Neue Wache - Berlin, Germany
N 52° 31.064 E 013° 23.732
33U E 391131 N 5819833
The Neue Wache (New Guardhouse) is a building in Berlin, Germany, that was constructed in 1816-1818 in the German Neoclassical architecture. It is now used as a war memorial and has a sign of history.
Waymark Code: WMM71H
Location: Berlin, Germany
Date Posted: 08/02/2014
Views: 13
The marker reads:
"The Neue Wache (New Guardhouse) was built in the years 1816 to 1818 on behalf of the Prussian king, Frederick William III, according to a design by Karl Friedrich Schinkel. From 1818 until 1918 the Royal Palace Guard was located here.
In 1911 the Prussian government had the Guardhouse redesigned. Heinrich Tessenow created a "Memorial to Those Who Fell in the World War". In the centre of the room, which was designed to invite reflection, stood a block of granite with a silver wreath of oak leaves.
Shortly before the end of the Second World War the Neue Wache was severely damaged by bombs.
From 1960 the restored building served the GDR as a "Memorial to the Victims of Fascism and Militarism". In 1969 an eternal flame was lit in the middle of the room.
In 1969 the mortal remains of an unknown soldier and an unknown concentration camp prisoner were laid to rest here. They are surrounded by earth from the battlefields of the Second World War and from concentration camps.
Since 1993 the Neue Wache has served as the Central Memorial of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The interior design from the time of the Weimar Republic was largely restored. An enlarged replica of the sculpture by Käthe Kollwitz known as "Mother with Her Dead Son" stands in the centre of the memorial. It was made by Harald Haacke.
The Neue Wache is the place where we commemorate the victims of war and tyranny.
We honour the memory of the peoples who suffered through war. We remember their citizens who were persecuted and who lost their lives. We remember those killed in action in the World Wars. We remember the innocent who lost their lives as a result of war in their homeland, in captivity and through expulsion.
We remember the millions of Jews who were murdered. We remember the Sinti and Roma who were murdered. We remember all those who were killed because of their origin, homosexuality, sickness or infirmity. We remember all who were murdered whose right to life was denied.
We remember the people who had to die because of their religious or political convictions. We remember all those who were victims of tyranny and met their death, though innocent.
We remember the women and men who sacrificed their lives in resistance to despotic rule. We honour all who preferred to die rather than act against their conscience.
We honour the memory of the women and men who were persecuted and murdered because they resisted totalitarian dictatorship after 1945."
The above text is also included in Spanish and Italian on the marker.
Group that erected the marker: Unknown
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link]
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
Unter den Linden 4
Berlin, Germany
10117
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Visit Instructions:
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