New Guard

New Guard

The New Guard (Neue Wache) was built in 1918 to commemorate the defeat of the Napoleonic troops and celebrate the liberation of Berlin.

The impressive neoclassical building on the Unter den Linden Avenue has a portico made up of Doric columns that give it a certain air of grandeur.

Throughout the years the building has fulfilled different commemorative functions: from 1931 it was taken like monument in homage to the victims of the First World War; In 1960, was the place of commemoration of the victims of German fascism and, today, is a place that seeks to honor all the victims of the world, whether wars, fascism or any other injustice.

The great building of the New Guard has undergone several remodelings inside, harboring during different times an eternal flame or the remains of an unknown soldier.

As of today, it is inhabited only by a touching sculpture of a woman holding in her arms the lifeless body of her son (Mother with a dead son of Käthe Kollwitz).

The sculpture, which is located under a large opening in the roof, exposed to the inclement weather, enduring the cold and the rain, represents the suffering of the people.

In addition to its privileged location on Unter den Linden Avenue makes it a must-see, the New Guard is one of the places worth visiting.

The endearing sculpture of a mother who clasps her deceased son in her arms is especially touching in contrast to the grandiose building, which makes it seem even more solitary.