Monument to the Negev Brigade, War memorial sculpture in Beersheba, Israel
Monument to the Negev Brigade is a war memorial made of concrete on a hilltop in Beersheba featuring 18 symbolic elements, including a perforated tower and water channels. The structure creates a composition of geometric forms spread across the terrain.
The memorial was built between 1963 and 1968 honoring the Negev Brigade, which fought against Egyptian invasion during the 1948 War of Independence. The unit defended water sources in the region and played a crucial role in that conflict.
The memorial carries the name of the Negev Brigade, a legendary fighting unit that operated in the region. Visitors can see how the design connects military forms with the harsh landscape.
The tower has been closed to the public since 1984, when the district psychiatrist ordered a door fitted after several suicides by jumping. Visitors stay on the hilltop platform, which looks west over Beersheba and toward the desert on the other sides. The site lies on a limestone hill east of the city, beside a 295-dunam national park.
The tower's shell was pierced with shell-hole openings during construction so it would act as a wind flute, sounding a lament for the fallen. After several suicides by jumping, the district psychiatrist ordered a door fitted in 1984, and climbing to the top has been barred since.
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