the nobility who had stolen a march on the king. People who had earlier welcomed and benefited from Napoleon's reforms and who, like those in other nations had been inspired by his earlier "Republican" ideals of emancipating commoners as citizens, started to resist when he betrayed these ideals by making himself Emperor, levying burdensome compulsory contributions for his projects designed to aggrandize himself and his family, impoverishing not only his own people, but those of other nations, and above all bringing about the deaths of thousands in seemingly unending wars.Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 20. . At the same time the blocus, a measure against free trade, unfairly enforced favorable exchange rates of most European nations toward France while at the same time attempting to eliminate their far more profitable trade with Great Britain. In 1813 the defeated and intimidated king, forced into a coalition with France since 1812,Ferdinand Pflug, "Aus den Zeiten der schweren Noth. Nr. 8. Der Landtag zu Königsberg und die Errichtung der Landwehr", in: '' Die Gartenlaube'' (1863), Heft 3-4, pp. 44–56, here p. 44. against the will of his people refused the risky attempt to shake off the French supremacy in the wake of Napoleon's defeats in Russia. Ludwig Yorck, commanding the Prussian units supporting the French, had declared their neutrality towards the Russians without royal accord. In early 1813 irregular units, guerrillas lacking royal sanction, began to form, swearing their allegiance to the German Fatherland rather than to the king.Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 21. . On 7 February 1813 the East Prussian estates unanimously voted for financing, recruiting, and equipping a militia army (''Landwehr'') of 20,000 men, plus 10,000 in reserve, out of their funds, following a proposal designed by Yorck,

Clausewitz Carl Philipp Gottfried (or Gottlieb) von Clausewitz (; 1 June 1780 – 16 November 1831) was a Prussian general and military theorist who stressed the "moral", in modern terms meaning psychological, and political aspects of waging war. His m ...

, and Stein. The hesitant king could not stop this anymore, but was forced to enact it on March 17 in his address entitled ''An mein Volk'' ("To My People").Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 29. . However, this civic act of initiating Prussia's participation in the

War of the Sixth Coalition In the War of the Sixth Coalition (March 1813 – May 1814), sometimes known in Germany as the Wars of Liberation, a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, and a number of German States defeated F ...

was distasteful to the monarch, who again and again delayed implementing his promise of 22 May 1815 to introduce a parliament and a constitution for the entire kingdom. Rather, the monarchs allied against Napoleon subsequently granted themselves the right to suppress the rights previously granted to the citizens and to reverse all the reforms which had done away with feudalism. On 21 March 1819, Frederick William even forbade his subjects to address any further petitions for him to fulfill his promise. The reaction prevailed against the patriotic zeal of the populace.

Alternative names

The ponderous officialese name evoked many alternative names developed for the monument. Other names are ''Nationaldenkmal zur Erinnerung an die Befreiungskriege/Freiheitskriege'' (i.e. national monument in memory of the liberation/liberty wars, a more extended version), ''Befreiungsdenkmal'' (i.e. liberation monument), ''Kreuzbergdenkmal'' (i.e. Kreuzberg monument, however, there are at least five more monuments on the Kreuzberg sparsed in Victoria Park, which covers most of that hill), ''Kriegsdenkmal auf dem Kreuzberge'' (war monument on the Kreuzberg, somewhat indifferentiated), ''National-Monument'', ''Schinkeldenkmal'' (i.e. Schinkel monument, however, it is not a monument of Schinkel, but one by Schinkel), ''Siegesdenkmal'' (i.e. victory monument), ''Volksdenkmal auf dem Tempelhofer Berge'' (people's monument on the Tempelhof hill, however, it was the king's monument, with statues displaying the faces of many royal siblings, and the hill had been renamed by the king into Kreuzberg in 1821).

Location

The monument is located on the top of the Kreuzberg in the Tempelhofer Vorstadt. Between 1888 and 1894 the Victoria Park (Viktoriapark) was laid out around the monument. The monument, topped by an

iron cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...

