Holocaust Memorial, Berlin, Germany

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, also known as the Holocaust Memorial is dedicated to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, designed by architect Peter Eisenman and engineer Buro Happold. It consists of a 19,000 m2 site covered with 2,711 concrete slabs arranged in a grid pattern on a sloping field. They are organized in rows, 54 of them going north-south, and 87 heading east-west at right angles but set slightly askew. An attached underground 'Place of Information' holds the names of all known Jewish Holocaust victims, obtained from the Israeli museum Yad Vashem.

Building began on April 1, 2003 and was finished on December 15, 2004. It was inaugurated on May 10, 2005, sixty years after the end of World War II, and opened to the public two days later.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Adam Lucy (2 years ago)
It felt strange to give a star rating to something so poignant. The memorial is very thought provoking. The deeper you move into its centre, the higher the concrete blocks become, blocking out view and sound. Until you are surrounded by massive tomb stone structures, towering above your head. I experienced a deep period of introspection while at this monument. My mind attempted to comprehend the horrors perpetrated on the Jews and others and to experience in silence the strangely peaceful atmosphere of the monument itself. It was a profound experience and one I undertook with humble respect and a conscious appreciation of the significance of this memorial. Those that do not learn from history, are destined to repeat it.

Mark James (2 years ago)
Wasn't impressed. On ground level it's a load of different sized blocks of concrete. Underneath there's a very average history lesson with exhibits and video/sound. Definitely get the audio guide. I would have liked to have seen something beautiful and impressive. This is depressing concrete.

Helen (2 years ago)
You should visit here!! U can feel real experience of Jewish by writings and many documents. At a short time you can learn how the Third Reich of Deutschland had strong effects over all the European countries and how many people and nations are related to it. History is not to be forgotten and we should definitively know it exactly.

Wing Ying Chow (2 years ago)
It is hard to express how astounding it is to walk in this memorial and photos do not do justice. From afar, it looks like piles of coffins or bodies, but the feeling almost lessens as you walk up and walk in. Then the regular concrete blocks, first innocuous, creep over and become suddenly taller, and it becomes ominous, repressive, and dark. A place to reflect on how rights of a group of humans can be stripped away, step by step, and how it can easily happen again if we do not take the lessons of the past. The exhibition is very worthwhile for understanding both the overreaching historical setting as well as more personal entries and the damage to families.

Corissa George (2 years ago)
Absolutely phenomenal. A crazy mood altering experience. So well done. It has a massive impact on the mind & heart. Definitely have to experience it. As I left, I spotted a beautiful bright red lady bug (featured in the picture attached) in a crack that brought peace to my heart & mind. Emotional roller coaster!

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Varvara_R

Historic Site of the week

Trinity Sergius Lavra

The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius is a world famous spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church and a popular site of pilgrimage and tourism. It is the most important working Russian monastery and a residence of the Patriarch. This religious and military complex represents an epitome of the growth of Russian architecture and contains some of that architecture’s finest expressions. It exerted a profound influence on architecture in Russia and other parts of Eastern Europe.

The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, was founded in 1337 by the monk Sergius of Radonezh. Sergius achieved great prestige as the spiritual adviser of Dmitri Donskoi, Great Prince of Moscow, who received his blessing to the battle of Kulikov of 1380. The monastery started as a little wooden church on Makovets Hill, and then developed and grew stronger through the ages.

Over the centuries a unique ensemble of more than 50 buildings and constructions of different dates were established. The whole complex was erected according to the architectural concept of the main church, the Trinity Cathedral (1422), where the relics of St. Sergius may be seen.

In 1476 Pskovian masters built a brick belfry east of the cathedral dedicated to the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles. The church combines unique features of early Muscovite and Pskovian architecture. A remarkable feature of this church is a bell tower under its dome without internal interconnection between the belfry and the cathedral itself.

The Cathedral of the Assumption, echoing the Cathedral of the Assumption in the Moscow Kremlin, was erected between 1559 and 1585. The frescoes of the Assumption Cathedral were painted in 1684. At the north-western corner of the Cathedral, on the site of the western porch, in 1780 a vault containing burials of Tsar Boris Godunov and his family was built.

In the 16th century the monastery was surrounded by 6 meters high and 3,5 meters thick defensive walls, which proved their worth during the 16-month siege by Polish-Lithuanian invaders during the Time of Trouble. They were later strengthened and expanded.

After the Upheaval of the 17th century a large-scale building programme was launched. At this time new buildings were erected in the north-western part of the monastery, including infirmaries topped with a tented church dedicated to Saints Zosima and Sawatiy of Solovki (1635-1637). Few such churches are still preserved, so this tented church with a unique tiled roof is an important contribution to the Lavra.

In the late 17th century a number of new buildings in Naryshkin (Moscow) Baroque style were added to the monastery.

Following a devastating fire in 1746, when most of the wooden buildings and structures were destroyed, a major reconstruction campaign was launched, during which the appearance of many of the buildings was changed to a more monumental style. At this time one of the tallest Russian belfries (88 meters high) was built.

In the late 18th century, when many church lands were secularized, the chaotic planning of the settlements and suburbs around the monastery was replaced by a regular layout of the streets and quarters. The town of Sergiev Posad was surrounded by traditional ramparts and walls. In the vicinity of the monastery a number of buildings belonging to it were erected: a stable yard, hotels, a hospice, a poorhouse, as well as guest and merchant houses. Major highways leading to the monastery were straightened and marked by establishing entry squares, the overall urban development being oriented towards the centrepiece - the Ensemble of the Trinity Sergius Lavra.

In 1993, the Trinity Lavra was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Do you know an ancient castle or magnificent church near you?

Why not share it with other people interested in history? You can add your own historic sites and attractions to SpottingHistory.com.

It's absolutely free, easy, and doesn't even need registration!

Upload data

Holocaust Memorial

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

History of Guernsey & Jersey

Most beautiful castles in Lithuania

Cultural Landscape of Sintra, Portugal

Historic Site of the week

Trinity Sergius Lavra

Looks like you are a history fan!