Schiller Monument

The monument to the German poet Friedrich Schiller can be seen in Berlin on one of its most beautiful squares - Gendarmenmarkt. It stands in the center of the square, in front of the Berlin Drama Theatre (now the Concert Hall).

The white marble monument is very good. On a high pedestal stands the sculpture of the poet himself with a scroll in his hands. He is young, serious and confident. The pedestal itself is very similar to a fountain with a bowl, but the water does not flow from it. Around him there are four sculptures depicting drama (a female figure with a mask, and once she had a dagger), poetry (a female figure with a lyre), history (a figure with writing boards on which you can see the names of Kant, Lessing and other famous people) and philosophy (a figure with a scroll in her hands, on which it is written in the ancient Greek “Know yourself”). The monument is surrounded by an openwork cast iron grille.

The foundation of the monument was laid in 1859, the anniversary year since the birth of Friedrich Schiller. Then a competition was announced for the best project of the monument to the poet, in which Reingold Begas won (out of 25 applicants). As a result, it was installed on the square ten years later. In the 30s of the last century, the monument was dismantled and only in the late 80s. returned to its rightful place.