Tempelhof post office
| Tempelhof post office | |
|---|---|
 Post office 42 at Tempelhofer Damm |
|
| Data | |
| place | Berlin-Tempelhof |
| architect | Otto Spalding |
| Client | Imperial Post Office Directorate |
| Architectural style | Early Renaissance , Baroque , Art Nouveau elements (side wings) |
| Construction year | 1915-1917 |
| Coordinates | 52 ° 27 '42.8 " N , 13 ° 23' 7.4" E |
The post office Tempelhof is a Grade II listed post office building at Tempelhofer Damm in Berlin district of Tempelhof the district Tempelhof-Schöneberg , the 1915-1917 after plans by Otto Spalding was built for the Imperial Oberpostdirektion.
location
The post office is located at Tempelhofer Damm 171–173 / Theodor-Francke-Straße 10/11 opposite the Alten Park and borders directly on the north side of the Tempelhof town hall . After a few meters, Franckepark begins on the side wing on Theodor-Francke-Straße . The building currently houses a Deutsche Post branch and a Postbank finance center.
History and architecture
The rural community Tempelhof, which belonged to the district of Teltow until the creation of Greater Berlin in 1920 , originally planned the simultaneous construction of a post office and the neighboring town hall on the site acquired at Franckepark. The local master builder at the time, Fritz Bräuning , therefore influenced the design of the post office in order to harmonize the architecture of the building ensemble . Bräuning had designed a monumental town hall in the neoclassical style from 1913 to 1914 . But while the construction of the town hall was delayed until the late 1930s as a result of the First World War , the construction of the post office, which began in 1915, continued, so that the inauguration could be celebrated on January 28, 1917. The construction costs amounted to 669,000 marks (adjusted for purchasing power in today's currency: around 1.17 million euros).
The architect of the building was post office building officer Otto Spalding. Planned as an imperial post office, it is still a representative of the Wilhelmine building tradition. Spalding designed a palace in the classical style. Alluding to the echoes of courtly architecture, it was also called the Postpalais at the time . The structure of the main facade on Tempelhofer Damm refers to the Italian early Renaissance and the French Baroque .
Ionic pilasters and pillars made of sandstone in a colossal order , which stand out from the pink wall surfaces, rise above the ground floor, designed as a base with striped ashlars. The middle section is accentuated and finished off by an attic balustrade with four attached vases and a cartouche with the imperial eagle in the middle.
The three-storey side wing on Theodor-Francke-Straße is architecturally simpler. In the attic floor there are classical echoes. The decorated with flower and fruit garlands and birds jambs of the portal reminiscent of the Art Nouveau . Two pheasants seated on a vase adorn the tympanum relief above the side entrance.
The counter hall and the pneumatic post station were located in the main wing, the main cash desk and garages in the side wing on Theodor-Francke-Straße. The parcel post, the delivery room and the telecommunication rooms were housed in the wing facing the inner courtyard.
Main facade
Side wing on Theodor-Francke-Straße
Portal with Art Nouveau robes
Tympanum relief above the side entrance
The Second World War left some damage to the building. In May 1944 an explosive device tore down the south facade of the front wing. In the early 1950s, the destroyed part of the building was completely rebuilt. The tower above the hipped roof was removed in 1957. The post office was last restored in 1986 and redesigned inside. The counter hall was modernized and the ceiling frescos exposed and refreshed. The counter hall had already been changed in the style of the time in 1952 and 1969.
literature
- Matthias Donath , Gabriele Schulz, Michael Hofmann: Monuments in Berlin, Tempelhof-Schöneberg district: districts Tempelhof, Mariendorf, Marienfelde and Lichtenrade , ed. from the Landesdenkmalamt Berlin, Imhof publishing house, ISBN 978-3-86568-189-8 .
- Falk Jaeger : Posthorn & Reichsadler: The historic post offices in Berlin , Nicolai, Berlin, ISBN 3-87584-197-2 .
Web links
- Entry in the Berlin State Monument List
- List of listed buildings of the postal and telecommunications system