Silesian bush

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Former watchtower in the Silesian Bush in Berlin-Alt-Treptow

The Schlesische Busch is a park in the Berlin district of Alt-Treptow in the street Heckmannufer , Jordanstraße and Puschkinallee . It is separated from Kreuzberg by the flood ditch of the upper lock of the Landwehr Canal.

history

Death strip in the Silesian Bush, left rear wall and watchtower of the "command post", November 1989

Until the middle of the 19th century, the area of ​​today's park was still outside the Berlin city limits, which began directly behind the Schlesisches Tor . There was a mixed forest that belonged to the Cöllnische Heide and was used as coppice forest . This is where the name “bush” comes from, which suggests that tree species capable of sticking out were felled alternately until a shrub-like, bush-shaped structure emerged. In 1823, however, the Berlin magistrate decided to clear the heath in order to generate income for the treasurer . Despite violent protests in the population, around 3000 acres had been cleared by 1840  . Only around 40 acres of forest in the area of ​​today's Treptower Park and 37 acres on the Landwehrgraben , a defensive and drainage ditch in front of the Berlin customs wall , have been preserved. The magistrate achieved income of 99,825  thalers . Therefore, only a few oaks of the old trees are preserved in the southeast part of the park. After the wall was built, a border strip was laid out in June 1974 and the chain-link fence that had existed up to that point was replaced by an inland wall . At the end of the 1970s, the command post, which is still preserved today, was built, a ten meter high watchtower . It has been a listed building since 1992 and was restored in 2004. The reopening took place on November 9, 2004 on the 15th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The approximately 4.4 hectare park was created in 1994.

Buildings

In the park there is a square, four-story tower of the former border troops of the GDR . A total of 18 watchtowers and the security systems in this section were monitored from here. It is one of three surviving watchtowers of the Berlin Wall in the urban area. A heater, telephone lines to the other towers and technical systems were installed in the base of the tower. Next to the entrance there was a holding cell as well as a toilet and an armory , above which there was a lounge for the guards. The hatches are equipped with iron flaps, which could indicate that the turret and the like. a. should also be used to secure the Soviet-Chinese border. Other sources say that the tower with the flaps should be given a "defensive appearance". On the second floor there was the observation stand ("Freiwache") equipped with large panoramic windows with a control panel for the monitoring system.

The tower was occupied by the artist and songwriter Kalle Winkler three days before the official end of the border controls on July 1, 1990 and rededicated as a "Museum for Forbidden Art". From 1990 to 2000 the association “Museum of Forbidden Art e. V. “Exhibits on the Berlin Wall and documentation on works of art that were banned in the GDR. The association founded in 1990 was able to prevent two demolition attempts. After Winkler's death in 1994, the association continued to work under the direction of Doreen Grunert and Roland Prejawa until 2000 and organized exhibitions and events in the watchtower. Thereafter, the Flutgraben e. V. built the tower and still uses it for exhibition purposes today.

The former “death strip” was converted into a park by 1995, and the watchtower has been a listed building since autumn 1992 . Since 2004 the association “Kunstfabrik am Flutgraben” has been looking after the watchtower. As part of the Last Review series , selected international artists realize site-specific projects that relate to the watchtower, its history and function. In addition, the watchtower offers documentation on the history of the command post and the Silesian Busch border section. The watchtower is open in the summer months.

Until 1888 there was probably the Adlermühle in the Silesian Bush from 1831, which was considered the largest mill in the Mark Brandenburg . Today it is on Säntisstrasse in Mariendorf .

literature

  • Anne Kaminsky (ed.): Places of remembrance. Memorial signs, memorials and museums on the dictatorship in the Soviet occupation zone and GDR 1st edition. Ch Links Verlag, 2007, ISBN 978-3-86153-443-3 .
  • History of the command post in the Schlesisches Busch . (PDF; 2.9 MB) kunstfabrik.org - Flutgraben e. V., Berlin 2009, accessed September 2, 2011.
  • Kulturbund Treptow (ed.): Families can make coffee here: Treptow through the ages . 1st edition. be.bra, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-930863-14-6 , pp. 184 .

Web links

Commons : Schlesischer Busch  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Am Schlesisches Busch . In: Street name lexicon of the Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein
  2. ^ History of the command post in the Schlesisches Busch . (PDF; 2.9 MB) kunstfabrik.org - Flutgraben e. V., Berlin 2009, accessed September 2, 2011
  3. ↑ Entry in the Berlin State Monument List
  4. ↑ a b Monument “Schlesischer Busch” ( Memento of the original from September 21, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at the Senate Department for Urban Development, accessed September 6, 2011. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de
  5. ^ Anne Kaminsky (ed.): Places of remembrance. Memorial signs, memorials and museums on the dictatorship in the Soviet occupation zone and GDR . P. 148.
  6. ↑ Sights in the Treptow-Köpenick district ( Memento of the original from September 3, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at berlin.de, accessed on September 6, 2011. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.berlin.de
  7. ↑ January Ahrenberg: watchtowers listed . In: Berliner Zeitung , November 8, 2006.
  8. ↑ Nik Afanasjew: False colors on concrete - Monument to the city's history: At the former border tower on the Silesian Busch . In: Tagesspiegel , January 17, 2011.
  9. ↑ Before the Schlesisches Tor ( Memento of the original from September 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at berlin.de, accessed on September 6, 2011. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.berlin.de

Coordinates: 52 ° 29 '43.9 "  N , 13 ° 26' 58.8"  E