The bronze chariot
A chariot drawn by four lions atop the arch, standing for Bavaria.
The Siegestor is a large three-arched stone gateway at the end of the broad Ludwigstraße, north of central Munich. It was built in the mid-nineteenth century in honour of the Bavarian army, its design drawn from Roman triumphal arches, and topped by a bronze chariot drawn by four lions. The arch was badly damaged in the Second World War. The decision afterwards was unusual: it was only partly restored, and the damage was deliberately left visible on one side. An inscription on it reads, in effect: dedicated to victory, destroyed by war, calling for peace. That shift in meaning — from a military monument to an anti-war one — is the most interesting thing about it. It is free and always open. The arch marks the edge of the university quarter, and Ludwigstraße runs from it towards the city centre.
A chariot drawn by four lions atop the arch, standing for Bavaria.
War damage left deliberately visible, with an inscription turning the monument from victory to a call for peace.
Ludwigstraße, 80539 München
A deliberate post-war decision. Rather than return it to its original state, the damage was left visible and an inscription added that turns its meaning from celebrating military victory into a warning against war. That is what makes it more interesting than an ordinary triumphal arch.
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