International Telecommunication Union Monument, Commemorative monument and fountain at Helvetiaplatz, Switzerland
The Welttelegrafen-Denkmal on Helvetiaplatz in Bern is a memorial fountain with a monumental base of calcium silicate flanked by two basins. Atop it stands a bronze group divided into thematic units—family, physical and mental work, pain, fertility, mercy—dominated by a seated female figure representing the connected "souls of peoples."
The monument stems from a competition held in 1911, won by Giuseppe Romagnoli of Bologna; it was built in 1922. It commemorates the World Telegraph Association, founded in 1865, and an inscription records that the International Telegraph Union was founded in Paris in 1865 on the initiative of the French government, with the monument erected per the Union's decision at the 1908 Lisbon conference.
The bronze group is divided into thematic units: family, physical and mental labour, pain, fertility and mercy, joined by a seated female figure in the centre. The monument's nickname in Bern comes from Klaus Schädelin's children's book "Mein Name ist Eugen", whose young narrator calls the fountain figure Helvetia.
The monument faces the Historisches Museum on Helvetiaplatz, reached from the Kirchenfeld bridge over the Aare. Two fountain basins flank the base, and the south side carries the 1965 plaque of member states. The square is open ground, so the sculpture can be walked around and viewed from all sides.
A bronze plaque added in 1965 displays the names of all International Telecommunication Union member states at the time. This plate replaced earlier inscriptions and quietly honors the worldwide reach of the organization.
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