Page 109 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Germany

FUR THER AFIELD  107

hugely popular spot for cycling
and kite-flying. Part of the main
building has been used to
house refugees since 2016.

a Viktoriapark
 Platz der Luftbrücke. @ 104, 140.
This rambling park, with several
artificial waterfalls, short trails
and a small hill, was designed
by Hermann Mächtig and built
between 1884 and 1894. The
Neo-Gothic Memorial to the
Wars of Liberation at the summit
of the hill is the work of Karl
A reconstructed drawing room from 1548 in the Kunstgewerbemuseum Friedrich Schinkel and was
constructed between 1817
Baroque palace, built between 1949, it stands on the grave of and 1821. The monument
1677 and 1681 for the heir to 5,000 Soviet soldiers killed in the commem orates the Prussian
the throne Friedrich (later King battle for Berlin in 1945. The victory against Napoleon’s army
Friedrich I), to a design by gateway leading to the mauso- in the Wars of Liberation. The
the Dutch architect Rutger leum is marked by a vast granite monument’s cast-iron tower is
van Langfield. In 2003, the sculpture of a grieving Russian well ornamented.
Kunstgewerbemuseum Motherland surrounded by In the niches of the lower sec-
(see p92) opened a suite of statues of Red Army soldiers. tion are 12 allegorical figures by
Renaissance and Baroque In the farthest part of the park Christian Daniel Rauch, Friedrich
rooms to the public in the is the oldest and largest public Tieck and Ludwig Wichmann.
Köpenick Palace. observatory in Germany, the Each figure sym bolizes a battle
Archenhold Sternwarte, built by and is linked to a historic figure
Friedrich Simon Archenhold for – either a military leader or a
the Berlin industrial exhibition member of the royal family.
(Gewerbeausstellung) in 1896.
Given a permanent site in 1909, it
was used by Albert Einstein for a s Rathaus
lecture on the Theory of Relativity Schöneberg
in 1915. It is also home to the Schöneberg Town Hall
longest reflecting telescope in
the world (21 m or 70 ft), and a John-F-Kennedy-Platz.  Rathaus
small planetarium. Schöneberg.
Beyond Treptower Park lies
another park, Plänterwald. The Schöneberg town hall is
The huge and evocative Soviet War a gigantic building with an
Memorial in Treptower Park imposing tower, which was built
p Tempelhofer Feld between 1911 and 1914. From
o Treptower Park 1948 to 1990 it was used as the
Platz der Luftbrücke.  Platz der
Archenhold-Sternwarte, Alt-Treptow. Luftbrücke. @ 104, 184. main town hall of West Berlin,
 Treptower Park. @ 166, 167, 265. and it was outside here, on 26
Archenhold Sternwarte: Tel (030) 536 Tempelhof was once Germany’s June 1963, that US President
06 37 19. 8 compulsory; 2–4:30pm largest airport. Built in 1923, it is John F Kennedy gave his
Wed–Sun. ∑ sdtp.de typical of Third Reich architecture. famous speech. More than
Additions to the original structure 300,000 Berliners assembled to
The vast park in Treptow was were com pleted in 1939. hear the young president say
laid out in the 1860s on the In 1951, a monument was “Ich bin ein Berliner” – “I am a
initiative and design of Johann added in front of the airport. Berliner”, intended as an
Gustav Meyer. In 1919 it was Designed by Edward Ludwig, it expression of solidarity from the
where revolutionaries Karl commemorates the airlifts of democratic world to a city
Liebknecht, Wilhelm Pieck and the Berlin Blockade. The names defending its right to freedom.
Rosa Luxemburg assembled of those who lost their lives While Kennedy’s meaning
150,000 striking workers. appear on the plinth. was undoubtedly clear, pedants
The park is best known for the Decommissioned as an airport have since pointed out that this
colossal monument to the Red in 2000, it was turned into a could also be translated as “I am
Army. Built between 1946 and recreational park in 2008 and is a a jam doughnut”.

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