Monument sights in Germany
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Brass Monkey
On the Altstadt, at the entrance to the bridge side, is a statue of a Brass Monkey holding a mirror and surrounded by mice: touch the mirror for wealth, the outstretched fingers to ensure you return to Heidelberg and the mice to ensure you have many children.
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Bremer Stadtmusikanten Sculpture
In the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, the Bremer Stadtmusikanten never actually make to it Bremen, but when you do arrive in the city, you might enjoy a quick reminder of what the fuss is about. Starting with a donkey, four overworked and ageing animals, fearing the knacker's yard or the Sunday roasting pan, run away from their owners. They head for Bremen intending, like many young dreamers, to make their fortune as musicians.
On their first night on the road, they decide to shelter in a house. It turns out to be occupied by robbers, as our heroes discover when they climb on the donkey to peer through the window. The sight of a rooster atop a cat, perched on a dog, which is …
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Theresienwiese
The Theresienwiese, better known as 'Wiesn', is the site of the Oktoberfest. At the western end of the meadow is the Ruhmeshalle (Hall of Fame) guarding solemn statues of Bavarian leaders, as well as the statue of Bavaria, an 18m-high Amazon in the Statue of Liberty tradition, oak wreath in hand and lion at her feet. This iron lady has a cunning design that makes her seem solid, but actually you can climb via the knee joint up to the head for a great view of the Oktoberfest.
At other times, views are not particularly inspiring.
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Siegestor
Munich's massive Siegestor was modelled on Constantine's arch in Rome and looks like a miniature version of Paris' Arc de Triomphe. Built to honour the Bavarian army for kicking out Napoleon, it's crowned by a triumphant Bavaria piloting a lion-drawn chariot. Severely damaged in WWII, the arch was turned into a peace memorial. The inscription on the upper section reads: Dem Sieg geweiht, vom Kriege zerstört, zum Frieden mahnend (Dedicated to victory, destroyed by war, calling for peace).
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Maximilianeum
Maximilianstrasse culminates in the glorious Maximilianeum, completed in 1874, a decade after Max II's sudden death. It's an imposing structure, drawn like a theatre curtain across a hilltop, bedecked with mosaics, paintings and other artistic objects. There's a free exhibit about the Bavarian parliament, which moved here in 1949. It's framed by an undulating park called the Maximiliananlagen, which is a haven for cyclists in summer and tobogganists in winter.
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Peace Bell
In a city so devastated by war, it's not surprising to find a Peace Bell. Donated by sister city Hiroshima, it lies inside a steel-cross Memorial to Our Dead on Breite Strasse near the corner of Osterstrasse. Every 6 August at 08:15, the date and time of the atomic detonation at Hiroshima, a delegation from both cities meets here to ring the bell. The neighbouring Aegidienkirche Memorial (1350) was bashed by artillery in 1943.
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Panometer
The happy marriage of a pan orama (a giant painting) and a gas ometer (a giant gas tank) is a panometer. The unusual concept is the brainchild of artist Yadegar Asisi, who creates a new image every three or four years. Past examples have included scenes from the Himalayas and ancient Rome. Take tram 16 to Richard-Lehmann-Strasse/Zwickauer Strasse.
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Münster Basilica
A good place to start exploring Bonn's historic centre is on Münsterplatz, where the landmark Münster Basilica was built on the graves of the two martyred Roman soldiers who later got promoted to be the city's patron saints. It got its Gothic look in the 13th century but the Romanesque origins survive beautifully in the ageing cloister (open till 5pm).
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Beautiful Fountain
Standing like a space probe on the northwest corner of the square is the 19m (62ft) Schöner Brunnen (Beautiful Fountain). A replica of the late 14th-century original, it is a stunning golden vision of 40 electors, religious heroes and other allegorical figures. The original, made of badly eroded sandstone, stands in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum.
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Specks Hof
A shopping arcade. Nearby, you'll pass a water basin that functions as an upside-down bell; ring it by wetting your hands with the water and running them back and forth over two pommels. If you hit it right, the water starts to fizz. Specks Hof itself contains a beautiful series of tile and stained-glass reliefs by Halle artist Moritz Götze.
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Statue of Bavaria
Statue of Bavaria is an 18m-high Amazon in the Statue of Liberty tradition, oak wreath in hand and lion at her feet. This iron lady has a cunning design that makes her seem solid, but actually you can climb via the knee joint up to the head for a great view of the Oktoberfest. At other times, views are not particularly inspiring.
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Friedensengel Statue
The Friedensengel (Angel of Peace) statue stands guard from its perch atop a 23m-high column. It commemorates the 1871 Treaty of Versailles, which ended the Franco-Prussian War, and the base contains some shimmering golden frescoes. On New Year's Eve the steps around the monument are party central.
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Reiterdenkmal Friedrich Des Grossen
Frederick the Great cuts a commanding figure on horseback in this famous 1850 monument (near Bebelplatz), which kept sculptor Christian Daniel Rauch busy for a dozen years. A who's who of German generals, scientists, artists and thinkers parade around the plinth.
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Albrecht Berblinger Plaque
East of the Herdbrücke (the bridge leading to Neu Ulm) is a bronze plaque marking the spot where Albrecht Berblinger attempted his flight (his failure was later determined to have been caused by a lack of thermals on that particular day).
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Bach Memorial
Outside the Thomaskirche is the 1908 Bach Memorial showing the composer standing against an organ, with his left-hand jacket pocket turned inside-out (with 20 children from two marriages, the great man always claimed to be broke).
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Einstein Monument
Over near the Hauptbahnhof, on Bahnhofstrasse, is Max Bill's monument (1979) to the great physicist, a stack of staggered granite pillars on the spot where Einstein's babyhood home once stood.
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Karl-Theodor-Statue
Up on the bridge, through the tower, is the Karl-Theodor-Statue, which makes reference to the local legend that the prince fathered almost 200 illegitimate children.
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Glockenspiel
In Böttcherstrasse, the Glockenspiel chimes while a panel honouring great sea explorers, such as Leif Eriksson and Christopher Columbus, rotates.
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Waterloo Memorial
The winged angel Waterloo Memorial you see south of the Altstadt and west of the Neues Rathaus commemorates the German forces who fought at Waterloo.
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Dom Treasury
Essen's medieval Dom boasts a treasury which includes a crown worn by Holy Roman Emperor Otto III and gemstone-encrusted processional crosses.
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Statue of Richard Wagner
The behemoth, functional Opernhaus (opera house; 1956-60) is backed by a little park with a pond and a statue of Richard Wagner.
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St-Nikolai-Kirche
The WWII-damaged St-Nikolai-Kirche is now an antiwar memorial, with some chilling photos of the then bombed-out city.
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Statue of Goethe
In front of the Naschmarkt is a 1903 statue of Goethe, showing him as a young law student at Leipzig University.
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Goldener Reiter
The blindingly gleaming Goldener Reiter is a statue of Augustus the Strong (1736).
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Schiller Monument
On Albertplatz you'll find an evocative marble Schiller monument.
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