Page 172
136 Section 6.
BERLIN.
6. Konigs-Platz. Ausstellungs-Park. Sieges-Allee.
The Platz vor dem Brandenburger Tor (PI. R, 20, 19) was
transformed in 1903 after Pine's designs. It is bounded by semi¬
circular marble walls and balustrades, in the middle of which are
marble statues, on the right, of Emperor Frederick III, with
the busts of Helmholtz, the physicist, and General Blumenthal,
by Briitt; on the left, that of Empress Victoria, with busts of
Zeller, the philosopher, and W. von Hofmann, the chemist, by Gerth.
Beyond these, on each side of the Charlottenburg road, are foun¬
tains. — Tiergarten, see p. 175; Kbniggratzer-Strasse, p. 127.
The Friedens-Allee leads to the right to the *Konigs-Platz
(PL R, 20), which with its environs forms one of the most imposing
parts of the city. Originally laid out as a drill-ground by Frederick
William I., it received its present name in 1864.
The *Column of Victory (Sieges-Sdule; PI. R, 20), 200 ft.
in height, designed by Struck, and inaugurated on 2nd Sept.,
1873, rises in the centre of the Platz, on a circular terrace ap¬
proached by eight steps of granite. This massive column, built of
dark red granite, sandstone, and bronze, is perhaps the most im¬
posing of its kind in existence. The square pedestal, 22 ft. in
height, is adorned with reliefs in bronze: on the E. side is the
Danish War of 1864, by A. Culundrelli; on the N. the Battle of
Kbniggriitz, 1866, by M. Schultz; on the W. the Battle of Sedan,
1870, and the Entry into Paris, 1871, by K. Keil; on the S. the
Return of the troops to Berlin, 1871, by A. Wolff. The base of
the column is surrounded by an open colonnade, and embellished
with Venetian mosaics designed by Anton von Werner, illustrating
the war of 1870 and the restoration of the German empire. Above,
in the flutings of the column, are placed three rows of captured
Danish, Austrian, and French cannon (60 in all). The capital,
formed of eagles, is crowned with a gilded figure of Victory (by
Drake), holding a laurel-wreath in the right hand and an ensign
with the iron cross in the left. The proportions of the monument
are so calculated that this surmounting figure, 48 ft. in height, bulks
as the principal feature. Fine view from the platform of the capital,
151 ft. high (adm., see p. 37).
The Konigs-Platz is bounded on the E. by the *B,eichstags-
Gebaude (Hall of the Imperial Diet; PI. R, 20), built in 1884-94
from the designs of Paul Wallot. The building, in the florid
Italian Renaissance style, which cost 22,000,000 marks (1,100,000Z.),
is 430 ft. in length, 290 ft. in breadth, 88 ft. in height to the main
cornice, and 225 ft. to the imperial crown. The external material
is Silesian sandstone. Rising above a square central structure is a
huge glass dome, girt with highly,gilded copper bands and bearing