Valet de Chambre builds Palais am Festungsgraben

Palais am Festungsgraben (former Palais Donner)

The above Palais was originally built in baroque style by Johann Gottfried Donner, the Valet de Chambre of Prussian King Frederick II (Friedrich der Große) in 1753 and redesigned, one century later, with the – then very hip – classicistic "livery" it wears nowadays. 

The Palais is situated right behind the chestnut grove of the New Guard House and  is the only buiilding in this neighborhood that survived World War II relatively unscathed.

It disposes of several very representative halls and is used for festive receptions or exclusive events (can be chartered by you too!). It even won an award for being "one of the best event locations in Germany".

Furthermore, the building serves as a theater, hosts two galleries and the Tajik Tee Salon.

Old pictures of the building from the Federal Archive (Bundesarchiv)

Two are better than One – Heinrich Heine Sculpture

This cheerful fella holds the fort, surrounded by the holy sites of the Humboldt University, the Gorki Theater, the New Guard House and the Palais am Festungsgraben.

Click pic to enlarge

Click pic to enlarge

The statue of the young Heinrich Heine (one of Germany's most significant poets), is, however, not as unique as you would think: The original statue was cast on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Heine's death (in 1956) and designed to be mounted behind the New Guard House and in front of the Gorki Theater, but the GDR regime didn't care much for the "unheroic-ish" Bronze and its boyish charms and banned it to the Weinbergspark, somewhere in Wedding (one of Berlin's districts).

Just in time for the 200th birthday anniversary in 1997 (the GDR was dead then ...), discussions flared up, as to install the memorial where it was meant to be in the first place. Now, the Wedding people didn't like the idea and dug their claws deep into the statue to keep it in place.

Unceremoniously practical, an identical second statue was cast and mounted where you can see it now.

Berlin Wall Memorial

Berlin Wall Memorial Visitor Center

From August 13, 1961 to November 9, 1989, a nasty line cut through Berlin's entire city center: The notorious Berlin Wall, built to prevent citizens of the GDR from fleeing to the West. West Berlin was an island located in the middle of the GDR.

As the wall alone couldn't stop people from trying to escape from the GDR regime, it was additionally fortified by a death strip all along the border, as well as a "shoot-to-kill" order.

The area along the restricted zone was patrolled, watchtowers were set up, signal fences giving silent alarms were installed and the land around the border was declared no-man's-land and was lit up bright as day during the night.

Observation platforms in the West allowed tourists and West Berliners to sneak a peek "over the fence" into an other world.

In the peaceful revolution of 1989, the guards of Bornholmer Straße border opened the gates on November 9th without formal order and masses of people flocked to the West.

The Berlin Wall Memorial partly is an open-air museum and the memorial grounds on the former border strip are open all year round. Admission is free. There also is a viewing platform at the Documentation Center (Bernauer Strasse 111). Don't miss it!

If you are up to some research, check out the specialized bookstore on the history of the Berlin Wall in the Visitor Center.

A really intriguing and actually quite spooky part of the Berlin Wall history is on display in the Nordbahnhof S-Bahn station: The "Ghost Station Exhibition". 

What is this?

As a result of all the wall building and the busy cutting the city in two halves, public transport network had to be divided too. Three lines that passed through the city center and a short stretch of East Berlin territory stayed open to West Berliners while East Berlin stations were closed down.

Read more on Ghost Stations

Bauhaus Archive – Museum of Design

Entrance with cafeteria

What essential piece of wisdom did I take away from my visit to the Bauhaus-Archiv yesterday?
Roaming the exhibition halls, merely escorted by the soft English audio guide voices, I was pondering about life and learning and life long learning – and of course, if only briefly, about architecture and design.

The essential piece of wisdom I took with me was that wherever you go and whatever you do, it is good to look at things in a new, in a fresh, in a pure-minded way. Untainted, so to speak, as if human beings were able to ever look at anything in an "untainted" way ... ah, but let's leave this for now and just pretend we could.

For me, the essential of Bauhaus philosophy is to try and look at things in a different way. I will take that with me and hope I'll never forget to apply it to my daily life.

As for the museum: If you go there you absolutely will want to take an audio guide (it's included in the entrance fee). I thought it was great to be informed about so many details while looking at the pictures and design objects. By the way, it is strictly forbidden to take photographs inside the building!

The Bauhaus Archive Museum of Design houses an extensive collection documenting the history and impact of the Bauhaus movement.

