# Berolina > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Berolina > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Berolina.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berolina > Source revision: 1325701289 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) This article is about the personification of [Berlin](/source/Berlin). For the asteroid, see [422 Berolina](/source/422_Berolina). For the fairy chess piece, see [Berolina pawn](/source/Berolina_pawn). For other uses, see [Berlin (disambiguation)](/source/Berlin_(disambiguation)). **Berolina** is the female personification[note 1] of [Berlin](/source/Berlin) and the [allegorical](/source/Allegory) female figure symbolizing the city. One of the best-known portraits of Berolina is the statue that once stood in [Alexanderplatz](/source/Alexanderplatz).[1] ## Statue In 1871, emperor [William I](/source/William_I,_German_Emperor) ordered an 11 m (36 ft) Berolina statue in Belle-Alliance-Platz (today's [Mehringplatz](/source/Mehringplatz)), to glorify the homecoming victorious troops of the [Franco-Prussian War](/source/Franco-Prussian_War).[2] Another statue was designed in 1889 by the sculptors [Emil Hundrieser](/source/Emil_Hundrieser) (1846–1911) and [Michel Lock](/source/Michel_Lock) (1848–1898) as a decorative element for the state visit of King [Umberto I of Italy](/source/Umberto_I_of_Italy).[2] The Berolina figure was produced in plaster and was placed on [Potsdamer Platz](/source/Potsdamer_Platz). The statue of 7.55 m (24.8 ft) showed a woman with a [crown of oak leaves](/source/Oak_leaf_cluster). The inspiration allegedly was from a painting in the *[Rotes Rathaus](/source/Rotes_Rathaus)* city hall that featured cobbler's daughter Anna Sasse. Later, in 1895, the gypsum figure by Hundrieser was copper-melted and unveiled in Alexanderplatz on December 17. Weighing five tonnes, it was placed in front of the site where [Hermann Tietz](/source/Hermann_Tietz) erected his department store in 1904. The statue was damaged in the barricade fights of the [German Revolution of 1918–19](/source/German_Revolution_of_1918%E2%80%9319). It had to be removed during the construction of the [U5](/source/U5_(Berlin_U-Bahn)) underground line in 1927, but was set up again in 1933. The nearby *Berolinahaus*, built in 1929–32 according to plans by [Peter Behrens](/source/Peter_Behrens), was named after the statue. Finally dismantled on 26 August 1942, it was probably melted down in 1944 for war purposes.[2] A model is preserved at the [Märkisches Museum](/source/M%C3%A4rkisches_Museum). In 2000, an association named *Wiedererstellung und Pflege der Berolina e.V.* ('Recreation and Maintenance of Berolina eV') was created with the aim to rebuild the statue.[3] ## Name Many Berliner companies are named "Berolina". A leading German film studio of the 1950s was called [Berolina Film](/source/Berolina_Film). In the past, there were several radio and television broadcasts in which references were made to the city's [personification](/source/Personification). Today, it is the popular name of central [Berlin Police](/source/Berlin_Police) radio. A [housing cooperative](/source/Housing_cooperative) also bears the Berolina name.[4] In 1980s, the "Berolina" music awards were organized, sponsored by the TV networks [ARD](/source/ARD_(broadcaster)), [ZDF](/source/ZDF) and [ORF](/source/ORF_(broadcaster)), and hosted on television by [Thomas Gottschalk](/source/Thomas_Gottschalk) on 27 August 1987 with a total of 15 musicians and bands.[2] Several songs, poems, and plays are named "Berolina"; as for example, works by [Kurt Tucholsky](/source/Kurt_Tucholsky),[5] [Günter Neumann](/source/G%C3%BCnter_Neumann_(singer)), [Ulli Herzog](/source/Ulli_Herzog), and [Alexander von Bentheim](/source/Alexander_von_Bentheim). The [Main belt](/source/Asteroid_belt) asteroid [422 Berolina](/source/422_Berolina), is also named after the city. ## See also - [Bavaria](/source/Bavaria_statue), personification of the Land of [Bavaria](/source/Bavaria) - [Berlino](/source/Berlino), mascot for the 2009 World Championships in athletics - [*Berolina* (train)](/source/Berolina_(train)), which ran between Warsaw and Berlin - [Deutscher Michel](/source/Deutscher_Michel), personification of [German people](/source/German_people) - [Flag](/source/Flag_of_Berlin) and [Coat of Arms](/source/Coat_of_arms_of_Berlin) of Berlin - [Germania](/source/Germania_(personification)), national personification of [Germany](/source/Germany) - [Hammonia](/source/Hammonia), personification of [Hamburg](/source/Hamburg) ## Notes 1. The traditional [Latin](/source/Latin) name of Berlin is the neuter *Berolinum*. ## References 1. ["Bildhauerei in Berlin - Katalog"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120605190342/http://www.bildhauerei-in-berlin.de/_html/_katalog/_details.php?id=1324). Bildhauerei-in-berlin.de. Archived from [the original](http://www.bildhauerei-in-berlin.de/_html/_katalog/_details.php?id=1324) on 2012-06-05. Retrieved 2012-02-11. 1. ["Historie"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120426065607/http://www.berolina-standbild.de/historie/index.html). Berolina-standbild.de. Archived from [the original](http://www.berolina-standbild.de/historie/index.html) on 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2012-02-11. 1. Alexander Glintschert. ["Berolina"](http://www.anderes-berlin.de/html/berolina.html). Anderes-berlin.de. Retrieved 2012-02-11. 1. ["BEROLINA"](https://berolina.info/). Berolina WohnungsbauGenossenschaft. Retrieved 28 January 2025. 1. (in German) [*Berolina* by Kurt Tucholsky](http://www.trafff.de/IGEL-Dateien/14_BEROLINA.pdf) ## External links - (in German) [Berolina Statue website](https://web.archive.org/web/20120426065333/http://www.berolina-standbild.de/index.html) - [An article](https://www.nytimes.com/1918/08/03/archives/to-melt-berolina-statue-germans-disappointed-at-small-copper-supply.html) of [The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Berolina](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berolina) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berolina?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.