A three-ton granite head of Vladimir Lenin that was buried for decades in woods on the outskirts of Berlin was unearthed on Thursday to be featured in a new exhibit.
The head was part of a 62-foot-tall Lenin statue that stood in a Berlin square until 1991. On Thursday, the head made its journey through the streets of the city, as curious spectators looked on.
#Lenins Kopf verpackt auf dem Weg in die #Zitadelle nach Spandau. #kopfhochlenin @tagesschau @rickminnich @rbbonline pic.twitter.com/fwteqEbBJn— Justus Kliss (@JUSMAKL) September 10, 2015
The statue was first unveiled in 1970 while East Germany was under communist rule and stood in East Berlin's Leninplatz, or Lenin Square, for two decades. After German reunification in 1990 the statue was removed, chopped up into over 120 pieces and buried in woods on the city's southeastern edge.
The plaza it once stood in was renamed United Nations Square.
The head itself stands five-and-a-half feet high and was unearthed from the woods on Thursday before being transported to the western suburb of Spandau, where it will be part of an exhibition on monuments in Berlin.
City officials had to move it using a flatbed tuck and a large crane.
Hello Lenin @ Berlin Spandau pic.twitter.com/jTz0H94ZoW— Judith vd Hulsbeek (@juhuls) September 10, 2015
The city government initially resisted unearthing the Soviet revolutionary's head, citing cost among other concerns. Lizards living above it also had to be relocated during the work.
Some information from the Associated Press.