The New Guard

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Sometimes you set out to find landmarks.   Sometimes they find you.

As I was walking across the river onto Unter den Linden, I came across an intriguing structure.

Drawn in by its classicist style fronted with a row of columns and a gable frieze, I walked closer to inspect the sandstone-colored building topped with the goddess of victory.

Stepping onto the portico, I peered inside the dimly lit interior, anxious to see what significance this building had.

In the center, illuminated by the light of an aperture above is a mother embracing her dead son.

The statue, Mother With The Dead Son, by Käthe Kollwitz is extremely touching  in its simplicity, honoring those victims of war and tyranny in Germany.

Originally a memorial designed by Prussian master builder, Karl Friedrich Schinkel, his first work in Berlin, the New Guard (Neue Wache) building was designed to honor those who died in the Napoleonic Wars and the Wars of Liberation.  The structure also served as a guardhouse for the royal guard until the end of the monarchy in 1918.

In 1931, a memorial for the fallen soldiers of the World War was created here by Heinrich Tessenow, however, it was severely damaged by bombings during the Second World War.

After restorations in 1960, the building has come to serve as a memorial to the victims of fascism and militarism.  An eternal flame was placed in the center of the structure and in 1969, the remains of an unknown soldier and an unknown concentration camp prisoner were buried here, marked by a commemorative plaque.

Today, you can venture here any time of day to pay homage to those who gave their lives during wartime as well as inspect an important piece of sculpture.  Try to visit on Wednesdays, when the Great Guard of Honor gathers in front of the memorial to march the length of the facade.

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Neue Wache

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