New Guardhouse Unter den Linden - Neue Wache

On the left-hand side of Berlin's Unter den Linden stands the quite small "Neue Wache" building. It was built by K. F. Schinkel in 1816-18 on the site of an earlier guardhouse, and is a massive brick structure with a Doric portico in the manner of a Greek temple. The relief on the pediment is by August Kiss (1842). President Paul von Hindenburg chose it to serve as a memorial to the fallen in the First World War, and the necessary alterations were carried out in 1931 (architect Heinrich Tessenow). Within the main hall, the walls of which were faced with limestone slabs, stood a tall block of black granite, lit by a roof-light, on which lay a wreath of oak leaves in gold and silver.