# Seriously: What are all those Obelisks doing in our cities????



## GNU (Nov 26, 2004)

I wonder: What are all those thousands of Obelisks doing in our cities??
Whats their purpose? 
No matter where you go you can be sure to encounter them.
Why are they so popular?

*The Washington monument:* (the biggest of them all)










*Place de la Concorde in Paris* (this one is an original from Egypt/Luxor)


















*St. Peters Sqaure in the Vatican in Rome*: (btw: Rome is the city with the most Obelisks in the world)


















*Buenos Aires:*










*Cleopatras Needle in London.* located just at the River Thames front.
Its also an original from Egypt. On its modern base it has an inscription which deals with occult Egyptian habits and festivals.
What is this doing in London I ask?
Behind it you can see a building which is called the "Adelphi building"
It has an egyptian name..

















close up:









^^ you can see shrapnel damage on the base of this statue. This came from a bomb dropped froma german zeppelin during ww1

*The Obelisk of Tuthmosis III, Istanbul, Turkey:*











*the Wellington monument in Dublin:*










*A Socialist obelisk. The Palace of Culture and Science, Warsaw. Built 1952-1955.*










*In Munich:*


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## Very Controversial (Dec 4, 2005)

Not sure.


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## GNU (Nov 26, 2004)

^^ exactly. Thats why I wanna know!


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

There's one in New York's Central Park as well!


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## z0rg (Jan 17, 2003)




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## Rachmaninov (Aug 5, 2004)

Simply for historical reasons? They usually serve as monuments.


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## guinessbeer55 (Jul 25, 2006)

how do you get pictures in your post??


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## huahuahua_321 (Feb 12, 2006)

^^ you can use http://imageshack.us/ ... or other hosting sites.



There is also São Paulo's one:


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## AndySocks (Dec 8, 2005)

Never knew the Washington Monument was the biggest obelisk... though not really surprised, it is ginormous. However, it's kind of boring and not as impressive looking compared to some of the others. That one in Munich is fugly.


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## coastal (Oct 16, 2004)

The sandstone obelisk in south Hyde Park Sydney has a metal pyramid grate on top.
Its used as a vent for underground services.


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## Nouvellecosse (Jun 4, 2005)

Personally, I love obelisks; they add a sense of splendor and grandeur to a city. And it's certainly more interesting than only using statues and fountains for public monuments. I'm guessing there's a thousand times more of them in the world.


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## krull (Oct 8, 2005)

^ Hmmm... easy for you to like them... you are an alien! (*sigh* look at your avatar!)  



z0rg said:


>


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## GNU (Nov 26, 2004)

hkskyline said:


> There's one in New York's Central Park as well!


They are everywhere. literally.
Especially in London it seemed to me that the whole city was full of them.
Youll find them on gravestones, on monuments,in the center of roundabouts, to mark battle sites etc..
But Ive also noticed that the bigger Obelisks are usually positioned on geographical spots.
I remember one in south London. On its base it said: 1 mile to London Bridge / 1 mile to Waterloo and 1 mile to Elephant&Castle.
It was there just to mark this crossing point.

I am also not entirely sure if its an exclusive Freemason thing. As we all know the Freemasons are dealing heavily with occultic egyptian or babylonian stuff.
Has it something to do with them?

some more:

*Rome:*









inscripture on Cleopatras Needle in London:










Rome again: (this one recently had to be handed back to Ethiopia I think)










the pyramid in Karlsruhe/Germany which is the grave of the founder of the city: Karl Wilhelm


























*Karlsruhe itself has been built according to a strict city pattern* which is unique in Germany.
All the other cities just developed themselves. Karlsruhe however is a young city as it was just founded in 1715 and it was built up from scratch. (Notice how the pattern resembles a pyramid)










and today:










another Obelisk in Braunschweig/Germany:


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## GNU (Nov 26, 2004)

Could those be considered as "Obelisks" aswell because of their visual resemblance?


Messeturm in Frankfurt


















One Canada Square in London: (btw: when was in London it seemed to me that this sraper is positioned on the Prime Meridian Line which runs through Greewich. ( I could be wrong there but it looked a bit like it  )











So what do you think?
Do you think that Obelisks are part of our western culture?
Do you think they belong here?
Obviously the church has also adopted them when they placed one in the middle of St. Peters Square.
And even the Communists seemed to like them.

So why are they here? 
So far nobody has bothered to explain that to me and Im just curious why they are so popular.


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## ratclaw (Nov 27, 2005)

I'm not sure if this would be considered an obelisk.


> The San Jacinto Monument is a 570 feet (173.7 m) high column topped with a 220 ton star that commemorates the site of the Battle of San Jacinto, the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. The monument, dedicated on April 21, 1939, is the world's tallest monument tower and masonry tower, and is part of the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site, located in La Porte, Texas, twenty five miles east of Houston, Texas. The column is an octagonal shaft faced with Texas Cordova shellstone, topped with a 34-foot Lone Star - the symbol of Texas. It is the second tallest monument in the United States; the tallest is the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri.
> 
> As part of the San Jacinto Battlefield, the monument was designated a National Historic Landmark on December 19, 1960, and therefore automatically listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was designated an Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1992.


