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Siegesäule (Victory column) is a well known monument in Berlin. It stands in a roundabout along Strasse des 17 Juni along Tiergarten.

The Siegessäule is one of the more famous sights of Berlin. Designed by Heinrich Strack after 1864 to commemorate the victory of Prussia in the Danish-Prussian war, by the time it was inaugurated on 2 September 1873 Prussia had also defeated Austria in the Austro-Prussian War and France in the Franco-Prussian War (1870/1871). Different from the original plans, these later victories inspired the addition of the bronze sculpture of Victoria, 8.3 meters high and weighing 35 tonnes, designed by Friedrich Drake.


Surrounded by a street circle with heavy car traffic, pedestrians can reach the column through tunnels. Via a steep spiral staircase of 285 steps you can climb up almost to the top of the pillar, to right underneath the statue, for a small fee and a spectacular view over the Tiergarten.

Originally the column was erected with a height of merely 50.66 meters opposite the Reichstag building. In preparation of executing the monumental plans to redesign Berlin in 1939 the pillar was relocated to its present location at the Großer Stern (Great Star), a large intersection on the visual city axis that leads from the former Berlin City Palace through the Brandenburg Gate to the western parts of Berlin. At the same time, the pillar was augmented by another 7.5 meters, giving it its present height of 66.89 meters. The monument survived World War II without much damage. The relocation of the monument probably saved it from destruction, as its old site in front of the Reichstag was completely destroyed in the war.

(Facts from Wikipedia)