The movement started out on April 1, 1919 in Weimar, then relocated to Dessau in 1925 and finally to Berlin in 1932 where it was pressured to close in April 1933 by the National Socialists.

The Nazis denounced the Bauhaus for its – what they called  – "degenerate art" (the nazi term for modern art) and frowned upon its modernist style as un-German, probably influenced by Jews and on top of that a front for communists and social liberals.

Bauhaus
Bauhaus Museum Weimar
Bauhaus Movement Weimar

Şehitlik Mosque – Berlin Türk Şehitlik Camii

Şehitlik Mosque with Cemetery

As the weather today was almost obtrusively serene and sunny, I decided this was the right time to take a few more pics of Berlin's fairytale-like, most fabulous mosque: The Turkish Şehitlik Mosque.

I published a little article about it here on my blog in October 2009, but that day I had forgotten to charge my camera's battery, so I could only take a few precious photos. Now I took a whole load of pics and the weather was my friend.

 

The premises consist of a cultural center and a mosque. The upper floor of the cultural center features a big terrace and a building element half the size of the ground floor. 

The mosque itself is comprised of four stories: A multipurpose hall in the basement, a prayer room on the ground floor, the mosque on the third floor and a gallery where the women usually pray.

Main prayer language is Turkish, occasionally Arabic and on Fridays prayers are read in German, too.

A brazen plaque right beside the entrance gate explains the origin of the cemetery in Turkish and German. For a short explanation visit my October 2009 article.

Here is the Turkish text:

"Berlin'de ikinci Türk Mezarliği olarak 1866 yilinda Sultan Abdulaziz zamaninda kurulmuştur. 1798 yilinda tesis olunan ilk Türk Kabristanindaki mevtalar buraya taşinmişlardir.

Mezarlari nakledilen, Prusya'da Osmanli Sefiri iken, 29 Ekim 1798 de vefat eden devlet adami, şair ve tasavvuf eri Giritli Ali Aziz Efendi ile diğer dört merhum adina 1867 yilinda kurulan abide, 1988 de Berlin Senatosu tarafindan Diyanet İşleri Türk-İslam Birliği'nin işbirliği ile tamir edilmiştir.

1920-1921 yillarinda şehitliğin ihyasinda Osmanli Büyük Elçiliği eski imami, Hafiz Şükrü Efendi 'nin büyük emeği geçmiştir. Caminin iki minareli bugünkü şekli Türk işçilerinin katkilariyla gerçekleştirilmiştir."

Official Site of Şehitlik Mosque in German language

American Memorial takes Form of Public Library

 

After World War II, all major libraries were located in the eastern part of Berlin, so that the western sectors were left with almost no research libraries. 

At its opening in 1954 the American Memorial Library, a gift from the United States to the people of  Berlin, was the most modern library in Europe. Constructed according to the quintessential American democratic ideal that knowledge and education should be available to all, regardless of social class, this universal library offers a broad spectrum of literature for everyone.

The open library concept where readers could hang out and browse books and magazines at leisure was totally new in Germany. This concept for free "education, information, recreation", the freedom to learn, study, and seek the truth, is also expressed through the building's architecture which conveys a sense of spaciousness and transparency.

The entrance to the library is linear and free of barriers. Once you have entered the vestibule, you can immediately see the library's hall through the glass doors in front of you. 

The location of the library (now protected as a historical site) was carefully selected: Only half a mile away from the border, it was clearly visible in East Berlin. The large neon letters on top of the building which read "Gedenkbibliothek" (= Memorial Library) could be seen from the Friedrichstraße train station, then located in the eastern sector.

Since 1995 the library has been part of Berlin's central and regional library. Among other things it possesses a vast film department (50 000 movies), and even a Black Box, where films are projected on a large screen. In the picture-lending library (Artothek) you can borrow paintings, sculptures and figures. In the music department, concerts are held, and there is even a Piano Room (with one Bechtstein and one Steinway) which visitors can use to practice. The room can be reserved for up to two hours a week.

The American Memorial Library truly is a library for the people. Contrary to most libraries I know, the atmosphere is refreshing and lively. Young people of all nationalities meet up to read and chat, do their homework together, or roam the aisles browsing for literature.

The children's and young adult's library, also located in the building and named "Hallescher Komet" (= Halle's Comet as an allusion to the closest  subway train station Hallesches Tor) is the largest of its kind in Germany.