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## Cloudship (Jun 8, 2005)

I'm telling you - Aliens!

Seriously, isn't that about the simplest vertical structure you can build? You could do a square comun with a flat top, I suppose, but then you get into weight and structureal issues, so easier to do a slightly sloping side. And a flat top is boring.


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## GNU (Nov 26, 2004)

ratclaw said:


> I'm not sure if this would be considered an obelisk.



wow thx. Ive never heard of that one before.
I think it could be considered an Obelisk but maybe not in the classical way.
But it is described as an masonic tower.
So this is where the Freemasons would come in.
And this is also what Im wondering about. What have the Freemasosn to do with historic battlesites?
Obviously they have a lot of influence but why do they need to put an Obelisk on so many other battle sites?
The star (five pointed) is also a famous masonic symbol btw.
Youll find a red five-pointed star on the top of the british Grand lodge in London/Covent Garden aswell.

(you can see the star just on top of the building)


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## GNU (Nov 26, 2004)

Cloudship said:


> I'm telling you - Aliens!
> 
> Seriously, isn't that about the simplest vertical structure you can build? You could do a square comun with a flat top, I suppose, but then you get into weight and structureal issues, so easier to do a slightly sloping side. And a flat top is boring.


Its a simple structure yes, but it has been identified as a masonic structure.
That gives you the connection to the freemasons.

Btw: the Washington monument has been erected to honour George Washington who was also a freemason.
Im mentioning this just to show the connection between Obelisks and masonic architecture.
but I dont know what the point is of erecting an Obelisk.
Maybe it has something to do with ancient egyptian beliefs that became popular through the roman empire and therefore in the western world?


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## FREKI (Sep 27, 2005)

Two from Copenhagen


This one is a memorial one located at a military cemetary










This one is "The freedom Obelisk" ( from 1792 ) - raised after King Frederik VI tranfered more power and freedom to his people against the will of the nobels


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## GNU (Nov 26, 2004)

^^ great pics. Keep em coming kay:


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## GNU (Nov 26, 2004)

btw: One of the biggest pyramids in the world is located in Las Vegas in the form of the Luxor Hotel
(its only 31 metres smaller than the pyramid of Giza)










On its front its also marked by a huge Obelisk and on its top it has the strongest lightbeam in the world:


























on this site are some pictures of moths in the light beam :lol:

http://blog.notruebill.com/?p=217


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## hauntedheadnc (Aug 18, 2003)

This is the Vance Monument in Pack Square, erected in 1894 in the heart of downtown Asheville. It honors Zebulon Baird Vance, who was born near here and served as governor of North Carolina during the American Civil War. 










After the war, Vance served as a United States senator and spoke out against proposed immigration restrictions that would have severely hampered the efforts of Jews to immigrate to the United States. Every year the local chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (a club for women interested in history and heritage) joins with the local chapter of B'nai B'rith to lay a wreath of galax leaves at the monument, or at his grave in a nearby cemetery, to honor a man who was remembered for speaking out agaisnt "the wickedness and the folly of intolerance."

Galax leaves, by the way, are an herb used in Appalachian medicine to heal wounds.


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## Cloudship (Jun 8, 2005)

Checker said:


> Its a simple structure yes, but it has been identified as a masonic structure.
> That gives you the connection to the freemasons.


True. I would think there would be an even stronger association with the Freemasons as they are primarily masonary constructions.


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## GNU (Nov 26, 2004)

Cloudship said:


> True. I would think there would be an even stronger association with the Freemasons as they are primarily masonary constructions.


Yes, but why is nobody asking about the function of these Obeslisks?
The freemasons are often engaged in occultic rituals and if those Obelisks are masonic, well then it has to be assumed that they maybe have an occultic influenced function?


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## GNU (Nov 26, 2004)

The small pyramid in Potsdam near Berlin.
(Potsdam btw. is also full with Obelisks)












> Pyramid bordered with decorative hieroglyphics, built between 1791 & 1792 by Carl Gotthard Langhans as a "refrigerator" for the Marmorpalais.
> 
> The structure extends five metres below the ground. Winter lake ice was placed in the base and degradable food was stored above it. Behind its thick stone walls the ice kept the temperature low all year round.


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## Mr Bricks (May 6, 2005)

I guess most oblisks in European cities have been brought to Europe from former colonies.


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## GNU (Nov 26, 2004)

^^ Not really. theres only a very small number of original Obelisks that came from Egypt/Sudan etc..
Most of the others though have been built in europe.


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## sbarn (Mar 19, 2004)

It sounds like many of the obelisks in Rome were brought over during the Roman Empire... however it sounds like they've been moved to different locations in the city through the years.

http://www.romeartlover.it/Obelisks.html


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## hauntedheadnc (Aug 18, 2003)

Checker said:


> Yes, but why is nobody asking about the function of these Obeslisks?
> The freemasons are often engaged in occultic rituals and if those Obelisks are masonic, well then it has to be assumed that they maybe have an occultic influenced function?


