Arc lamp candelabra from Potsdamer Platz

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Arch lamp candelabra on Potsdamer Platz by Emil Högg, 1905

The two large 21 m high arc lamp candelabra on Potsdamer Platz in Berlin were designed by the architect Emil Högg to illuminate the busy square and completed in May 1905. The two candelabra each carried four electric intensive flame arc lamps and could replace eleven older electric arc lamps from 1882.

The two candelabra were in operation for around 30 years and were dismantled in 1936/1937 in order to build the underground Potsdamer Platz S-Bahn station.

prehistory

The first electric street lighting on Potsdamer Platz from 1882, painting from 1884

At Potsdamer Platz the first electric carbon arc lamps from Siemens & Halske went into operation on September 20, 1882, together with a total of 36 lamps in Leipziger Strasse as far as Friedrichstrasse. The power supply was initially provided by a power plant built by Siemens in Wilhelmstrasse, and from 1886 by the Berlin Electricity Works .

The electric arc lamps were very bright compared to the gas lamps previously used, but were significantly more expensive to operate. For this reason, they were initially only installed in selected areas of the cities.

The German Edison Society for Applied Electricity (DEG) (renamed the Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG) a little later ) founded its own company in 1884 with the Städtische Electricitäts-Werken (AGStEW) to operate electrical street lighting in Berlin , from which the Berliner Elektricitäts-Werke (BEW) emerged on October 1, 1887 . In February 1884, DEG received the concession for the sole power supply of downtown Berlin and built the first power station in Markgrafenstrasse 44 on Gendarmenmarkt , the Central Station , and a second power station at Mauerstrasse 80.

In November 1887, the city of Berlin announced a limited competition for the design of ornate arc lamp candelabra for the boulevard Unter den Linden , which was won by the architect and university professor Ludwig Schupmann . A total of 104 lamps were with a mounting height of 8 m for this design built and in 1888 on the Pariser Platz , Unter den Linden, on the Opera Square and the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Straße placed later by their Creator as Schupmann candelabra were called .

Left: An arc lamp candelabra in front of the Brandenburg Gate by Ludwig Hoffmann. Right: An arc lamp candelabra from Potsdamer Platz by Emil Högg. Both pictures from 1905

In the following years, the power supply and electrical street lighting in Berlin were further expanded. With the Oberspree (1897), Moabit (1900) and Rummelsburg (1907) power plants, the first large-scale power plants were built on canals and rivers that had powerful coal supplies and were networked via alternating current high-voltage lines. In the meantime, carbon arc lamps had been developed which had increased luminosity and lower power consumption. Important advances were made in automatic mechanisms that ensured a constant distance between the carbon electrodes and thus uniform brightness. In the case of the intensive flame arc lamps, the electrodes were no longer axially directed towards one another, but rather placed at an angle downwards. In addition, a magnetic field pressed the arc downwards, which enabled particularly strong floor lighting to be achieved. Furthermore, carbon rods with improved luminosity were developed by adding different substances such as calcium salts or fluorspar. Hugo Bremer received the highest award, the Grand Prix , for his effect carbons at the Paris World Exhibition in 1900. The intensive flame arc lamps are particularly suitable for high candelabra to illuminate special places. The various variants of the improved carbon arc lamps have been extensively discussed in the specialist public with regard to their advantages, but also their disadvantages in continuous operation.

Shortly after the turn of the century, particularly tall and brightly shining arc lamp candelabra should be set up in selected places in Berlin. To this end, in 1903 the Berliner Elektrizitäts-Werke announced a “competition for the architectural training of arched candelabra” among the members of the Association of Berlin Architects . A light carrier for five arc lamps was to be designed, the light points of which are 22 m above the street crown. The city architect Emil Högg received the first prize. The second prize went to Alfons Schneegans, the third went to Hermann A. Krause. The designs were purchased by Alf J. Balcke and Richard Walter. Contributions that did not receive a prize were also submitted by Alfred Grenander and Bruno Möhring . In his detailed review, the architect Ernst Spindler criticizes the fact that the submitted designs are still very much based on traditional shapes and decorations and that too few modern solutions are developed that result from the function.

A little later, city planning officer Ludwig Hoffmann designed two high candelabra, each with three lights, with a mounting height of 16 m for the square in front of the Brandenburg Gate (Tiergarten side); The sculptor August Vogel made the candelabra models. The candelabra was made by the foundry Martin & Piltzing and completed with some delays in May 1905.

For the other side of the Brandenburg Gate on Pariser Platz , two tall two-flame candelabra were also designed, attributed to Ludwig Schupmann (photo credits from 1905). The two candelabra stood in the middle of Pariser Platz, each in the extension of the rows of trees on the central promenade of the linden trees .

Planning, construction and operation

The southern arc lamp candelabra, in front right the traffic tower, 1927
The northern arc lamp candelabra in front of the Columbushaus , 1933

The eleven arc lamps from 1882 were also to be modernized for Potsdamer Platz. The plan was to concentrate the lighting of the square on only two, but high-lying light sources.

