The heavy-duty sculpture, together with the base platform, stand over 13 meters (42 feet) tall and weighs approximately 40 tonnes.

It is the most famous monument in the inner city of Chemnitz, where it has gained the nickname "Nischel",[2] which is derived from the Saxon term for head or skull.

On 9 October 1971, the monument was inaugurated before a crowd of around 250,000 people along Karl-Marx-Allee (popularly referred to as "Nischelgasse" ("Skull Alley"), today's Brückenstraße).

As the landmark of the city, it served during holidays in the German Democratic Republic as a backdrop for pageants and other mass events.

Many other cities around the world at that time reported interest in buying the monument; there have been discussions about a sale to Cologne.