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60 Section 1.
BERLIN.
Arsenal.
best buildings in Berlin, begun by Nering in 1694 and carried to
completion by Grilnberg, Schliiter (1698-99), and De Bodt (1706).
It is a square structure, each side of which is 295 ft. in length,
enclosing a quadrangle 125 ft. square. The exterior is richly adorned
with sculptures by Schliiter. The bronze bust of Frederick I. above
the main portal and the allegorical figures to the right and left are
by Hulot. In 1877-80 the interior underwent a thorough alteration
under the superintendence of Hitzig (d. 1881), and it was re-opened
as a Military Museum and Hall of Fame of the Prussian Army.
The artistic decoration was completed in 1891. The director of the
collections is Dr. von Ubisch (adm., see p. 36; official handbook
50 pf.).
The rooms of the Ground Floor, unfortunately somewhat poorly
lighted, are separated by handsome iron railings and adorned with
mural paintings in grisaille (siege operations) by Burger. The
rooms to the right (E.) of the vestibule contain the Museum of
Artillery, those to the left (W.) are devoted to the Museum of
Military Engineering.
The collection of artillery is nearly complete from the end of the
14th century onwards, though the number of fine artistic specimens
is comparatively small. The following objects are specially worthy of
attention: (to the left) between pillars 1 and 2 Chinese guns captured in
1900, among them No. 603. Chinese gun, cast in 1689 by Verbiest, a Jesuit
(comp. j. 195); (to the right) old flint-lock muskets and orgues; No. 66.
The 'Wild Man', the longest gun (19 ft.) in the collection; No. 130 (in the
corner), so-called golden cannon of 1641; adjacent, 17th cent, cannon made
of leather; No. 157. richly chased 48-pounder, made at Ltibeck in 1669 for
Holland and discovered at Paris in 1814; Nos. 168, 169, 185, and 186 (be¬
tween the pillars), cannon of the time of the Great Elector, the last
covered with ornamentation; farther on, opposite a balloon-gun of 1870-71,
a cannon dedicated to the Elector Albert Achilles, one of eleven cast by
Jacobi in 1708 by command of King Frederick I.; No. 361 (near the end
of the room), orgue used by Schill's volunteers, who made in 1809 a brave
but unsuccessful attempt to free Prussia from the French yoke.
The Museum of Military Engineering (left side) contains models of
objects connected with pioneering and artillery. Here also are models
of old French fortresses (including Sedan and Paris), brought from Paris
in 1814; model-plans of the battles of Diippel (1864), Koniggratz (1866),
and St. Privat (1870); and uniforms (to the left Austrian, French, British,
etc., to the right Russian). At the end a magnificent Turkish tent, cap¬
tured in 1683 before Vienna.
Opposite the vestibule is the entrance to the glass-roofed Court,
the centre of which is occupied by a colossal marble figure of Bo-
russia, by R. Begas. The *Heads of Dying Warriors on the key¬
stones of the windows (widely known as the Masks of Schliiter) are
very striking. The Chinese standards above were captured in 1900.
First Floor. From the back of the court two flights of steps,
adorned with sculptures by R. Begas, ascend to the Hall op Fame,
which occupies the N. wing of the Upper Story and consists of
three sections — the 'Herrscherhalle' in the middle and the two
'Feldherrnhallen' at the sides.