Berlin Aquarium Unter den Linden

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Former
aquarium Unter den Linden
Aquarium Unter den Linden 1.jpg
place Berlin-Dorotheenstadt
opening May 11, 1869
Species focus Vivarium
organization
management Alfred Brehm , Otto Hermes
Sponsorship Berlin Aquarium Commandit-Gesellschaft on Actien

The Berlin Aquarium Unter den Linden existed on the property at Unter den Linden No. 68 between 1869 and 1910. As a major attraction in the center of Berlin , it was at times serious competition for the Berlin Zoological Garden , also because the actual animal population was much larger than that of a pure aquarium . In addition to the marine animals, it consisted of many other animals including gorillas , shown in attractive aviaries , glass boxes and cages.

prehistory

The zoologist Alfred Brehm

In the 19th century, Berlin's leisure activities included excursions to fish ponds in front of the city gates. In the Schlosssteich Charlottenburg carp swam , which allegedly came to the feeding on the bell. The goldfish in the Großer Tiergarten , particularly numerous in the former “Venus Basin” not far from the Brandenburg Gate , were brought into closed water basins in winter after they were all frozen to death in the icy cold in shallow water in 1849. Excess goldfish were sold to private individuals. Buyers kept their fish in small aquariums or as room decorations in the spherical goldfish bowls that were popular at the time . There was a specialty shop for such interests on Markgrafenstrasse.

In the 1860s the idea arose among the Berlin bourgeoisie that the rapidly growing Prussian capital should not only have the zoological garden, which was opened in 1844, but also a suitably large aquarium. The zoologist Alfred Brehm participated intensively in the preparations. He had been director of the zoological garden in Hamburg from 1863 to 1866, had ended this activity after differences of opinion and was looking for a new sphere of activity in Berlin. In difficult negotiations with authorities and donors, he created the conditions for the new aquarium on the corner of Unter den Linden and Schadowstraße and became its first director.

The building

The financing was achieved through a capital of 300,000  thalers , achieved through the sale of 1500 shares of 200 thalers each by the Berlin Aquarium Commandit-Gesellschaft, founded in 1867 by the two partners Alfred Brehm and the royal builder F. Stückradt . As architect Wilhelm Lüer , who had previously designed the buildings of the Hanover Zoo, including the aquarium there, took over the construction.

The external conditions were unfavorable; On the angled remaining space behind a corner house, a two-story building was built, accessible through a narrow entrance from Schadowstrasse. Inside, a 300 meter long path led the visitors past indirectly illuminated niches and grottos , for the design of which basalt , granite and other stone had been brought from various German mountains. The aquatic animals could be seen on the lower floor, and other animal species upstairs. The " Geological Grotto" extended over both floors and showed a cross-section of the earth's crust with its various layers. A small restaurant completed the facility.

Individual departments (selection)

Selection of individual departments
 See picture on the left
(from left to right)
Top row:
  • Snake grotto
  • Crocodile grotto
  • Geological grotto
  • Bird house
  • Turtle grotto
  • Freshwater gallery
Middle
(from left to right) :
  • Stair hall
  • Central aviary
  • Rock gate to the exit gallery
Below
(from left to right) :
  • Beaver grotto
  • Marine aquarium
  • Basalt group to the exit gallery

Success and decline

Memorial plaque on the house at Unter den Linden 62 in Berlin-Mitte

The zoological garden mentioned, which opened in a Berlin suburb in 1844 , initially had no appreciable response. Its location in Charlottenburg , which was not incorporated until 1920, was at that time still far outside the city limits of Berlin. In addition, the facility came under criticism in the 1860s because the zoo , which was built according to a design by Peter Joseph Lenné , no longer met the taste of the time.

The construction of the centrally located aquarium in Berlin, initiated by Alfred Brehm, aroused great interest. Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm (later Emperor Friedrich III ) visited the construction site.

At the opening on May 11, 1869, King Wilhelm I appeared with a large retinue. However, up to this point, despite many attempts, it had not been possible to artificially produce clear, transparent seawater for the sea fish in the aquarium; only in autumn 1869 was it available in unclouded quality. The aquarium was a great success. In addition to the favorable location, intensive advertising contributed to this, and Brehm always provided new, interesting newspaper articles about his company. Not only snakes, lizards and fish were exhibited, but also beavers and seals , parrots and other animal species. At the opening, Brehm had stated that despite some criticism, they wanted to stick to the term "aquarium", although one could definitely speak of a " vivarium " or a "zoo under one roof".

