Reopening of the Replica Workshop’s Work-in-Progress

**Gipsformerei`s Open Studio at the German Bundestag** © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

**Transporting the finished quadriga to the Brandenburg Gate, 1 August 1958** © Hans Schaller

**Parts of the 1957 plaster cast of the quadriga in the storage facility of the Berlin Monument Authority, 2020** © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gipsformerei

Reopening of the Replica Workshop’s Work-in-Progress on Its Reconstruction of the Brandenburg Gate Quadriga

23.06.2021
Gipsformerei - Kunstmanufaktur seit 1819

The Gipsformerei’s (Replica Workshop) open studio site at the Deutscher Bundestag (German Parliament), showing a work-in-progress reconstruction of the Quadriga statuary from the Brandenburg Gate, has reopened. The workshop has been closed in recent months due to the pandemic.

Since work has continued in the meantime, visitors can now see decisive progress in the ongoing reconstruction process replicating the Quadriga to its original condition. One horse’s torso already stands in place, the contour of Victoria’s head has also already been revealed, as has the crown atop her victory emblem.

The Gipsformerei Open Studio at the German Bundestag

All surviving plaster casts of the Quadriga have been gathered since late October 2020 into an open studio at the Berlin Wall Memorial, where they are being documented, restored and assembled. A broad audience is now able to witness the reconstruction process in the open studio. The plaster models restored by the Gipsformerei are closer to Schadow’s original 1793 work than the version of the Quadriga atop the Brandenburg Gate today, a reproduction that has been subjected to further changes since it was erected in 1958. An exhibition with historical photographs on the history of the Quadriga will be presented as part of the open studio. Once the restoration is finished, the plaster casts will be available for further work on the Quadriga. In addition, a 3D scan will be produced that will also represent a kind of digital backup of the Quadriga. At the conclusion of the two-year project, the full-size Quadriga will be displayed at the Wall Memorial at the Bundestag, a symbol of unity set against the backdrop of original segments of the Berlin Wall, that famous symbol of division.

Opening hours

Tuesday to Sunday, 11 am to 5 pm
No restoration work on Saturdays, Sundays or public holidays
Free admission

Address

Mauer-Mahnmal im Deutschen Bundestag
Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Haus
Schiffbauerdamm (entrance on the Spree side)
10117 Berlin
Germany

Further information: www.bundestag.de/mauermahnmal