Berlin’s Tiergarten and Nearby Sights

Reichstag Building Brandenburg Gate Berlin Victory Column Zoologisher Garten

In Girl in the Glass, the Clypeate’s search for the Obturavi leads them to central Berlin. While searching for the Siegessäule, Berlin’s Victory Column, they encounter several historic sights within and surrounding the Tiergarten (see the map for details).

The Tiergarten, or animal garden in English, is a 520-acre park located in the heart of Berlin. Established in 1527, the park served as royal hunting grounds until 1740, when the parklands were opened for public use.

Marking the Tiergarten’s eastern edge, the Brandenburg Gate forms a monumental entry into the park (see the blue arrow on map). Built in the 1780s, the 85-foot-tall sandstone gate features ten Doric columns, spaced to form five passageways. Modeled after the entrance to the Acropolis in Athens, the triumphal arches are topped by a chariot pulled by 4 horses, driven by Victoria, the Roman goddess of victory.

The Reichstag Building, one block north of the Brandenburg Gate, is home to the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament (see the green arrow on map). In Girl in the Glass, Declan notes the unrepaired damage inflicted on the Reichstag Building during a fire on the night of February 27, 1933. Adolph Hitler, the recently appointed German Chancellor, quickly exploited the fire to consolidate power, allowing the Nazis to dismantle the democracy and establish a totalitarian regime.

The Siegessäule, Berlin’s Victory Column, is centrally located inside the Tiergarten, and matches Declan’s memory of the monument sitting atop the Obturavi’s Epistolith (see red arrow on map). For more details, click here to visit the Siegessäule’s webpage.

Finally, when leaving the Tiergarten, the Clypeate park near the Zoologischer Garten, Berlin’s zoo. Southwest of the Tiergarten (see map), the zoo is world-renowned, and the quiet streets surrounding it makes a great spot to regroup, decompress, and make plans.

Map of the Tiergarten, Berlin’s central park. The Victory Column (Siegessäule) is circled in red, the Brandenburg Gate a blue square, and Reichstag Building a green star. The Zoologischer Garten, Berlin’s zoo, is located southwest of the Tiergarten.