The two new candelabra were designed by Emil Högg in 1905 and appeared much simpler than the competition designs from 1903. Högg dispensed with decorative ornaments without their own function and instead moved the constructive lines into the foreground, as was highlighted in a detailed and clearly illustrated appraisal in the Architectural Review .

In April and May 1905, two 21 m high masts were erected on the central islands south and north of the central intersection of the two streets Leipziger Strasse and Potsdamer Strasse with what was then Budapester Strasse (today: Ebertstrasse) and Königgrätzer Strasse (today: Stresemannstrasse). Each mast received four downwardly directed intensive flame arc lamps with a mounting height of 18 m. The Berliner Architekturwelt and the Deutsche Bauzeitung also reported in detailed articles about these new arc lamp candelabra. The two candelabra masts were initially arranged between the tram tracks on the Budapest and Königgrätzer Straße . Therefore, the masts could also accommodate suspensions on both sides for the tram contact lines.

The two arc lamp candelabra should be completed no later than eight days before the move-in celebrations planned for Saturday, June 3, 1905, for the Crown Prince couple Wilhelm of Prussia and Cecilie zu Mecklenburg . Even if Potsdamer Platz was not on the route from Bellevue Palace via Pariser Platz and the festively decorated boulevard Unter den Linden to the Berlin City Palace , a large number of visitors and travelers were expected. The actual wedding of the Crown Prince couple took place on the afternoon of June 6, 1905 in the castle chapel of the city palace. The crown prince wedding was obviously the Berlin event of 1905, to which all other topics and construction measures had to be subordinated. The daily press reported extensively, such as the Vossische Zeitung in the morning edition of June 7, 1905.

According to the report in the Vossische Zeitung, the new electrical lighting was put into operation on the evening of May 17, 1905, in good time before the celebrations. A detailed description of the two arched candelabra, which largely corresponds to the article in the Berlin Architekturwelt from July 1905, is printed in the evening edition of the Vossische Zeitung of May 24, 1905.

When Potsdamer Platz was redesigned in 1924 in order to rearrange the traffic management and to be able to erect the traffic tower , both tram tracks were moved to the east side of the candelabra. The integrated contact line carriers were dismantled in this context.

The two large arc lamp candelabra can be seen on many historical postcards and pictures of Potsdamer Platz and were in operation for around 30 years.

With the excavation work for the underground Potsdamer Platz S-Bahn station , the two large candelabra were dismantled by 1937 at the latest, probably even after the end of the 1936 Summer Olympics , and replaced by smaller lamps.

Involved persons and companies

After the article in the Berliner Architekturwelt in July 1905, the following people and companies were involved in the design and construction of the arc lamp candelabra:

Furthermore, a letter in the Berlin State Archives indicates that the 20 m high assembly scaffolding was provided by the United Scaffolding Construction and Loaning Establishments L. Altmann (Charlottenburg, Spandauer Straße 20).

literature

  • Berthold Monasch: The electric arc with direct current and alternating current and its applications. Springer, Berlin 1904.
  • Alois Riedler : Emil Rathenau and the development of the large economy . Julius Springer, Berlin 1916 ( online at archive.org ).
  • The Senator for Building and Housing (Ed.): 300 years of street lighting in Berlin . Berlin 1979.
  • BEWAG - Berliner Kraft- und Licht-Aktiengesellschaft (Hrsg.): 100 years of electrical street lighting in Berlin . Berlin 1982.
  • Herbert Liman: More light . Haude & Spener, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-7759-0429-8 .