Address 

American Hook Organ finds new Home in German Church

On my way to the America Memorial Library in Kreuzberg, I passed by a stunningly beautiful Gothic Revival style brick church with multiple svelte towers springing up into the sky: The Church of the Holy Cross.

 

According to the wishes of Emporer William I. of Prussia this monumental church was designed by Johannes Otzen, the son of an organist and village school teacher, and built from 1885 to 1888. Being too modest for the Emporer's taste, the unpretentious design priorly offered by architect Blankenstein had been rejected in favor of the four times as costly representative edifice. 

The church consists of a nave and a transept with a crossing tower which in about 20 meters height is topped by a dome.

World War II left the church in ruins after fire bombs had hit the building. In the years following 1945, pastor and parish were strongly opposed to governmental demolition plans and managed to enforce the building's reconstruction. The interior was kept much simpler from then on: The hitherto decorative brick work was plastered over, giving the space a somewhat sterile feeling.

In 1995 the structure was extensively renovated for prospective clerical and secular utilization. Apropos: As soon as I entered the churches vestibule, I was greeted by a vile stench and when I turned my head I saw a homeless man peacefully snoring in a corner surrounded by all his worldly possessions.

In 2001 the church received a unique instrument: The Organ op. 553 built in 1870 by Hook Bros., Boston. It is the only 19th-Century American organ in Germany. This gigantic instrument possesses 2370 pipes and is a genuine instrument of high romanticism.

Hook Organ
Church of the Holy Cross – Homepage

Kaiser William Memorial Church - Anti-war Memorial

Kaiser William Memorial Church, or as my daughter refers to it: "the broken church", is indeed an extraordinary landmark of Berlin. The Protestant church is located in the center of the Breitscheidplatz on Kurfürstendamm and visible over a great distance. The church - inaugurated in 1895 - was severely damaged during a bombing raid in 1943. Whereas the National Socialists promised the reconstruction of the church, the allied forces were reluctant to do so, as the building stood for the Wilhelmian-German national pride.

In the late 50s/early 60s a new church with a tower, a foyer, and a chapel was built and grouped around the ruins of the old church. The buildings are constructed in concrete, steel, and glass, the walls being made of a concrete honeycomb with more than 20.000 unique stained glass inlays by the French artist Gabriel Loire from Chartres. The predominant color is blue interspersed with red, green and yellow. The atmosphere inside the new church is delightful, due to the prismatic variation of colors.

The entrance hall of the damaged spire is open to visitors and presents beautiful mosaics, bas-reliefs, and sculptures along with panels which tell the story of the damaged church.

Source: Bundesarchiv

Kaiser William Memorial Church

Umbrella Kids - "Kinder unterm Regenschirm"

This afternoon while riding the tram on my way to take photos of the Synagogue in Rykestraße, I spotted a cute couple, holding an umbrella. Instantly I jumped out (fortunately the tram had stopped anyway) to take a closer look:

Of course I wondered what this sculpture might represent, and when I arrived home I did a little research on their behalf: The sculpture is apparently a well - which I had not realized - and was built by Stefan Horota, a German sculptor in the years 1967/68. It seems, the artist wanted to erect a memorial in the honor of the children of Prenzlauer Berg (an East Berlin city district).

The materials used are bronze (sculpture) and granite (socket) and you can find the sculpture in Prenzlauer Berg (corner of Prenzlauer Allee / Danziger Straße, right opposite the tram stop [Tram 1 and 20]).

Heroes of the Air - German Aeronauts

"Den deutschen Luftschiffern 1914 - 1918" Monument for the German aeronauts

Today I am addressing the subject of the extinct guild of aeronauts, thanks to my friend Ayla who pointed me to the topic by pointing her finger at the moss-grown monument right in front of the St. Johannis basilica in Neukölln. As a result I took two quick photos - and on this page they are!

What a venturous fellow, what a bold heroic face struck in stone ... 

Now, what sinister story is there, hidden amongst the almost impermeable thicket behind the monument?

On July 4, 1900, the gentle reader may have caught an article published in the New York Times announcing the halfway successful airship trial by Count von Zeppelin, which had taken place on the evening of July 2 (see article).

Fifteen years later another article was published in the same paper, this time reporting about "the spectacular Zeppelin raid on London on Sept. 8".

Not so funny: Zeppelin's airships were used to drop bombs in World War I (read full original article from NY Times). The article is truly worth a read as it involves many eyewitness accounts!

Being extremely easy targets and susceptible to gusts of wind, Zeppelins turned out not to be very useful as bombers after all.