Alfred Brehm managed the company until 1873. His successor was the former pharmacist Otto Hermes , who had solved the seawater problem in the opening year and had been involved in managing the house since 1871. He also tried to keep the public interest awake. A highlight was the presentation of the young gorilla M'Pungu in 1876/1877 , the first living specimen of its kind in Germany. The number of visitors rose temporarily, the animal was shown for a short time with great popularity in London . The year after his arrival, M'Pungu died of a gastrointestinal infection . In addition to other gorillas, chimpanzees , orangutans and gibbons were exhibited in the following years , with different survival times between a few weeks and three years. In 1905 Meyer's Lexicon said:

“One of the most important aquariums […] It covers an area of ​​1334 square meters and contains around 500 cbm of water, but its upper rooms also contain snakes, birds and monkeys, especially anthropomorphic ones (the first living gorilla in 1876). Artificial lake water is used. "

- Meyers Konversations-Lexikon

In the meantime, the zoological garden had become much more attractive and was easier to reach via improved traffic routes. Under Heinrich Bodinus , director since 1869, new animal houses were built in an exotic style, as well as some pavilions and restaurants. Director Ludwig Heck had the animal population increased again considerably from 1888. In 1892 a research and breeding branch was also established in the Istrian town of Rovigno / Rovinj. Despite the ongoing competition, the relationship between the aquarium and the zoo was relaxed. Otto Hermes left some mammals to the zoo , Ludwig Heck in turn sold reptiles and amphibians to the aquarium. But compared to the development of the extensive zoo with its attractive buildings and public concerts, the concept of narrow, semi-dark grottos in the unchangeable limited space of the aquarium gradually proved to be outdated and uneconomical. In 1907 Otto Hermes had to inform that his aquarium would only exist for another two to three years at most. On September 30, 1910, the Unter den Linden aquarium had to close forever, most of the animal population went to aquariums in Leipzig and Frankfurt am Main.

  • One of the grottos in the aquarium

  • Guide to the aquarium, title page

  • The aviary in the aquarium

  • Crocodile grotto in the aquarium

  • The gorilla M'Pungu

New location

Long negotiations about a new location began even before the closure. These were all without result, including the one with the zoological garden via a joint re-establishment. Otto Hermes died before the conclusion of these considerations on March 19, 1910. His death led to the ultimate end. In the course of land speculation, a bank acquired the majority of shares in the aquarium company and demolished the building in order to have a new office building erected on the land that had become very valuable. The guarantee and credit bank for the East was based there until the 1930s .

In 1911, the management of the zoological garden had its own, newly designed aquarium built by the Actien-Verein des Zoologischer Garten, founded in 1869, on today's Budapester Strasse - at that time still part of Kurfürstendamm - with a substantial increase in capital , which was completed in 1913. Basalt columns from the now demolished aquarium building Unter den Linden were used for the basin named after the island of Helgoland . Today these pillars can be seen in the extension of the zoo aquarium.

literature

Web links

Commons : Berliner Aquarium Unter den Linden  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Berlin - The German and Austrian Actien-Gesellschaft and Commandit-Gesellschaft auf Actien. Supplement to the Berliner Börsen-Zeitung , 1871, p. 44 f.
  2. ^ Alfred Edmund Brehm: The Berlin Aquarium . In: Westermanns Jahrbuch der Illustrirten Deutschen Monatshefte , vol. 27, p. 47 ff.
  3. ^ Alfred Brehm : From the construction site of the Berlin aquarium . In: The Gazebo . Issue 39, 1868, pp. 620–623 ( full text [ Wikisource ]).
  4. ^ A b Harro Strehlow: Exoticism on the splendid boulevard . In: Berlin monthly magazine ( Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein ) . Issue 5, 1998, ISSN  0944-5560 ( luise-berlin.de ).
  5. ↑ Heinz-Georg Klös, Hans Frädrich, Ursula Klös: Noah's Ark on the Spree . FAB Verlag, Berlin 1994, ISBN 3-927551-29-5 , p. 350.
  6. ↑ Aquarĭum . In: Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon . 6th edition. Volume 1, Bibliographical Institute, Leipzig / Vienna 1905, p.  645 . Udo Christoffel (Ed.): Berlin in picture postcards . Vieth Verlag Berlin, 1987, p. 257.
  7. ^ Franz Ith: The zoological station of the Berlin aquarium in Rovigno . In: The Gazebo . Issue 17, 1897, pp. 284 ff . ( Full text [ Wikisource ]).
  8. ↑ webopac.hwwa.de
  9. ^ Berlin The German and Austrian Actien-Gesellschaft and Commandit-Gesellschaft auf Actien, ibid.

Coordinates: 52 ° 31 '1.1 "  N , 13 ° 23' 0.4"  E