Welcome to Helvetiaplatz, a square surrounded by several of Berne’s museums. The building that looks like a castle is the Berne History Museum, which takes you through the city’s past from the Middle Ages to the present day. On the second floor, you’ll find a fascinating permanent exhibition on Einstein. There’s also the Natural History Museum, the Museum of Communication, and for mountaineering fans, the Swiss Alpine Museum. At the center of the square stands the imposing World Telegraph commemorative monument. The idea for this monument began in 1908 during a meeting in Lisbon, with the goal of marking the 50th anniversary of the International Telegraph Union in 1915. The Union was founded in Paris in 1865 by the French government, bringing together 20 countries to agree on common communication standards. It’s the oldest technical intergovernmental coordination organisation in the world. Since 1947, it’s been part of the United Nations, and its headquarters were moved from Berne to Geneva. Today, it manages everything from radio frequencies to internet networks and satellite orbits. But back to the monument. It was designed by Italian sculptor Giuseppe Romagnoli, who created a powerful allegorical work symbolising the union of peoples through communication. The central female figure represents the Telegraph Union, and her outstretched arms link together the surrounding statues. Each one embodies a different theme. There’s a man with a closed book for knowledge of the past, another with an open book for future knowledge, and others representing work, family, sorrow, justice, charity, suffering, fertility, and hard labour. The monument was inaugurated in 1922, and in 1965, a century after the Union’s founding, a bronze plaque was added, listing the names of all member states. Standing proudly in front of the History Museum, this monument serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of communication and connection among nations.