Postfuhramt

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Postfuhramt, 2010

The Postfuhramt (formerly Imperial Postfuhramt ) is a representative brick building on the Oranienburgerstrasse in Berlin district center of the district of the same . It was completed in 1881 and was one of the largest government buildings in Berlin at the time. It has been a listed building since 1975 .

prehistory

Since 1713 there has been a residential building for postillons on this property - these were private wagoners who carried out the transport of people and mail on behalf of the post office. After 1766, the post office was located here with the living quarters of the royal postman , a general contractor who took over and had all postal haulage tasks carried out. In the second half of the 19th century, this traditional structure was no longer able to cope with the lively postal traffic in Berlin. In 1874, the postal service was incorporated into the Reichspost and transferred to a newly established Postfuhramt.

history

Postfuhramt 2001, wrapped in 5000 love letters

The immediate reason for the construction of the Postfuhramt was on the one hand the growing demand for horses with the increasing haulage, on the other hand the catastrophic hygiene and the dilapidation of the old stables; in March 1874 numerous animals perished there. First, two two-story stables for a total of around 250 horses were built in the courtyard of the planned new facility. The lower floors were partially embedded in the ground, the upper floors accessible via ramps. When the postal service was completely modernized in 1925, these stables disappeared. A loading point and a wagon hall were built in the courtyard; both were destroyed in the war.

In addition to the post office, the building housed the acceptance post office N 24, the counter hall of which was under the high dome behind the main portal, the parcel post office opposite, technical systems of the Berlin city ​​tube post office, parts of the telephone exchange 3, classrooms of the post and post office Telegraph school, which was housed here between 1885 and 1905, as well as several service apartments for employees of the post office.

The postal service was finally stopped in 1995. Between 1997 and 2001 changing exhibitions took place in the premises of the Postfuhramt. On July 13, 2005, the Deutsche Post AG announced the sale of the property to an investor of "international standing", whose identity was kept secret for a long time. In mid-2006 it became known that it was the Israeli investor Adi Keizman , husband of Ofra Strauss . After a long vacancy , an interim use began in June 2006 as an exhibition space for architecture, design and, above all, photography by C / O Berlin , International Forum for Visual Dialogues . The new owner of the property, the Israeli investor group Elad , was planning to build a hotel and apartments there. In mid-2010 there were media reports about the termination of the lease for the photography gallery C / O Berlin. The temporary use by the photo gallery should end at the end of 2012. In August 2012 it was announced that the building had been sold to Biotronik .

architecture

Floor plan of the building, 1896

After the old buildings were removed, an elaborately designed structure for the newly created office was built between 1875 and 1881. The postmaster general Heinrich von Stephan participated in the conception, the architect Carl Schwatlo , as government and building advisor in the general post office responsible for numerous buildings of the imperial post office, designed the building, the construction management was with the post construction advisor Wilhelm Tuckermann . A three-storey main building was erected on the spacious corner property, the two wings of which are located in Oranienburger Strasse and the greater part in Tucholskystrasse (until 1951: Artilleriestrasse ). The yellow clinker brick facades with red and blue decorative elements, with shaped stones , cornices and terracotta ornaments are reminiscent of examples of the Northern Italian early Renaissance . The main portal is located in a monumental round arch niche that extends over the entire height of the facade on the sloping street corner. Above it rises an octagonal tower between two small domes - an architectural reference to the domes of the nearby New Synagogue , which was completed in 1866.

Twelve children's figures with different attributes of the postal service on ornamental ribbons on both sides of the main portal symbolize the various areas of the post office, which were brought together in one building for the first time. Originally an allegorical group of figures made of sandstone was placed on the roof over the arch of the main portal ; it was badly damaged in World War II and dismantled in 1953. Between the window arches on the ground floor, 25 (from the previous 26) portrait medallions show personalities who had made a name for themselves in the postal and communications sector from ancient times until the 19th century - from the Persian King Darius to the physicist Gustav Robert Kirchhoff . The terracotta relief of a four-horse stagecoach has been preserved on the courtyard side of the wing of the building on Tucholskystraße.