, became name-giving for the hill it stands on, before mostly called ''Tempelhofer Berg'', but also denoted by many other names in its history. Hundred years after the inauguration of the monument, the VIth borough of Berlin, established on 1 October 1920 and provisionally named ''Hallesches Tor'', was renamed into

Kreuzberg Kreuzberg () is a district of Berlin, Germany. It is part of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough located south of Mitte. During the Cold War era, it was one of the poorest areas of West Berlin, but since German reunification in 1990 it h ...

on 27 September 1921.Klaus-Dieter Wille, ''Spaziergänge in Kreuzberg'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 21. .

History

The monument by Karl Friedrich Schinkel has been called the «relatively modest outcome of grandiose plans». This is because the monument resembles the spire top of an earlier project by Schinkel, a national memorial church with the working title ''Nationaldom'' designed in summer 1814, and a second draft in January 1815.Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 22. . However, like many other projects the memorial church never materialised due to lacking money. The compulsory contributions to France (

thaler A thaler (; also taler, from german: Taler) is one of the large silver coins minted in the states and territories of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy during the Early Modern period. A ''thaler'' size silver coin has a diameter o ...

41.73 million 154.5 million Francsalone by the Treaty of Tilsit), levied during its supremacy, which Prussia could mostly only raise by way of credit from various creditors, French and of other nations, heavily weighed as debts to be amortised and serviced on the budgets of municipalities, cities, states and other corporations until the 1870s. Already in late 1813 other projects for monuments had been launched by

Ernst Moritz Arndt Ernst Moritz Arndt (26 December 1769 – 29 January 1860) was a German nationalist historian, writer and poet. Early in his life, he fought for the abolition of serfdom, later against Napoleonic dominance over Germany. Arndt had to flee to Swe ...

, Karl Sieveking,

Johann Heinrich von Dannecker Johann Heinrich von Dannecker (October 16, 1758 in StuttgartDecember 8, 1841 in Stuttgart) was a German sculptor. Biography He was the third of five children of Georg Dannecker (1718–1786), a coachman of the nobleman Charles Alexander, Duke o ...

Leo von Klenze Leo von Klenze (Franz Karl Leopold von Klenze; 29 February 1784, Buchladen (Bockelah / Bocla) near Schladen – 26 January 1864, Munich) was a German neoclassicist architect, painter and writer. Court architect of Bavarian King Ludwig I, L ...

Friedrich Weinbrenner Friedrich Weinbrenner (24 November 1766 – 1 March 1826) was a German architect and city planner admired for his mastery of classical style. Birth and education Weinbrenner was born in Karlsruhe, and began his career apprenticed to his father, ...

.Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 24. . Schinkel considered for his project to ask the magistrate (city government) of Berlin to build a memorial.Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 26. . So like jumping the ship also the initiative for a war memorial did not originate with the king.Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 25. . On 17 March 1813, when the king had jumped on the bandwagon for the liberation wars, he established the

military decoration Military awards and decorations are distinctions given as a mark of honor for military heroism, meritorious or outstanding service or achievement. DoD Manual 1348.33, 2010, Vol. 3 A decoration is often a medal consisting of a ribbon and a meda ...

of the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...

, backdated to March 10, late Queen Louise's birthday. He commissioned Schinkel to design the Iron Cross after a royal sketch.Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, pp. 22 and 29. . The Iron Cross was a decoration of a new kind, available for every soldier, who had turned from subjects of different estate status into citizens by the establishment of the Prussian citizenship in 1810, therefore there were no status barriers to get the Iron Cross.Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 30. . On 26 June 1818 Schinkel commissioned the Royal Prussian Iron Foundry (Königlich Preußische Eisengießerei) to cast the pieces for the monument, including its statues.Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 46. . The foundry estimated costs of

20,646. After negotiations on 27 August 1818 the merchant Gottfried Wilhelm August Tietz, the farming burgher Johann Friedrich Götze and Christian Weimar (Weymann) sold the top of the Götze'scher Berg (today's Kreuzberg) measuring 1.5 Prussian

Morgen A morgen was a unit of measurement of land area in Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Lithuania and the Dutch colonies, including South Africa and Taiwan. The size of a morgen varies from . It was also used in Old Prussia, in the Balkans, ...

