Nueue Wache, Monument

This temple-like neoclassical structure (1818) was Karl Friedrich Schinkel’s first important Berlin commission. Originally a royal guardhouse and a memorial to the victims of the Napoleonic Wars, it is now Germany’s central memorial for the victims of war and dictatorship. Its sombre and austere interior is dominated by Käthe Kollwitz’ heart-wrenching Pietà-style sculpture of a mother helplessly cradling her dead soldier son.

Buried beneath are the remains of an unknown soldier and a concentration camp victim along with soil from WWII battlefields and concentration camps.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Kronprinzenpalais

0.05 MILES

Now occasionally used as an event space and for special exhibits, this froufrou baroque palace was blueprinted by Johann Arnold Nering as the residence of…

2. Deutsches Historisches Museum

0.05 MILES

If you’re wondering what the Germans have been up to for the past 1500 years, take a spin around the baroque Zeughaus, formerly the Prussian arsenal and…

3. Palais Populaire

0.06 MILES

Contemporary art, culture and sports activities are the focus of this gallery sponsored by Deutsche Bank and set within the updated rooms of a rococo…

4. Staatsoper Unter den Linden

0.08 MILES

Berlin’s opulent state opera was commissioned as the royal opera house by Frederick the Great and designed by his friend and master architect Georg…

5. IM Pei Bau

0.08 MILES

High-calibre temporary exhibits, curated by the Deutsches Historisches Museum, occupy this spectacular contemporary annexe designed by Chinese-American…

6. Humboldt Universität zu Berlin

0.09 MILES

Marx and Engels studied here, and the Brothers Grimm and Albert Einstein taught here: Humboldt is Berlin’s oldest university, founded in 1810 in a palace…

7. Bebelplatz

0.11 MILES

The heart of a cultural centre envisioned by King Frederick the Great, austere Bebelplatz is infamous as the site of the first full-blown public book…

8. Schlossbrücke

0.12 MILES

Marking the transition from Unter den Linden to Museum Island, the Palace Bridge is considered among Berlin’s prettiest. Designed by Karl Friedrich…