Designed by Johann Gottfried Schadow in 1793, the artwork measures approximately 5.5 meters (18 feet) in height and is 6 meters (20 feet) in length.
The statue depicts Victoria, the Roman goddess of victory, driving a four-horse chariot, holding a pole topped with an eagle and iron cross, symbolizing victory and peace.
Prussia was at war with Napolean. After Prussia's defeat, Napoleon's art inspector had the bronze statue packed into 15 crates and shipped to Paris and was stored in a depot in Versailles.
Its involuntary exile transformed the statue into a potent symbol of German national pride. In 1814, Prussian troops recovered the statue and returned it to Berlin.
The original sculpture was heavily damaged during World War II and was painstakingly recreated in the post-war years.