() and an access road branching off from Methfesselstraße.Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 38. . On 4 September 1818 the king approved the stipulated price of thaler 1,100 and an additional 400 as compensation for fixtures. The adjacent land, measuring 72 Morgen (), remained property of Götze, Tietz and Weimar. The king confirmed the price. Nationaldenkmal Kreuzberg Berlin

Duke Charles of Mecklenburg Duke Charles of Mecklenburg (german: Herzog Carl zu Mecklenburg) (30 November 1785 – 21 September 1837) was a member of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and a Prussian soldier who served in the Napoleonic Wars. From 1827 until his death he was P ...

arranged the laying of the

foundation stone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over tim ...

for 19 September 1818, attended - among others - by Tzar

Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome * Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of A ...

Christian Daniel Rauch Christian Daniel Rauch (2 January 1777 – 3 December 1857) was a German sculptor. He founded the Berlin school of sculpture, and was the foremost German sculptor of the 19th century. Life Rauch was born at Arolsen in the Principality of ...

and Schinkel.Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, pp. 39 and 52. . An iron cast memorial medal was issued on that occasion and the proceeds were used for war invalids.Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, pp. 39seq. . A bit northeast of the monument, deeper on the slope thus not blocking the view, a guard's house was erected after Schinkel's design in 1821.''Die Tempelhofer Berge nebst ihrer Erhebung dem Kreuzberge anno 1286 bis 1986'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 13. No ISBN.Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 51. . It was a brick structure in

Gothic Revival style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

adorned with a

Lombard band A Lombard band is a decorative blind arcade, usually located on the exterior of building. It was frequently used during the Romanesque and Gothic periods of Western architecture. It resembles a frieze of arches. Lombard bands are believed to ...

all around beneath the eaves of the flat pyramidal roof. On 1 January 1822 the invalid Martin Herborn moved in, employed to guard the monument. By the end of the 19th century a milk bar (Milchkuranstalt) moved in. The abandoned building was demolished in the 1950s, its site is now used by a ball playing cage. For the inauguration of the monument Frederick William III chose the 30 March 1821, the seventh anniversary of the conquest of the

Montmartre Montmartre ( , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Right Bank. The historic district established by the City of Paris in 1995 is bordered by Rue Ca ...

in the Battle of Paris.Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 41. . The inauguration was attended by the royal family, the Prussian generality, the senior pastors of all Protestant congregations of Berlin, and as guests by Grand Duke Nicholas of Russia and his wife Alexandra Feodorovna (Charlotte of Prussia), as well as by thousands of other spectators. Court preacher Bishop Rulemann Friedrich Eylert held an inaugural prayer.Report on the inauguration, in: ''Berlinische Nachrichten'', 31 March 1821, reprinted in: Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 124. . The national monument is crowned by an Iron Cross. On the occasion of the inauguration the king renamed Götze'scher Berg into Kreuzberg (i.e. cross mountain) after the Iron Cross topping the monument.Walther Oschilewski, ''Kreuzberg: Ein Berliner Bezirk gestern und heute'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 19. No ISBN. The monument is adorned with twelve statues symbolising twelve major battles of the Liberation Wars, however, at the inauguration only two of the statues had been installed, and two others were represented by plaster models painted like cast iron.Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 52. . On December 27 altogether six statues had been installed, the other followed over time (two on 15 January 1823, one on 22 December 1823, another on 10 March 1825, on 17 June 1826 the last two.Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 55. . The monument's front side was directed northeastwards to the Hallesches Tor (Halle Gate). Hintze Kreuzberg 1829

On 1 December 1829 Frederick William III asked Schinkel for proposals how to improve the visibility of the monument.Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 68. . Schinkel's ideas, a socket or an encircling structure were never realised. Schinkel had proposed to enlarge the tiny monument's plot (a radius of 53 Prussian feet; ) by buying an additional circular spread of 150 to 200 Prussian feet () around the monument, however, all rejected as too costly.Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 73. . The southerly adjacent land had meanwhile been bought by the Gericke brothers, who planned to develop the area and opened the amusement park Tivoli right south of the monument.''Die Tempelhofer Berge nebst ihrer Erhebung dem Kreuzberge anno 1286 bis 1986'', see references for bibliographical details, pp. 13 and 15. No ISBN.Kathrin Chod, Herbert Schwenk and Hainer Weißpflug, ''Berliner Bezirkslexikon: Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 28. .Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, pp. 70 and 73. . On 6 August 1848 people gathered at the monument demonstrating for the

unification of Germany The unification of Germany (, ) was the process of building the modern German nation state with federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without multinational Austria), which commenced on 18 August 1866 with adoption of t ...

