The ’Unknown Bureaucrat’ was created in

1994 by Iceland artist and sculptor Magnus

Tomasson. It’s probably the most noticeable,
and certainly the most amusing and
expressive sculpture in the city, which is
notable for the many little intriguing details
that can be picked out.

Monuments to an unknown soldier are

common around the globe, but as Iceland
has no standing army, perhaps a tribute to
the civilians who serve their country is the
next best thing.

This gigantic monument located in Chile is

particularly breath-taking: a giant hand
emerging from the Atacama Desert.
Conveniently located on the edge of the
Pan-American Highway, it’s easily
accessible to the many travellers that stop
to check it out.

Located 75 km south of Antofagasta and

1100 meters above sea level, this famous
monument is the work of the Chilean
sculptor Mario Irarrázabal who seeks to
express emotions such as loneliness,
vulnerability or pain through his sculptures.

If you walk down Husova Street in Prague, in

the old town, you will come face to face
with a man hanging with one hand on a
pole! He isn’t a madman ready to throw
himself into the void, but rather a bronze
statue dedicated to the father of
psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud. This is one of
the most curious monuments of the city and
is the most famous work of the Czech
sculptor Černý.
Imagine a huge roller coaster, but for your
feet… This monument, Tiger and the Turtle,
is located in the German city of Duisburg
and is exactly that, even if it is difficult to
walk upside down! Its creators, sculptors
Ulrich Genth and Heike Mutter, wanted to
create an element that pays homage to
the city’s steel industry and introduce a
decorative element into the landscape.
The strange thing is its name, the authors
claim that the roller coaster represents the
speed of a tiger and the visitors represent
the turtle.

If seeing the word Kindlifresserbrunnen makes

you think, “that’s a mouthful!” wait till you
find out what this German word means! The
term translates to English as “Child Eater
Fountain” and is the name for a fountain in
the Swiss capital of Bern with a statue at its
center depicting an ogre gobbling down an
infant and holding a sack with more babies
presumably to be devoured next.

Why? Good question. No one really knows

what Renaissance sculptor, Hans Gieng had
in mind when he crafted the fountain
features in 1545 but the three main theories
are that it reflected anti-foreigner attitudes
of the Middle Ages, is a representation of
Krampus (the Alpine Christmas monster who
punished misbehaving children), or based on
the Greek myth of Cronus eating his children.