The Postfuhramt suffered considerable damage in the Second World War . In 1943 the part of the building on Tucholskystraße was damaged by Allied air raids by incendiary and high-explosive bombs, in 1944 the section on Oranienburger Straße burned down to the first floor. In 1973, the first, minor restoration work began. After further work on various sub-areas - the courtyard façade of the wing at the Oranienburgerstraße was restored simplistic - finally took place between 1986 and 1989, the restoration of Eckgebäudeteils including tower and domes.

  • Window axis in Oranienburger Strasse

  • Door decorations in Tucholskystraße

  • Terracotta relief in the courtyard of the building

  • Portrait of Christopher Columbus

List of portraits

The following portraits are placed between the arches of the windows on the ground floor of the building:

literature

Postage stamp of the German Post of the GDR 1985
  • Karl-Heinz Laubner: The former Postfuhramt. In: Contributions to Berlin building history and monument preservation. Verlag für Bauwesen, Berlin 1987, ISBN 3-345-00016-4 .
  • Ralf Nitschke: permanent and worthy - Carl Schwatlos Berlin post and telegraph buildings. Braus, Heidelberg 2003, ISBN 3-89904-052-X .
  • Laurenz Demps : The Oranienburger Strasse. Parthas, Berlin 1998, ISBN 3-932529-20-0
  • Manual dictionary of the postal system ; 2nd Edition; Federal Ministry for the Post and Telecommunications System, Frankfurt am Main 1953, p. 510.
  • Fifty years of the Postfuhramt in Berlin in: Deutsche Verkehrs-Zeitung Heft 6, p. 31, Berlin 1924.
  • Archive for Post and Telegraphy , Berlin, Decker:
    • 1880: The maintenance of the horse stand at the imperial post office in Berlin ; Issue 15, p. 449.
    • 1884: The Postfuhramt and the Reich's own post office in Berlin ; Book 3, p. 65.
    • 1894: The empire's own post office in Berlin ; Issue 7, p. 193.
    • 1905: The imperial post offices in Berlin, Cöln and Düsseldorf ; Book 4, p. 110.
  • Alfred Zierd: The Postfuhramt Berlin in: The Deutsche Post ; Berlin, 1967 Extent: Issue 12, p. 362.
  • Recke: plan of a base for motor vehicles of the Postfuhramt Berlin ; Berlin, 1928.

Web links

Commons : Postfuhramt (Berlin)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Background information on the sale of the Postfuhramt ( Memento from May 19, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ The emperor's new dome An investor takes over the Postfuhramt. The first user has already moved in: the photo gallery C / O, by Kolja Reichert, Der Tagesspiegel June 11, 2006
  3. ↑ Modern apartments in the stables of the old Postfuhramt , by Rainer L. Hein, Die Welt July 4, 2006
  4. ↑ Living and shopping in the Postfuhramt , Rainer L. Hein, Berliner Morgenpost , July 4, 2006
  5. ^ For a sip of caipirinha , by Jan Kedves, Taz August 15, 2006
  6. ↑ Where the mail goes , taz November 10, 2006
  7. ↑ Gold mine housing shortage profits with ruthless methods , by Peter Podjavorsek and Adama Ulrich, Frontal21 December 3, 2019
  8. ↑ Cancellation of the Galerie C / O Berlin has to leave the Postfuhramt The well-known Galerie C / O Berlin has to leave the Postfuhramt in Mitte. The news came right on time for the anniversary. by Nana Heymann Der Tagesspiegel June 30, 2010
  9. ↑ Berlin Schweren Herzens Galerie C / O Berlin is looking for a replacement for Postfuhramt Operators hope to extend the deadline when moving out , by Nana Heymann, Der Tagesspiegel July 2, 2010
  10. ↑ When the investor comes The photo gallery C / O has to go out. An Israeli company wants to build hotels and apartments by Alice Lanzke Jüdische Allgemeine August 16, 2010
  11. ↑ For a sip of caipirinha , by Jan Kedves Taz August 15, 2006
  12. ↑ C / O Berlin will remain in the Postfuhramt until the end of 2012 . In: Berliner Morgenpost , June 16, 2012
  13. ↑ Christiane Meixner: New investor - old problems for C / O Berlin. In: Der Tagesspiegel , August 24, 2012

Coordinates: 52 ° 31 ′ 31 ″  N , 13 ° 23 ′ 34 ″  E