, rendering homage to

Archduke John of Austria Archduke John of Austria (german: Erzherzog Johann Baptist Joseph Fabian Sebastian von Österreich; 20 January 1782 – 11 May 1859), a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, was an Austrian field marshal and imperial regent (''Reichsverwese ...

as regent of the to-be-unified Empire, flagging the monument with the union tricolour of

Black-Red-Gold The national colours of the Federal Republic of Germany are officially black, red, and gold, defined with the adoption of the West German flag as a tricolour with these colours in 1949. As Germany was divided into West Germany and East Germany b ...

, much opposed by the various Prussian nationalist formations.Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 82. . Denkmal auf dem viktoriapark in berlin kreuzberg, treppe

Denkmal auf dem viktoriapark in berlin kreuzberg, treppe

Between 1857 and 1859 Tivoli brewery established on the site of the former amusement park south of the monument and its access from Methfesselstraße.Kathrin Chod, Herbert Schwenk and Hainer Weißpflug, ''Berliner Bezirkslexikon: Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 332. . In 1875

Johann 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 vedu ...

proposed a socket building to elevate the monument, and King William I of Prussia, in personal union also German Emperor, ordered its realisation in 1878.

carried out the plans. On 29 August 1878 he elevated the monument, weighing 3,800

Zentner The zentner ( German ''Zentner'', from Latin ''centenarius'', derived from ''centum'' meaning "hundred") is a name for a unit of mass which was used predominantly in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, although it was also sometimes used in the Un ...

(), with hydraulical pumps. On 3 September the monument was turned by 21° with its front into the axis of the Großbeerenstraße, before on 25 October the monument was set to rest on the new socket building.Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, pp. 73 and 75. . The octagonal, , crenellated bastion-like socket building is adorned with Silesian granite and sandstone covering the brick substructures.Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 75. . A northerly outside staircase provides the access to the elevated level. However, Strack's projected flight of stairs from the monument all the way down to Großbeerenstraße was again refused as too costly. In 1879 Guido von Madai, president of the royal police, decreed a maximum height of buildings in the adjacent streets to uphold the visibility of the monument. The ordinance, however, was annulled by the groundbreaking 1882 "Kreuzberg judgement" of the Prussian Royal

administrative court An administrative court is a type of court specializing in administrative law, particularly disputes concerning the exercise of public power. Their role is to ascertain that official acts are consistent with the law. Such courts are considered s ...

, stating that the police had exceeded its authority to ensure public security. On 14 December 1887 the city of Berlin acquired of unbuilt land from several owners, mostly north and west of the monument.Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 87. . Right adjacent to the south the brewery (merged into Schultheiss in 1891), and in the east and northeast villas remained. On 28 June 1888 the city parliament decided for City Garden Director Hermann Mächtig's design for Victoria Park, including a

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several ...

between monument and Großbeerenstraße. The monument was included in the Nazi plans for rebuilding Berlin, but only preparations materialised. Ernst Sagebiel oriented his Tempelhof Airport building towards the monument so that the central hall's front on the forecourt of the airport and one edge of the monument's octagonal groundplan are parallel. As seen from the monument today's Platz der Luftbrücke in front of the airport opens as a square, encircled by buildings of similar heights except for the taller central hall of the airport (mostly realised). The then planned axis consisting of a promenade and series of waterfalls cascading down the Kreuzberg hill towards the square was never realised, the interjacent block of houses remained untouched. In 1944 British bombing left behind a wake of devastation leading from one block north up the Großbeerenstraße, over the waterfall to the monument, blasting away the southern edge of the octagonal socket structure then used as a safe place for casts of various sculptures, such as the Quadriga of the

Brandenburg Gate The Brandenburg Gate (german: Brandenburger Tor ) is an 18th-century Neoclassical architecture, neoclassical monument in Berlin, built on the orders of Prussian king Frederick William II of Prussia, Frederick William II after Prussian invasion ...

