Siegessäule

In the 1830s, the 200ha (495 acres) large Tiergarten, a Royal hunting estate, was turned into a park. Centrally located between Mitte and Charlottenburg it is a favorite picnic and barbecue place. At the center of a large roundabout in the Tiergarten, known as the Grosser Stern or great star stands the tall Siegessäule.

The cocky looking triumphal column was built from 1864 to 1873 after a design by Johann Heinrich Stack to commemorate the Prussian victory in the Prusso-Danish war of 1864. The 8.3m (25ft) gilded figure at the top was added after further Prussian victories in wars against Austria and France. The figure, designed by Friedrich Drake and locally known as the 'Golden Else' represents the Goddess of Victory. It weighs a massive 35 tons.

The base is decorated with bas-reliefs of battles, while a mosaic frieze by Anton von Werner higher up the column depicts the founding of the German Empire in 1871. A number of other mosaics at the columned hall portrait more battle scenes.

The now 69 meters tall victory column originally stood at the Königsplatz (now Platz der Republik), the square in front of the Reichstag. It was moved in 1938 by the Nazi government to its current location at the Grosser Stern.

The top of the Siegessäule has an observatory, offering great views on Berlin. Looking eastward, you can see the Reichstag, the Brandenburger Gate and of course the Fernsehturm.