Humboldthöhe

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Humboldthöhe
The Humboldthöhe in April 2007

The Humboldthöhe in April 2007

height 84.5  m above sea level NHN
location Gesundbrunnen , Berlin ( Germany )
Coordinates 52 ° 32 '50 "  N , 13 ° 23' 6"  E Coordinates: 52 ° 32 '50 "  N , 13 ° 23' 6"  E
Humboldthöhe (Berlin)
Humboldthöhe
Type Mountain of rubble
particularities Covering of a flak bunker that was not completely blown up

The Humboldthöhe is one of the mountains of rubble that was heaped up from war rubble in Berlin after the Second World War . It is 84.5  m above sea level. NHN high, forested and part of the district center located Volkspark Humboldthain .

Geographical location

The Humboldthöhe is located in the Gesundbrunnen district of the Mitte district. It rises in the north of the Volkspark Humboldthain - about 300 m southwest of the Berlin Gesundbrunnen train station . In the Volkspark lies the Rosengarten to the east of the elevation and the Humboldthain summer pool to the southwest .

history

In 1941 and 1942, on the basis of a Wehrmacht resolution , the two anti-aircraft towers in Humboldthain were built in Volkspark Humboldthain, which has been in existence since 1869, the smaller of which as a command tower and the larger for anti-aircraft defense with four anti-aircraft guns Corners served. After the end of the Second World War, the bunkers were used in a variety of ways until 1947, including storage rooms, laboratories, sewing rooms, etc. After that, like all other bunkers in Berlin, they had to be removed in accordance with an agreement between the victorious Allied powers.

In Humboldthain, the demolitions were carried out by French specialists. The small bunker collapsed on December 14, 1947 and resulted in what is now the Rodelberg when it was filled with rubble from the ruins of houses and earth.

The large bunker was partially blown up twice in March 1948, causing the two southern flak towers to collapse. The two northern towers, which were close to the railway site, were left standing for safety reasons so as not to damage the tracks of the Berlin Ringbahn .

Embankment

According to plans by the architect Günter Rieck , who was able to deploy many small companies and so-called emergency workers, the bunker and its surroundings were now redesigned. Horse-drawn carts, trucks and, above all, the rubble railway then also brought rubble here, the bunker parts mostly disappeared underneath. The north towers were filled in, their outer wall remained free. The delivery trips for the rubble were stopped in 1951.

A name has now been sought for this new survey, and a public call resulted in 980 suggestions. From this, those responsible in the Wedding District Office chose the simple name Humboldthöhe . After other parts of the park had been redesigned or rebuilt with a few loads of rubble, such as an outdoor pool, digging places and sunbathing areas, a total of 1.6 million m³ of rubble and industrial debris had been disposed of in the entire park area.

Completion and use

When the sedimentation was finished, soil was put in place and many young trees were planted; Most of the old trees had been cut down by the needy Berliners. On September 13, 1952, the facility was opened to the public as a recreational facility with the new survey. Later a sculpture, the memorial for the unity of Germany , was erected on a gun turret and inaugurated on the sixth anniversary of the building of the wall .

Memorial for the unity of Germany
on the Humboldthöhe

The first and main use of the former rubble mountain was recreation. Two walking paths lead up to the top, one is quite steep and has 163 steps, the other winds gently upwards in a spiral to the summit, it is laid out on the former track of the rubble railway.

After extensive inspection and safety work (1954, 1982/1983, 1988–1990), the upper cover plate of the flak tower now serves as an official vantage point with corresponding information boards. The outer wall of the north towers serves as a climbing wall for the German Alpine Association .

The Berliner Unterwelten association offers interested parties guided tours inside the flak bunker, which was cleared by the association members on a voluntary basis.

Individual evidence

  1. a b Digital topographic map 1: 10,000 (DTK10) , on stadt-berlin.de

literature

  • Angela M. Arnold, Gabriele von Griesheim: rubble, railways and districts. Berlin 1945 to 1955 . Self-published, 2002, ISBN 3-00-009839-9

Web links