. Also the villas northeast of the monument were destroyed. The casts were relocated from the open socket building in the late 1940s.Rike Fischer, ''Auf dem Gipfel von Berlin – Ein Spaziergang durch den Viktoriapark in Kreuzberg'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 29. . In November 1958 the smashed southern edge of the socket octagon was reconstructed.Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 95. . Starting in 1979 the monument was renovated and reopened on 31 October 1986 before the 750th anniversary of the first mention of Berlin in 1987.Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 7. . It underwent a thorough restoration between 1995 and 2000.''Denk mal Kreuzberg! Ein Architekturführer der kommunalen Baudenkmale im Bezirk Kreuzberg'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 21. No ISBN The brick building of an abandoned public toilet was refurbished and opened in 2011 as a little café.

Design

It is said that due to the influence of Crown Prince Frederick William (IV) Schinkel's design in Gothic Revival style prevailed over another in rather classicist forms.Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 27. . The monument was decided to be made from

.Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 28. . The , renowned for its

Berlin Iron Jewellery Berlin iron jewellery refers to articles of cast-iron jewellery that were made during the early 19th century in Germany. Frederick William III popularised cast iron by using it himself for decoration and table ware. The groundplan of the monument is a

Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a ''crucifix'' and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...

with its arms being of equal length but shorter than the width of their ends. Its twelve edges are each dedicated to one battle of the Liberation Wars. The somewhat wider ends of the four arms are reserved for the four main battles with golden inscriptions. Each of the twelve outward edges bears an inscription with the name and date of the battle topped by a little socket displaying an Iron Cross. Above each socket is a niche with the iron cast statue of a

genius Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for future works, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabili ...

symbolising with their decoration and accessories the respective battle. The niches are in the actual structure of the monument tapering off to the top crowned again by an Iron Cross. Originally

and Christian Friedrich Tieck had been commissioned to design and model each six statues. However, both were too busy and partially not in Berlin so that the creation of the statues was always on delay. Therefore, Ludwig Wilhelm Wichmann was additionally appointed to model some of the genii after Rauch's and Tieck's designs. As a guideline for the designs of the genii Schinkel recommended frescos by

Pietro Perugino Pietro Perugino (, ; – 1523), born Pietro Vannucci, was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, who developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael was his most famous pupil. E ...

in the audience hall of the

Collegio del Cambio The Collegio del Cambio, is the historic seat of the exchange guild in the Palazzo dei Priori in the city of Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the provin ...

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part ...

.Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 66. .

Table of the genii

The informations in the table follow Nungesser.Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, pp. 48, 55 and 58. . The table starts with the genius shown on the front side, first seen when arriving on the monument platform, and then continues clockwise:

Other Prussian Monuments for the Liberation Wars

Since early 1817 a series of, partially pyramidal, war monuments, each topped by an Iron Cross had been already realised in Großbeeren,

Dennewitz Dennewitz is a village of Germany, in the federal state and old Prussian province of Brandenburg, near Jüterbog, 40 km. S.W. from Berlin. It is part of the municipality of Niedergörsdorf, Teltow-Fläming district. History It is memorabl ...

, Großgörschen, at the Katzbach near

Wahlstatt Legnickie Pole (in 1945–1948 ''Dobre Pole'', german: Wahlstatt) is a village in Legnica County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Legnickie Pole. It lies ap ...

(all in 1817), as well as in Haynau and La Belle Alliance (both in 1818).Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, pp. 27 and 77. . The National Monument for the Liberation Wars, though built later than the others, was considered the mother of all other earlier memorials for the Liberation Wars, More monuments for the Liberation Wars topped by an Iron Cross, not always from cast iron, but sandstone followed in

Greifswald Greifswald (), officially the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald (german: Universitäts- und Hansestadt Greifswald, Low German: ''Griepswoold'') is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rosto ...

