Germany

Where to see the Kollwitz Pieta in Berlin

The Kollwitz Pieta in the New Guard in Berlin
The Kollwitz Pieta in the New Guard in Berlin

One of the most surprising and shocking corners that you can see in the center Unter der Linden avenue de Berlin It's the one you find in the building New Guard (Die Neue Wache).

Among the Museum island and Bebelplatz square, in front of Berlin Opera, you will see this small building with a characteristic neoclassical style façade, which was completed in 1918.

Originally the New Guard It was a Prussian guard barracks, which is understood by its proximity to the old Berlin Royal Palace, of which now you will only see… a large green esplanade.

But in your walk through the Unter der Linden avenue, during your Berlin visit, when you enter under the portico of Doric columns to the interior of the building of the New Guard, you will be surprised to find yourself in front of a completely empty room, and in the center of it, a sculpture.

It's about the work Mother with dead son, by the German artist Kathe Kollwitz. However, this shocking sculpture is better known as The Kollwitz Pieta.

This German painter and sculptor, who developed her work during the first half of the 1945th century (she died in XNUMX, just after completing the Second World War), had a very dramatic life, due to the early deaths of his brothers and, later, of a son and a grandson in the two world wars.

Mother with dead son from Kollwitrz in the New Guard in Berlin
Mother with dead son from Kollwitrz in the New Guard in Berlin

This drama was reflected in all his work, and its best expression is the aforementioned sculpture Mother with dead son. In it, the image of a mother is shown in whose arms lies her recently dead soldier son.

During the GDR era, the Kollwitz Pieta in the New Guard building was presented as a tribute to the victims of fascism, but today it is considered a monument to the victims of wars and dictatorships.

In your visit to the New Guard, notice that the sculpture is located under an open circle, so that when it rains or snows in Berlin, the Kollwitz Pieta It gets wet or covered by snow, which accentuates the drama and the expression of pain.

In short, a little-known corner of the German capital, but one that you should not miss.

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About the Author

José Luis Sarralde

Journalist and traveler throughout his life, José Luis Sarralde is the founder of Guías Viajar, where since 2008 he has been capturing his travel experiences around the world, specializing in cultural and scenic destinations in Spain and Europe.

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