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[[Image:Berlin siegessaeule 1603.jpg|thumb|200px|Berlin Siegessäule (June 2003)]]
The '''victoryVictory columnColumn''' (''Siegessäule'' in [[German language|German]]: ''Siegessäule'') is one of the more famous sights of [[Berlin]]. Originally designedDesigned by [[Heinrich Strack]] after [[1864]] to commemorate the victory of [[Prussia]] in the [[Second war of Schleswig|Danish-Prussian war]], by the time it was inaugurated on [[2 September]] [[1873]], Prussia had also defeated Austria in the [[Austro-Prussian War]] and France in the [[Franco-Prussian War]] (1870/1871), giving the statue a new purpose. Different from the original plans, these later victories inspired the addition of the bronze sculpture of [[Victoria (mythology)|Victoria]] of, 8.3 meters heighthigh and weighing 35 metric tons of weighttonnes, designed by [[Friedrich Drake]]. Berliners, with their fondness for disrespectful names of famous buildings, call the statue ''Goldelse'', meaning something like "golden Lizzy".
Anchored on a solid fundament of polished red granite, the column residessits on a hall of pillars with a glass mosaic designed by Anton von Werner. The column itself consists of three solid blocks of sandstone, which are decorated by cannon pipes captured from the enemies of the aforementioned three wars. A relief decoration on the foundation, which had to be removed on request of the victorious allied forces in [[1945]], was restored in the [[1980s]].
Surrounded by a street circle with heavy car traffic, pedestrians can reach the column through four underground tunnels, built in [[1941]] according to plans by [[Johannes Huntenmueller]]. Via a steep spiral staircase of 285 steps, the physically fit may climb up almost to the top of the pillar, to right underneath the statue, for a small fee and a spectacular view over the [[Tiergarten]].
Even many Berliners do not know that originally, the column was erected with a height of merely 50.66 meters opposite the [[Reichstag (building)|Reichstag building]]. In preparation of executing the monumental plans to redesign Berlin into [[Welthauptstadt Germania]], in [[1939]], the [[Nazi Germany|Nazis]] relocated the pillar to its present ___location at the ''Großer Stern'' (Great Asterisk), a large intersection on the visual city axis that leads from the former [[Berlin City Palace]] through the [[Brandenburg Gate]] to the western parts of Berlin. At the same time, the pillar was augmented by another 7.5 meters, giving it its present height of 66.89 meters. The monument survived [[World War II]] without much damage. The relocation of the monument probably saved it from destruction, as its old site in front of the Reichstag was completely destroyed in [[Worldthe War 2]]war.
==Similar constructions==
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