The Vance Monument most definitely serves an occult purpose. The cornerstone was laid in a public masonic ceremony. 

Then again, the entirety of Asheville serves an occult purpose. There are a *lot* of people practicing the unusual arts around here.


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## Avian001 (Aug 26, 2005)

In Egypt, the pyramidal top of all obelisks were originally sheathed in gold, just like the tips of the pyramids. They symbolized the sun and were almost always placed at the entrances to the temples. They reflected the sun over huge distances.

Rome imported many of them from Egypt. They became synonymous with the idea of victory because of the incredible effort it took to raise these monsters (the original Egyptian obelisks were one solid piece of granite and weighed as much as 400 tons). Maybe "victory" is one association you could make with obelisks as war monuments in the US.

In the Renaissance they became associated with the Roman Catholic Church. Here's an interesting quote from an exhibit of obelisks in Berlin: _"During the rebuilding of Rome as the center of Christianity, the obelisks served a new purpose. Again it was their timeless, abstract form which predestined them - witnesses to the birth of the Church - to be symbols in the service of universal Christianity."_

Strangely, obelisks are also often phallic symbols!

For more info, read "The Obelisk" by Hargrave Jennings.

Here's a 450-foot obelisk as an office tower in Minneapolis:


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## zergling (Jul 5, 2004)

Beijing:


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## GNU (Nov 26, 2004)

Avian001 said:


> In Egypt, the pyramidal top of all obelisks were originally sheathed in gold, just like the tips of the pyramids. They symbolized the sun and were almost always placed at the entrances to the temples. They reflected the sun over huge distances.


Yes, that makes sense to me. Especially when seeing the Luxor Obelisk on the Place de la concorde which is also covered in gold at the top.




> Rome imported many of them from Egypt. They became synonymous with the idea of victory because of the incredible effort it took to raise these monsters (the original Egyptian obelisks were one solid piece of granite and weighed as much as 400 tons). Maybe "victory" is one association you could make with obelisks as war monuments in the US.


Thats certainly a possibility. But why would we spend so much money on building these things when they are only "associated" with victory?




> Strangely, obelisks are also often phallic symbols!


Thats what I thought aswell. I read somewhere that the Obelisk or the Pyramidical form in general were representing masculinity in pagan beliefs.




> For more info, read "The Obelisk" by Hargrave Jennings.
> 
> Here's a 450-foot obelisk as an office tower in Minneapolis:


^^ That tower is amazing.


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## GNU (Nov 26, 2004)

hauntedheadnc said:


> The Vance Monument most definitely serves an occult purpose. The cornerstone was laid in a public masonic ceremony.


and thats the thing which is so strange imo.
We know that Obelisks often serve a masonic purpose but nobody seems to be bothered to find out why they are here and what exactly their function is.
honestly: we have documentaries on TV about literally everything, but I have yet to see a documentary that deals with masonry.
and thats strange, especially when we consider that there are around 6 million masons in the world and that many of our elected statesmen are part of them.


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## OtAkAw (Aug 5, 2004)

I see no negative thing about obelisks, they just look decorative so people have decided to erect them.


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## GNU (Nov 26, 2004)

OtAkAw said:


> I see no negative thing about obelisks, they just look decorative so people have decided to erect them.


Well obviously they are not just there for decorative reasons, since they are masonic influenced.


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## emutiny (Dec 29, 2005)

AndySocks said:


> Never knew the Washington Monument was the biggest obelisk... though not really surprised, it is ginormous. However, it's kind of boring and not as impressive looking compared to some of the others. That one in Munich is fugly.


The Washington monument is probably so big because its american and we like everything big. I think the sheer size of it and its visibility from miles around makes it much more impressive then any of the others. Plus i think you can walk around inside of it if your inclined although im not sure of this.


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## FREKI (Sep 27, 2005)

In the spirit of this tread I though a better angle of the Freedom Obeslisk would be nice..

So here you go, fresh from the cam


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## Taller Better (Aug 27, 2005)

I love them. They are stylish and timeless. I am guessing off the top of my head that the Greeks were the first, but I don't really know....


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## Overground (Apr 11, 2005)

Checker said:


> I remember one in south London. On its base it said: 1 mile to London Bridge / 1 mile to Waterloo and 1 mile to Elephant&Castle.
> It was there just to mark this crossing point.


I think you are talking about the St. George's obelisk at St. George's Circus between Waterloo and Elephant & Castle. It was built in the 1700s and was moved to the Imperial War Museum a hundred years ago then moved back to it's current spot in the 90s. It's about a miles distance each to London Bridge and Waterloo Bridge, the old Palace of Whitehall, Westminster Abbey and 10 Downing St and E&C is only about a few hundred yards down the road south. Interestingly, I used to live 2 streets up Blackfriars Rd from the obelisk.


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## comrade7 (Nov 9, 2005)

> I wonder: What are all those thousands of Obelisks doing in our cities??
> Whats their purpose?


The real answer is: they expand city borders by generating +1 culture per turn!


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