Skip to main content
Lenin memorial

Lenin memorial

Lenin's head

April 19, 1970. Almost 100 years after Lenin's birth, the GDR regime unveils a monument in honor of the Russian leader on Leninplatz in East Berlin.

It didn't stay for long. Already two years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, in 1991, the 19-meter-high statue has been a victim of the Western iconoclasm. Protest actions couldn't prevent demolition.

Good bye, Lenin

The statue was sawn into 129 parts and buried in a forest near Berlin. The degradation of the statue is also discussed in the film Good bye, Lenin. How come Lenin's head has resurfaced after a quarter of a century?

Welcome back, Lenin

In 2009, the idea arose to excavate and exhibit the statue. Initially, the Berlin Senate resisted, and it looked like Lenin's head would remain where it was. But after a protest, the light turned green. The excavation of Lenin's 3.5-ton granite head followed on September 10, 2015.

Since the beginning of 2016, the head has been displayed in a museum, the Zitadelle Spandau, along with a hundred other monuments that may or may not have fallen from favor.

Leninplatz

At the same time as the monument was demolished, Leninplatz was renamed Platz der Vereinten Nationen.

In front of the high residential towers where the statue stood, there is now an artistic construction with natural stones between which water bubbles up.

How To Get There?
Gain Access to all of the information!

  • Get access to all practical information to prepare your visit, for example addresses, GPS-coordinates and instructions how to legally visit this venue.
  • Discover this location on a detailed map.
  • Get instructions how to get there, together with extra info for walkers and bikers.
  • Discover more interesting places nearby.
  • Explore hundreds of other hidden landmarks on the interactive heritage map.
  • Download the Hidden Monuments 2024 travel guide with 10 hand-picked destinations off the beaten track across Europe.

Become a member only 49,90 euro / year

Already subscribed? Log In

Discover more

Find sites in or discover more

Latest from the blog