Berlin’s hidden symbols: 6 details that nobody notices

To begin our exploration of Berlin’s hidden symbols, which almost nobody notices, let’s head to one of the hubs of Berlin-Mitte: the very concrete-filled Alexanderplatz. To do things properly, we’ll limit our investigation to this area, so let’s focus our attention on the “Fernsehturm”, the large, unmissable tower, and the Neptune Fountain.

To be honest, I’m really pleased to start with a little-known fact that I learnt recently and am delighted to share with you. A brief historical background: the Fernsehturm was built by the GDR. In short, the GDR saw this almost pharaonic structure as an opportunity to showcase a symbol of the modernity of socialism. However, an unexpected detail was to get on the party leaders’ nerves a little.

When the sun shines at its brightest, its light reflects off the tower’s metal sphere, forming a luminous cross. Mystical or not, this recurring phenomenon is now known as the ‘Pope’s Revenge’, as if to thumb its nose at an officially atheist regime.

.The Neptune Fountain, “Neptunbrunnen”, is well worth a look. Now, let’s take five minutes to examine the details. Neptune symbolises the power of water and the prosperity associated with rivers, which indirectly alludes to Prussian power.

The four female figures represent the four major rivers of the Kingdom of Prussia: the Rhine, the Elbe, the Oder and the Vistula. Whilst your friends will see art and well-crafted street furniture, you can point out that there’s a bit of geography involved too! Note that the fountain was moved in the 1960s. It used to be attached to the Imperial Palace (Berliner Schloss).

Let’s continue our list of hidden symbols on Berlin’s buildings with a quick detour to the street known as “Am Kupfergraben”. Take a few minutes to look up at the wall. Notice the bullet and shell marks left here during the Second World War. These are the scars of the 1945 Battle of Berlin between Soviet forces and the German army.

As you’ll have gathered from the example above, not all the symbols hidden in the streets of Berlin are cheerful. Unfortunately, we’re going to continue with an allegory that isn’t exactly cheerful either. We head to Bebelplatz to discuss the book burning of 1933. It was at this time, no doubt spurred on by the rise of fascism and Nazism, that students burned 20,000 books in a bid to combat the “un-German spirit”. 

A fresh scar on Germany’s history in the streets of Berlin, Bebelplatz features a glass panel set into the cobblestones at its centre. Stand over this panel and you will see an empty bookcase beneath it, evoking the memory of those books reduced to ashes.

Sorry, I didn’t mean to spoil the mood, but we can always tell ourselves that one of the reasons for fighting obscurantism is culture. And that’s just as well, because if you want to keep deciphering the hidden symbols on Berlin’s buildings, there’s the statue of Schiller at Gendarmenmarkt, which stands in the centre of the square. 

Schiller was a cultural figure of the late 18th century. The statues at his feet represent lyricism, tragedy, history and philosophy. Naturally, as the creator of this treasure hunt, I’ll leave it to you to identify them. 

To round off the discussion of symbols in this article, I’ll finish with the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin’s most iconic landmark if ever there was one. So let’s talk about the quadriga. The qua, what? The quadriga, the emerald-green chariot right at the top.

Well, the funny thing is that the symbolism here has changed meaning at least twice. Until 1806, it symbolised peace, but Napoleon had it dismantled and taken to Paris. In the return match, the Prussian Empire took its revenge: Napoleon was defeated, and the quadriga returned. It was modified slightly by adding an Iron Cross and the Prussian eagle. It no longer represented peace, but Prussian victory and power.

Another “amusing” little detail: the quadriga faces east, towards the seat of power at the time, and thus later towards the GDR.