Krefeld Krefeld ( , ; li, Krieëvel ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, ...

Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the greatest town between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district (''Kreis'') of Minden-Lübbecke, which is part of the region of De ...

Elsfleth Elsfleth () is a town in the district of Wesermarsch, Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated at the confluence of the Hunte with the Weser, on the left bank of the Weser. It has a school of navigation (university of applied sciences), a harbour an ...

, Breslau and on the Drachenfels (1857).Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 77. . File:Dennewitz Denkmal.jpg, Dennewitz, monument by Schinkel File:Grossbeeren_Obelisk.jpg, Großbeeren, monument File:Schinkelpyramide.JPG, Großgörschen, monument File:Elsfleth Denkmal.jpg,

(in Oldenburg was never part of Prussia, but influence in design is visible) File:Stadtgarten2.jpg, Krefeld, monument (8 August 1852) File:Obelisk Drachenfels.jpg, Drachenfels, Monument for the Liberations Wars File:Wolfshagen Denkmal Befreiungskriege.jpg, Wolfshagen (a locality of Uckerland), Monument for the Liberations Wars

Other monuments on the Kreuzberg

Other monuments on the Kreuzberg are: *Two herms of "poets and singers of German patriotism".Klaus-Dieter Wille, ''Spaziergänge in Kreuzberg'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 23. . ** Monument of Heinrich von Kleist, 1898 by Karl Pracht, aluminum replica on the Kreuzberg, marble original preserved in the schoolyard of Leibniz-Gymnasium ** Monument of

Friedrich Rückert Friedrich Rückert (16 May 1788 – 31 January 1866) was a German poet, translator, and professor of Oriental languages. Biography Rückert was born in Schweinfurt and was the eldest son of a lawyer. He was educated at the local '' Gymnasiu ...

, 1899 by Ferdinand Lepcke, replica on the Kreuzberg (meanwhile stolen), original preserved in the schoolyard of Leibniz-GymnasiumA third surviving monument of a poet is that of Ludwig Uhland (1899 by Max Kruse), with its aluminum replica being located on street level at the foot of the Kreuzberg. The monuments of

Max von Schenkendorf Gottlob Ferdinand Maximilian Gottfried von Schenkendorf (11 December 1783 in Tilsit in East Prussia – 11 December 1817 in Koblenz) was a German poet, born in Tilsit and educated at Königsberg. During the War of Liberation, in which he took ...

(1899 by Alfred Reichel),

(1899 by Hans Latt) and of Theodor Körner (1899 by Ernst Wenck) were all destroyed in the Second World War and not reconstructed. Cf. Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 92. . * Monument of Robert Zeller (1892–1898 lord mayor of Berlin), 1904 by Otto Lessing, with the pertaining bust lost in WW IIRike Fischer, ''Auf dem Gipfel von Berlin – Ein Spaziergang durch den Viktoriapark in Kreuzberg'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 67. . * ''Memorial for the eastern German Homeland'' (Mahnmal für die ostdeutsche Heimat, Ostlandkreuz; August 1952), a cross of

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...

wood with a crown of thorns of barbed wireRike Fischer, ''Auf dem Gipfel von Berlin – Ein Spaziergang durch den Viktoriapark in Kreuzberg'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 64. . * ''Memorial stone for the 17 June 1953'' (Gedenkstein 17. Juni 1953), set in August 1953 at the Homeland memorial cross, in honour of the victims of the

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

suppression of the Uprising of 1953 in East Germany.Rike Fischer, ''Auf dem Gipfel von Berlin – Ein Spaziergang durch den Viktoriapark in Kreuzberg'', see references for bibliographical details, p. 65. . There are more monuments in the park, but rather on street level, and not on the Kreuzberg, such as the well known ''The rare haul'' (1896 by

Ernst Herter Ernst Gustav Herter (14 May 1846, Berlin – 19 December 1917, Berlin) was a German sculptor. He specialized in creating statues of mythological figures. Life and work Herter studied at the Academy of Arts in Berlin and later also as appren ...