References and comments

  1. ↑ First electric street lighting. (From Hermann Meyer, Fifty Years at Siemens.) Polytechnisches Journal , 1921, Volume 336, pp. 302–309, accessed on January 2, 2020.
  2. ^ Herbert Liman: More light . Haude & Spener, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-7759-0429-8 , pp. 31 .
  3. ↑ Ludwig Schupmann; Light carrier for electric street lighting in Berlin. Centralblatt der Bauverwaltung , Volume 8, No. 18, May 5, 1888, pp. 195–196 (picture already on page 194), accessed on December 29, 2019.
  4. ↑ Oberspree power plant in the Berlin State Monument List
  5. ↑ Moabit power plant in the Berlin State Monument List
  6. ↑ Rummelsburg power plant in the Berlin State Monument List
  7. ↑ Berthold Monasch: The electric arc with direct current and alternating current and its applications. Springer, Berlin 1904, pp. 265f, Fig. 140f, accessed on December 31, 2019.
  8. ↑ Chronicle: Competition for the architectural training of arched light candelabra (short description of the award winners). In: Berliner Architekturwelt , 5th year 1903, issue 5, p. 179f, accessed on January 2, 2020.
  9. ^ Ernst Spindler: The competition for designs for an arched light candelabra (detailed review and panels of the competition entries). In: Berliner Architekturwelt , 5th year 1903, Issue 8, pp. 255–262, accessed on January 2, 2020.
  10. ↑ Illustration: Arc lamp candelabra by Ludwig Hoffmann and candelabra by Emil Högg, 1905 . In: Berliner Architekturwelt , 8th year 1905/1906, issue 8, October 1905, p. 315, accessed on December 28, 2019.
  11. ^ Herbert Liman: More light . Haude & Spener, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-7759-0429-8 , pp. 34 .
  12. ↑ The Senator for Building and Housing (Ed.): 300 years of street lighting in Berlin . Berlin 1979, p. 27 , image 4 .
  13. ↑ Ludwig Hoffmann: Candelabra in front of the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin (5 panels). In: Neubauten der Stadt Berlin , Vol. IV, Wasmuth Verlag , 1905.
  14. ↑ The Senator for Building and Housing (Ed.): 300 years of street lighting in Berlin . Berlin 1979, p. 27 , Fig . 3 .
  15. ↑ Photo: Berlin, Pariser Platz - funeral procession for Gustav Stresemann on October 6, 1929. In the center of the picture are the two large arc lamp candelabra from 1905 designed by Ludwig Schupmann. Image from the holdings of the Federal Archives , accessed on January 5, 2020.
  16. ↑ The new lighting masts on Potsdamer Platz in Berlin (with a detailed description of the design and two other pictures). In: Architektonische Rundschau , Volume 21, 1905, Issue 10, Supplement SX
  17. ↑ a b The new electrical lighting system on Potsdamer Platz . Digitized text on Wikisource , taken from the Berliner Architekturwelt , year 8, 1905/1906, issue 4, July 1905, p. 157, accessed on December 26, 2019.
  18. ^ Chronicle: The new electrical lighting system on Potsdamer Platz (original document). In: Berliner Architekturwelt , 8th year 1905/1906, issue 4, July 1905, p. 157, accessed on December 26, 2019.
  19. ^ The new electrical lighting for Potsdamer Platz in Berlin . In: Deutsche Bauzeitung , Volume 39, 1905, Issue 56, July 15, 1905, p. 344, accessed on December 26, 2019.
  20. ↑ The Senator for Building and Housing (Ed.): 300 years of street lighting in Berlin . Berlin 1979, p. 28 .
  21. ↑ Arched lamp candelabra from Potsdamer Platz: three historical recordings on becklaser.de , accessed on December 26, 2019.
  22. ↑ File inspection in the Landesarchiv Berlin , File B Rep. 202 / 5156. From a letter from the Schulz and Holdefleiß company dated April 13, 1905 to the II. Royal Police Building Inspection, it emerges that the fitters were working on the candelabra on this Day had to be stopped at the instigation of the police building inspection, because doubts about the carrying capacity of the armament arose. The company assured that the security was sufficiently guaranteed and stated that it had notified the Berliner-Elektricitäts-Werke so that construction officer Cramer could submit a copy of the static calculation. It is also asked to be allowed to continue the work, since the company "... had to undertake to finish the work 8 days before the move-in celebrations of the Crown Prince's Royal Highness."
  23. ↑ June 6, 1905: To the wedding celebration of the Crown Prince. The wedding ceremony . In: Vossische Zeitung , June 7, 1905, morning edition, p. 14, accessed on December 25, 2019.
  24. ↑ May 17, 1905: Commissioning of the new electrical lighting at Potsdamer Platz . In: Vossische Zeitung , May 18, 1905, p. 12, accessed on December 24, 2019.
  25. ↑ Note: In the newspaper Vorwärts a day later, on May 19, 1905, a short message appears with the same wording.
  26. ↑ May 24, 1905: The new electrical lighting system on Potsdamer Platz . In: Vossische Zeitung , May 24, 1905, evening edition, p. 7, accessed on December 25, 2019.
  27. ↑ Note: The candelabra can still be seen in pictures taken during the 1936 Summer Olympics (August 1st to 16th, 1936).
  28. ↑ Note: When the files were inspected in the Berlin State Archives , both the foundations of the traffic tower and the foundations of the two arc lamp candelabra were taken into account on individual construction drawings (longitudinal sections) of the planned S-Bahn tunnel station at Potsdamer Platz. In fact, they were not rebuilt after the tunnel station was completed. Nothing is known about the whereabouts of the two large candelabra.
  29. ↑ Note: In the Berlin architecture world of July 1905 the name Crane is mentioned. Brt. (Baurat) Cramer, i.e. Richard Cramer (civil engineer) , as mentioned in the Deutsche Bauzeitung from July 1905 and in a letter in the Berlin State Archives, is obviously the correct name.
  30. ↑ File inspection in the Landesarchiv Berlin , File B Rep. 202/5156, letter of April 10, 1905 from the United Scaffolding and Loaning Companies L. Altmann (Charlottenburg, Spandauer Strasse 20).
This page is under review . Say there your opinion to article and help us to him better !

Coordinates: 52 ° 30 ′ 34 ″  N , 13 ° 22 ′ 36 ″  E