Marx-Engels Forum

The Marx-Engels-Forum is a green plaza in Berlin's Mitte district between Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse, the park at the TV Tower, Rathausstrasse, and the bank of the Spree. The site was designed in 1974-75 on commission from the SED leadership as part of socialist East Berlin's political center. At its heart stands an oversized bronze group of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels by sculptor Ludwig Engelhardt, unveiled in 1986. Marx sits while Engels stands beside him - a deliberately relaxed gesture rather than heroic pathos. The ensemble is rounded out by steel stelae with photomontages of the labor movement and marble reliefs on class struggle. The figures were moved in 2010 for subway construction and now stand by the Spree. The square serves as a popular photo spot and political memory site in reunified Berlin.