Victoria on high

The Victory Column has always been my number one address for tourists when they first arrive in Brrrlin. Going up the Siegessäule is cheap, it's good exercise and it gives you a more central view of the city than the TV Tower. So what's the origin of the thing?

Designed by Heinrich Strack after 1864 to commemorate the Prussian victory in the Danish-Prussian War, by the time it was inaugurated on 2nd September 1873, Prussia had also defeated Austria in the Austro-Prussian War (1866) and France in the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71). These later victories in the so-called unification wars inspired the addition of the bronze sculpture of Victoria, 8.3 meters high and weighing 35 tonnes, designed by Friedrich Drake. Yes, you could have read all that at Wikipedia - but would it have been as much fun?

Situated at the centre of the city's major park, Tiergarten, you need a fully-accredited German driver's licence to get close to the thing these days by car. The roundabout below it is known as "the big star". It's Berlin's version of the Arc de Triomphe and is only to be attempted by drivers at the top of their game. The surrounding park also means that every exit off the roundabout looks exactly the same.