Architectural, Cultural sights in Berlin
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Grossiedlung Siemensstadt
Architecturally speaking, Museumsinsel, Schloss Sanssouci and the Hufeisensiedlung in Neukölln could not be more different. Yet they all have one thing in common: they are Unesco World Heritage sites. Along with five other housing estates throughout Berlin, the Hufeisensiedlung became the most recent site to be inducted onto this illustrious list in July 2008. Created between 1910 and 1934 by such leading architects of the day as Bruno Taut and Martin Wagner, these icons of Modernism are the earliest examples of innovative, streamlined and functional – yet human-scale – mass housing. They reflect the spirit of the Weimar Republic, a period of unbridled experimentation and…
reviewed
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Schillerpark Siedlung
Architecturally speaking, Museumsinsel, Schloss Sanssouci and the Hufeisensiedlung in Neukölln could not be more different. Yet they all have one thing in common: they are Unesco World Heritage sites. Along with five other housing estates throughout Berlin, the Hufeisensiedlung became the most recent site to be inducted onto this illustrious list in July 2008. Created between 1910 and 1934 by such leading architects of the day as Bruno Taut and Martin Wagner, these icons of Modernism are the earliest examples of innovative, streamlined and functional – yet human-scale – mass housing. They reflect the spirit of the Weimar Republic, a period of unbridled experimentation and…
reviewed
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Ephraim-Palais
The 1762 Ephraim-Palais, on the southern edge of the Nikolaiviertel, is considered one of Berlin’s most beautiful buildings. Originally the home of the court jeweller and coin minter Veitel Heine Ephraim, it sports an elegantly curving rococo façade decorated with frolicking cherubs and gilded wrought-iron balconies. The present structure is in fact a complete replica of the original, torn down in 1936 to make room for the widening of Mühlendamm. Fortunately, sections of the precious façade survived in storage in West Berlin until given to the eastern city in 1984 to be used in the construction of the Nikolaiviertel. These days, the palace presents changing exhibits focus…
reviewed
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Corbusierhaus
Not one of the finest works of Le Corbusier (1887–1965), this honeycomb-like housing estate just south of the Olympic Stadium was the French master architect’s contribution to the 1957 International Building Exhibition (Interbau). It represents his attempt to address the post-WWII housing shortages all over Europe, but especially in bomb-ravaged Berlin. Some 575 flats are crammed into the 17-storey structure standing on stilts, its monotonous exterior brightened by colour accents. This was the third in a series of complexes he called Unitè d’Habitation (Housing Unit); the others are located in Marseille and Nantes. Le Corbusier’s original plan called for the comple…
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Neuer Marstall
Southeast of Schlossplatz, the 1901 neo-baroque Neuer Marstall (New Stables) by Ernst von Ihne once sheltered royal horses and carriages. In 1918, revolutionaries hatched their plans to bring about the end of the Hohenzollern monarchy here. One of the bronze reliefs on the northern façade shows Karl Liebknecht proclaiming (unsuccessfully) the German socialist republic from the balcony of the Berlin City Palace. The building is currently converted into the new home of the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler, a prestigious music academy. The Neuer Marstall is an extension of the 1670 Alter Marstall (Old Stables; also on Breite Strasse), which is Berlin’s oldest baroque buil…
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Prussian Pomp
After the fall of the Wall, the Palast closed instantly because of asbestos contamination. Years of debate resulted in the demolition of the behemoth and the plan to build an exact replica of the Prussian palace shell but with a modern interior. To be called Humboldt Forum, it will shelter art and artefacts from Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas currently on display in the far-flung suburb of Dahlem, as well as a library and a research facility. It’s slated to be completed in time for the 25th anniversary of reunification in 2015. For a preview of what’s to come, drop by the Berliner SchlossInfocenter.
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Sankt-Hedwigs-Kathedrale
Looming above Bebelplatz, this copper-domed church (1773) was designed by Knobelsdorff, inspired by the Pantheon in Rome and named for the patron saint of Silesia (which Frederick the Great had just conquered). It was Berlin’s only Catholic house of worship until 1854. During WWII St Hedwig was a centre of Catholic resistance led by Bernard Lichtenberg, who died en route to Dachau in 1943 and is buried in the crypt. Blown to bits during WWII, the church now has a subdued, modern interior accented with Gothic sculpture and a copy of Michelangelo’s Pietá.
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Hufeisensiedlung
Anyone interested in modern architecture should swing by the Hufeisensiedlung (Horseshoe Colony), a 1920s housing project by Bruno Taut and Martin Wagner and not far from Schloss Britz. It features about 1000 balconied flats in a three-storey-high, horseshoe-shaped building wrapped around a park and is considered one of the earliest attempts to humanise high-density housing. In 2008 it was one of several modernist colonies in Berlin inducted into Unesco’s list of World Heritage sites. To get here from Parchimer Allee U-Bahn station, walk 250m north.
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Schloss Charlottenburg
The grandest of Berlin's surviving nine former royal pads is Schloss Charlottenburg. It consists of the main palace and two outbuildings in the lovely Schlossgarten (palace park). Each building charges separate admission, but it's best to invest in the Tageskarte that gives you an entire day to see everything except the Neuer Flügel (New Wing). Come early on weekends and in summer.
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Wohnstadt Carl Legien
One of six housing estates throughout Berlin inducted onto the Unesco World Heritage List in July 2008. For this development, the one closest to the city centre, Bruno Taut arranged rows of four-to-five-storey-high houses and garden spaces in a semi-open space. It was built between 1928 and 1930. Best approach is via Erich-Weinert-Strasse.
reviewed
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Neue Synagoge
Built in Moorish-Byzantine style, the 1866 original seated 3200 and was Germany's largest synagogue. During the 1938 Kristallnacht pogroms, a local police chief prevented Nazi thugs from setting it on fire, an act of courage commemorated by a plaque. It was eventually desecrated anyway but not destroyed until hit by bombs in 1943.
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Gartenstadt Falkenberg
Gartenstadt Falkenberg is one of six housing estates inducted onto the illustrious Unesco World Heritage list in July 2008. Built by Bruno Taut between 1910 and 1913 the oldest of the six Unesco-honoured estates is a cheerful jumble of colourfully painted cottages. From the S-Bahn, approach from Am Falkenberg.
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Weisse Stadt
One of six Berlin housing estates inducted onto the Unesco World Heritage list in July 2008. Martin Wagner designed Weisse Stadt, this dominantly white colony, between 1929 and 1931; it includes shops, a kindergarten, a café, a central laundry and other communal facilities. Best approach is via Aroser Allee.
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Neuer Pavillon
The Schinkel-designed Neuer Pavillon served as a summer retreat of Friedrich Wilhelm III and now houses paintings from the Romantic and Biedermeier periods. Closed for renovation during our visit, it should have reopened by the time you're reading this.
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Synagoge Rykestrasse
This rambling red-brick, neo-Romanesque pile is Berlin’s largest synagogue and one of the few Jewish houses of worship that didn’t go up in flames during the 1938 Kristallnacht pogroms. Now fully restored, it hosts services, cultural events and tours.
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Martin-Gropius-Bau
Next to these sinister grounds, the Italian Renaissance-style Martin-Gropius-Bau presents travelling shows of international stature.
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