Berlin’s colossal Victory Column provides a commanding view across the German capital and the city’s majestic central park for anyone intrepid enough to ascend the 285 steps all the way to the viewing platform on top.
It is the oldest, and highest, centrally-located viewing point in the city, that since 1940 has graced the centre of the circular Große Stern intersection in Berlin’s Tiergarten park.
The column actually dates back to 1873 and was moved to its current position by virtue of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler’s plans to transform Berlin into the so-called ‘Welthauptstadt’ – to be known as Germania.
It is Berlin’s most significant military monument, akin to Nelson’s Column in London or the Washington Monument, and was originally created to celebrate the Prussian victory over the Danish army in the Second Schleswig War of 1864.
The design – reminiscent of the Colonne de Juillet in Paris, the Friedensengel in Münich, the Monumento a la Independencia in Mexico City, and the Independence Monument in Kyiv – was the work of architect Heinrich Strack. And while each of these columns may resemble each other, they stand alone for their own causes.
By the time the Siegessäule was erected it would come to represent Prussian military supremacy and success in the wars fought against Denmark, Austria, and France in the late 1800s – as well as the resulting unification of Germany in 1871. Three wars – commonly known as the Wars of Unification – fought by Prussia and its allies and retrospectively cast as the raison d’être for the unification of the separate German states.
The history of the Siegessäule – and its physical design – is as layered as the city it graces.
Three segments of the Victory Column celebrate the spoils of this ‘Iron and Blood’ strategy. Quite literally, as the gilded cannons used as decoration around the three segments of the sandstone shaft were captured during these three respective wars. The bronze sculpture, 8.3m high and weighing 35 tons, depicts the goddess of victory (Victoria in Roman mythology) with a laurel wreath, a helmet decorated with an eagle and a standard with an Iron Cross. Her eagle helmet is said to make Victoria appear as Borussia, the personification of Prussia.
Initially there were to be the names of the men who had fallen in the Wars of Unification inscribed on the base of the monument, instead reliefs depicting four main scenes from the Franco-Prussian war of 1870/71 were added: ‘Battle of Worth’, ‘Battle of Mars-la-Tour’, ‘Battle of Gravelotte’, and ‘Battle of Sedan’.
Designed by Johann Heinrich Strack, the column was initially placed in Königsplatz (now Platz der Republik) in front of the Reichstag. Adjacent to the monument now, as was the case following its construction and original location, are three statues of the three elder statesmen of Prussia seen as responsible for those military victories and German unification. General Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke – head of the Prussian Army, Albrecht von Roon – the Prussian Minister of War, and the man regarded as the George Washington of Germany, Otto von Bismarck – the country’s first Chancellor following unification.
During the final days of World War II, the Siegessäule was damaged but not destroyed. Efforts were made to demolish the monument after the Second World War, yet it survived this period – and the city governments’ introspective redress of the historical landscape. In 1987, on the occasion of the 750th anniversary of Berlin’s founding, it was restored, ensuring its continued prominence in the city’s landscape and its central place in the Tiergarten. The location of the Siegessaule and its surrounding area has long held significance for Berliners, dating back to the 1600s when Elector Frederick III created a hunting star – an element of baroque garden and landscape design used to structure a hunting ground.
Starting in the 16th century, the Electors of Brandenburg began to utilise this area on the west side of Berlin as a hunting ground, leading to the establishment of what is now known as the Grosse Tiergarten – often simply referred to as the Tiergarten despite the fact there is also a Kleine (Small) Tiergarten in the Berlin district of Moabit.
By the late 1600s, the Grosse Stern intersection had begun to take shape with eight avenues leading here and an ensemble of sandstone sculptures of ancient gods and goddesses, dubbed ‘The Dolls’ by locals, added in the mid 1700s. Around this time, the Tiergarten was transformed from a hunting ground to a recreational space – a pleasure garden, thanks to Prussian King, Frederick the Great – a vocal opponent of hunting. One hundred years later, renowned landscape architect Peter Joseph Lenne went to great lengths to transform the area into a landscape park based on the English model. Damp forest areas were drained, riding, driving and walking paths were created, and the Tiergarten.
In the form that Lenné gave it, the park existed almost unchanged until the middle of the 20th century. Minor changes affected the furnishing of patriotic monuments (since 1849), including the Siegesallee , a magnificent boulevard commissioned and financed by Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1895, which was completed in 1901, and the layout of the Königsplatz (later: Platz der Republik ) with the victory column. The park was owned by the royal family until 1881, after which it was incorporated into Berlin. In the century and a half since its construction, the original symbolism of the monument has been further transformed and tailored to suit new purposes and sensibilities. For many years it featured as the final destination for the famous Love Parade techno party, it became an important stop on the route of the Christopher Street Day Parade, and even Berlin’s largest circulation queer magazine Siegessäule was named after the monument. On July 2th, 2008, as part of the presidential election campaign in the United States, then-candidate Barack Obama gave a speech in front of an audience of more than 200,000 here.
Not merely has the Siegessaule survived but become one of Berlin’s most popular tourist attractions. Rebranded as a symbol of tolerance perhaps – or more likely a continued representation of its central theme: that of unity – or unification.
Embarking on the climb to the top of the Siegessäule is an experience that blends physical exertion with historical immersion. The journey begins at the granite base, where one can explore the colonnaded hall adorned with mosaics that depict key moments in Prussian military history.
Ascending the 285 steps of the claustrophobia-inducing spiral staircase, one is enveloped by the column’s sturdy structure, each step echoing with the footsteps of countless visitors who have made this pilgrimage. The climb, while demanding, is punctuated by glimpses of the outside world through small windows, offering teasing previews of the view that awaits.
To the east, the unmistakable skyline of Berlin’s central Mitte district rises into view. In the distance, the iconic Fernsehturm (TV Tower) at Alexanderplatz pierces the sky, its gleaming sphere providing a modern counterpoint to the Siegessäule’s classical elegance. This juxtaposition of old and new, of history and modernity, is quintessentially Berlin. As you stand atop the Victory Column, you are not just witnessing the city’s skyline; you are seeing the story of Berlin itself – a story of conflict and triumph, of division and unity, of a city that has constantly reinvented itself while honouring its complex past.