), a herm to Ludwig Uhland (1899 by Max Kruse, aluminum replica) or the monument to the raped women.

Notes

References

*Sibylle Badstübner-Gröger, Michael Bollé, Ralph Paschke et al., ''Handbuch der Deutschen Kunstdenkmäler'' / Georg Dehio: 22 vols., revis. and ext. new ed. by Dehio-Vereinigung, Berlin and Munich:

Deutscher Kunstverlag The Deutscher Kunstverlag (DKV) is an educational publishing house with offices in Berlin and Munich. The publisher specializes in books about art, cultural history, architecture, and historic preservation. History Deutscher Kunstverlag w ...

, ²2000, vol. 8: Berlin, . * '' Baedekers Berlin-Kreuzberg: Bezirksführer'' (¹1977), Ostfildern/Kemnat and Munich: Baedeker, ²1988, . * Kathrin Chod, Herbert Schwenk and Hainer Weißpflug, ''Berliner Bezirkslexikon: Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg'', Berlin: Haude & Spener / Edition Luisenstadt, 2003, . * ''Denk mal Kreuzberg! Ein Architekturführer der kommunalen Baudenkmale im Bezirk Kreuzberg'', Bezirksamt Kreuzberg von Berlin / Hochbauamt and Untere Denkmalschutzbehörde (eds.), Berlin: no publ., 1998, no ISBN. * ''Die Tempelhofer Berge nebst ihrer höchsten Erhebung dem Kreuzberge anno 1286 bis 1986'', Geschichtskreis im Wasserturm auf dem Tempelhofer Berg (ed.), Berlin: Bloch & Partner, 1986, no ISBN. *Rike Fischer, ''Auf dem Gipfel von Berlin – Ein Spaziergang durch den Viktoriapark in Kreuzberg'', Verein zur Erforschung und Darstellung der Geschichte Kreuzbergs and Bezirksmuseum Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg (eds.), Berlin: Kreuzberg-Museum, 2007, . * Ilse Nicolas, ''Kreuzberger Impressionen'' (¹1969), Berlin: Haude & Spener, ²1979, (=Berlinische Reminiszenzen; vol. 26), . * Michael Nungesser, ''Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel'', ed. on behalf of the Bezirksamt Kreuzberg von Berlin as catalogue of the exhibition „Das Denkmal auf dem Kreuzberg von Karl Friedrich Schinkel“ in the Kunstamt Kreuzberg / Künstlerhaus Bethanien Berlin, between 25 April and 7 June 1987, Berlin: Arenhövel, 1987, . * Walther Oschilewski, ''Kreuzberg: Ein Berliner Bezirk gestern und heute'', Bezirksamt Kreuzberg von Berlin (ed.), Berlin: Arani, 1965, no ISBN. * Herbert Schwenk, ''Lexikon der Berliner Stadtentwicklung'', Berlin: Haude & Spener / Edition Luisenstadt, 2002, . * ''Stadt_Raum Kreuzberg: Kunst- und Sonderobjekte im städtischen Raum'', Bezirksamt Kreuzberg von Berlin / Hochbauamt and Untere Denkmalschutzbehörde (eds.), Berlin: no publ., 2000, no ISBN. * Lothar Uebel, ''Am Berg gebaut – Über hundert Jahre Chamissokiez'', Mieterrat Chamissoplatz (ed.), Berlin: no publ., 1994, no ISBN. * Klaus-Dieter Wille, ''Spaziergänge in Kreuzberg'', Berlin: Haude & Spener, 1986, (=Berliner Kaleidoskop: Schriften zur Berliner Kunst- und Kulturgeschichte; vol. 32), .

External links

"Nationaldenkmal für die Befreiungskriege & Kreuzbergdenkmal"
on
''Senate Department for Urban Development and the Environment''
retrieved on 5 March 2012. {{coord, 52, 29, 15.58, N, 13, 22, 53.27, E, display=title

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spe ...

Karl Friedrich Schinkel buildings