Return to Berghain

I recently made a return photo trip to Berghain. For 5 days only here is a promotional discounted canvas print available from FineArtAmerica: http://fineartamerica.com/weeklypromotion.html?promotionid=191252

Berghain

Berghain, Berlin

One of my favourite buildings in Berlin has to be the Berghain Club, named for its position on the border between Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain. Originally built as part of the Ostbahnhof complex, the building was first used as a club in 1998 with the name Ostgut. It opened as Berghain in 2004. A few recent photos are below, with links for print purchase. For commercial use please contact me.

Print purchase for personal use -

In the US from Fine Art America

In England from Photo4me

In Germany from Artflakes

Print purchase for personal use -

In the US from Fine Art America

In England from Photo4me

In Germany from Artflakes

Print purchase for personal use -

In the US from Fine Art America

In England from Photo4me

In Germany from Artflakes

Brandenburg Gate, Berlin

The Brandenburg Gate is always a favourite subject to photograph, always a pleasure to visit, to take time to relax in Pariser Platz and watch the many and varied people wandering through.

Here are a few recent images:

More images can be viewed on my website

and prints purchased from Fine Art America or Artflakes

Jewish Cemetery, Weissensee, Berlin

Photos from the Jewish Cemetery in Weissensee, Berlin, which is the second largest Jewish Cemetery in Europe (the largest is in Lodz, Poland) at approx. 100 acres and with 115,000 burials. It was opened in 1880. Today it is very overgrown, with broken memorials covered in ivy, making it a rather picturesque and relaxing place to visit.

Images may also be purchased as prints from Fine Art America 

The Berlin Wall Memorial Centre

The Berlin Wall Memorial Centre on Bernauer Strasse is the main site dedicated to the division of Berlin. Work on the site is currently on-going with extensions of the open air exhibition area and should be fully complete by 2012.

The Visitor Centre is located across the street from Nordbahnhof.

The first open air exhibition is now complete. This shows the layout of the wall and the death strip.

The Window of Remembrance records the names alongside a photograph of victims of the wall.

The Chapel of Reconciliation

Bunker on Albrechtstrasse, Berlin

Reinhardtstrasse in central Berlin seems a typically ordinary Berlin street, a mixture of building types and uses, the modern architecture of the Spree Eck building at one end and the Friedrichstadt Palast facing down the street from Friedrichstrasse at the far end. What stands out most of all is the large concrete block building on the corner of Albrechtstrasse, a massive square symmetrical building with a height of around 18 metres. What looks even more unusual is the modern looking penthouse built onto the roof, complete with roof garden, which only very slightly softens the hard appearance of the concrete façade.

There are a small number of World War II bunkers remaining in Berlin, most are left because they are simply too difficult to remove. In the case of the Reinhardtstrasse bunker the close proximity of nearby buildings would make removal impossible without causing damage to neighbouring property.

This bunker was completed in 1943 to a design by Karl Bonatz and was built for the Deutsche Reichsbahn, the German state railway. Its purpose was to provide shelter for train passengers using the nearby Friedrichstrasse station, but it could also be used by local residents and theatre goers, providing shelter for around 3000 people seated, with 48 beds available.

The bunker has 5 floors and originally had about 120 rooms. Double doors are located centrally on each side of the building connected to a staircase, which enabled large numbers of people to enter the building at the same time. The outer walls are constructed of 2 metre thick re-inforced concrete, with the roof being 3 metre thick.

In May 1945 the bunker was occupied by the Red Army who later used it as a war prison. Since then it has had various uses, including as a warehouse and as a hardcore techno club hosting SM and fetish parties renowned throughout Germany.

In 2003 Christian Boros and wife Karen Lohmann purchased the property to house their contemporary art collection. The conversion was carried out by Jens Casper of Realarchitektur, Berlin. The outside of the bunker was cleared of later adaptations but signs of war damage were left (see image below with damage to slit window opening). Alterations were made inside, making the original 120 rooms into 80, providing about 3000 square metres of exhibition space, with the penthouse added onto the roof area to provide a modern and open plan living area.

The collection opened in 2007 and can be viewed by appointment only – bookings can be made through the Sammlung-Boros website.

see also photo Bunker On Albrechtstrasse / Reinhardtstrasse (Boros Art Collection), Berlin, Germany

Modernist Housing Estates in Berlin part 2 - Gartenstadt Falkenberg

Wandering around the Gartenstadt Falkenberg it is clearly evident why its nickname is Tuschkastensiedlung (paintbox estate). The colour of the façades are complimented by the use of contrasting colours of windows, shutters, patios and wooden balconies, all on the summer day of my visit complimented by the beautifully laid out and colourful gardens.

Falkenberg is the oldest of the six Gardenstadt (garden city settlements, modelled on the English garden cities), designed by Bruno Taut and constructed between 1913 - 1916. The first construction phase was the cul-de-sac Akazienhof. Below one of the blocks on this street.

The second phase was the street Gartenstadtweg, which includes 12 groups of houses, each with individual colour schemes. The sloping street is well landscaped, with terraces and well laid out gardens. The apartment blocks all have gardens, originally intended for the occupants to grow their own produce. Below are two of the rows of terraced houses on the street.

Colourful entranceway to one of the blocks on Gartenstadtweg.

More images of Berlins Modernist Housing Estates can be viewed here Berlin Modernist Housing Estates

Photo Gartenstadt Falkenberg, Berlin, Germany

Modernist Housing Estates in Berlin - Großsiedlung

Berlin has six modernist housing estates that were listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites in 2008. The estates were built between 1913 and 1934 and are representative of the progressive attitude towards social housing in Berlin during those years, which aimed to provide a green and healthier living space for people on low incomes.

The estate at Großsiedlung Siemensstadt was built between 1929 and 1934 to provide homes for the workers at the nearby Siemens electrical factory. The architects were Hans Scharoun, Walter Gropius, Hugo Haring, Otto Bartning, Fred Forbat and Paul Rudolf Henning – part of a group called Der Ring, which later evolved into Bauhaus. The architects were each allocated a different area of the estate to design, which resulted in the varied appearence of the buildings.

After 1919, according to the Weimar constitution, all new apartments built in Berlin had to include a separate bathroom and kitchen, as well as a balcony. The Großsiedlung Siemensstadt estate features particularly attractive circular balconies, this block designed by Häring.

The block designed by Scharoun, with its south facing circular balconies.

Green spaces were provided between buildings and original trees were conserved to provide a pleasant living environment - compare to the overcrowded tenement blocks common at the time. This is the block called Langer Jammer designed by Otto Bartning.

Volkspark Jungfernheide to the north of the estate provided an extension to the green spaces. Still a pleasent and popular area, it has a wildlife enclosure, play areas and an open air swimming pool.

 

for photographs see also:
Grosssiedlung Siemensstadt, Berlin, Germany I
Grosssiedlung Siemensstadt, Berlin, Germany II