Press kit · BerliNike.Art
Berlin's monuments
are speaking again.
Everything for your coverage on one page: quote, facts, story, images, contact.
Schiller · Neptun · Victoria · Goldelse · Georg · Nike
As of November 2026
In brief — free to quote
Berlin's monuments have found their voice again — and this time they answer. On BerliNike.Art, six landmarks of the historic centre hold real conversations: Schiller on Gendarmenmarkt, the Neptune Fountain, the Quadriga's Victoria, the Goldelse on the Victory Column, St. George the dragon slayer and the golden Nike on the French Cathedral — AI voices with character of their own, grounded in verified historical facts, in ten languages, right at the monument in the browser. The first conversation is the goddess's gift: free speaking time for every guest, no app, no account. Those who wish to go deeper enter the exchange of energy: every conversation costs the goddess real energy — computing power, voice, attention. Deepening conversations therefore begin at 1.11 euros — not an entrance fee, but a fair exchange. BerliNike is an independent Berlin project without public funding.
Facts at a glance
Six monuments
Schiller · Neptune · Victoria · Goldelse · St. George · Nike — from Gendarmenmarkt to the Victory Column.
Real dialogues
AI voices with character of their own, grounded in verified historical facts.
Ten languages
In the browser right at the monument — no app download, no account.
A gift first
Free speaking time to begin. Every conversation costs the goddess real energy — deepening from €1.11 is an exchange of energy, not an entrance fee.
Independent
Berlin project without public funding, live since summer 2026.
Experience on site
Demonstrations at the monument for editorial teams any time — one email is enough.
Quick answers
- What are talking monuments in Berlin?
- Talking monuments are statues that tell visitors their story. In Berlin, Kulturprojekte Berlin's “Talking Statues” let selected monuments speak via QR code during a pilot phase until 2017. On BerliNike.Art, six monuments in the historic centre hold conversations: they answer your own question by voice or text, in ten languages, right in the browser.
- Which monuments speak on BerliNike.Art?
- Schiller on Gendarmenmarkt, the Neptune Fountain, Victoria on the Brandenburg Gate, the Goldelse on the Victory Column, St. George the dragon slayer in the Nikolaiviertel and the golden Nike on the French Cathedral.
- What does a conversation cost?
- The first 1:11 minutes are free, no app and no account. Deepening conversations begin at €1.11 — an exchange of energy, not an entrance fee.
- What are the answers based on?
- On verified historical facts about each figure. The research basis and the sources are listed further down this page.
The story
With "Talking Statues Berlin", Kulturprojekte Berlin made selected monuments speak via QR code in a pilot phase running until 2017 — celebrities lent them their voices, a phone call played a fixed monologue.
BerliNike takes the next step: the monologue becomes a conversation. Standing in front of the Schiller monument today, you don't hear a recording — you ask a question and receive an answer grounded in verified historical facts. Each figure with its own voice, tone and perspective on its city.
Concept background: background paper · Quickest introduction: Talking Monuments
Research & sources
BerliNike is more than an art project: each figure is trained on original knowledge — verified history instead of free invention. The foundations are open and verifiable for any editorial team:
The scientific paper
Memetic autopoiesis: the conceptual framework, peer-review-ready — explained simply for non-academics.
Research archive
The in-depth research behind the conversations — the schooling that carries the level of the dialogues.
Verified monument facts
Each figure carries a visible source apparatus on its page — e.g. Schiller with creation, removal and return.
The knowledge galleries
Historical paintings next to the AI interpretation — art history to look up, work by work.
Gold knowledge trials
Eleven open knowledge trials — test the figures against the history books yourself.
Talking monuments — the overview
What, where, how: the answer page with all six locations and frequent questions.
Historical Lights — around the Festival of Lights
Looking back on the light nights of 9–18 October 2026 — the route through Mitte stays, the figures answer all year round.
This turns the art project into a historical and societal offer: the chance to enter a conversation with your favourite monument from a historical perspective.
Images
For coverage of BerliNike. Each image carries its own credit: our own photos as “Photo: BerliNike.Art”, Wikimedia Commons photos with author and licence (CC BY-SA, please print the attribution).
The conversation in pictures
Six light views of the live conversation — each figure in three formats: story (1080 × 1920), square (1200 × 1200) and wide (1200 × 628) for lead images and link previews. Design: BerliNike.Art; Schiller, Victoria and Goldelse are built from CC BY-SA photos and carry the same licence (credit below each image).
Recommend
Colleagues, editors, friends of the city — one tap away:
Press contact
Questions, collaborations (very welcome), interviews with the figures (yes, that works), demonstrations at the monument:
mail@berlinike.art