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70 Section 2. BERLIN. Royal Stables.
(tramways No. 17, 60, 61, 63, 70, 73, 78, 80, and 81; see pp. 16-20) is
the Sehloss-Brunnen, a monumental fountain by R. Begas, un¬
veiled in 1891. In the centre is Neptune on a rocky throne, with
Tritons and putti below. The basin, 59 ft. in diameter, contains four
marine animals, while round the brim are figures of the Rhine, Oder,
Elbe, and Vistula.
On the S. side of the Schloss-Platz, between the Spree and the
Breite-Str., are the Royal Stables (PI. R, 25, 26), erected by
Ihne in the Renaissance style in 1897-1900. The main front is 305 ft.
long, while the river-front is 578 ft. in length. The building is
adorned with sculptures by Otto Lessing. On the attic are horse-
tamers and figures of ancient warriors, while at each end of the
main front is a fountain inserted in the wall, that to the left with
Prometheus and the Oceanidae, that to the right with Perseus and
Andromeda.
Adm. to the stables (entrance, Breite-Str. 37), see p. 39. — The horses
(350) are kept in two stories of the river-wing, with the carriages above.
The small Historical Museum arranged here contains the sledge on which
the Great Elector pursued the Swedes across the Kurische Haft in 1679;
the white charger which Frederick the Great bestrode at the battle of
Mollwitz; Sadowa, a favourite horse of William I.; and state carriages and
sledges of the time of the first kings. — The main wing contains state
carriages, saddle and harness rooms; in the middle the coronation coach,
built at Strassburg in 1793.
The Kurfursten-Briicke (Bridge of the Elector; PI. R, 26)
leads to the E. from the Schloss-Platz to the old town of Berlin.
The bridge, built in 1692-95 after designs by Nering and rebuilt in
the old style in 1895, affords a good view of the river-front of the
Royal Palace (p. 65), the Cathedral (p. 63), etc.
The bridge is adorned with a bronze equestrian *Statue of
the Great Elector (d. 1688), designed by Schliiter and erected in
1703. This clever and artistic group is one of the few really good
works of a period when art was generally in a very debased condition.
In spite of the Roman costume, the figure is remarkable for its air
of majestic repose, which is heightened by contrast with the move¬
ments of the four slaves round the pedestal intended to typify the
hostile powers against whom the Elector had waged war. The reliefs
on the sides represent (left) the Electorate and the Old Palace, and
(right) the Kingdom and the New Palace (original pedestal in the
Emp. Frederick Museum, see p. 97).
3. The Museum Island.
Tramways Nos. 33, 39, 40, 42, 53, 54, 55, III, and from the neighbouring
Kupfergraben N, O, S, T; see pp. 17, 18, 21 and eomp. also p. 59.
To the N. of the Lustgarten (p. 63) rises the Old Museum (see
p. 71), with the New Museum (p. 78) behind it, the two buildings
being connected by a passage carried across the street. To the right