Schupmann candelabra

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Design of the Schupmann candelabra from 1888

The Schupmann candelabra are representative lamp posts for electric arc lamps, which were designed by the architect Ludwig Schupmann (1851–1920) in 1888 for Berlin's boulevard Unter den Linden and which were richly decorated in line with the taste of the time.

Most of this candelabra was dismantled in 1935. The remaining candelabras were damaged or destroyed in World War II; the remains were dismantled after the war. With the German reunification, replicas of the Schupmann candelabra were made from 1992 and placed again at the Brandenburg Gate and Unter den Linden.

prehistory

In September 1882, the electric street lighting on Potsdamer Platz and Leipziger Strasse went into operation in Berlin . The company Siemens & Halske delivered a total of 36 carbon arc lamps .

Compared to the old gas lanterns, the new electric street lighting was very bright, but also more expensive to operate. Other important streets in Berlin and special buildings should now also receive electrical lighting. Just two years later, the city of Berlin tendered a concession for the operation of electrical street lighting and the public power supply.

For this purpose, the German Edison Society for Applied Electricity (a little later renamed the Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG) ) founded its own company in 1884 with the Städtische Electricitäts-Werken (AGStEW) , from which the Berliners on October 1, 1887 Elektricitäts-Werke (BEW) emerged .

Schupmann candelabra from 1888

Unter den Linden, equestrian statue of Frederick the Great , around 1900

After the positive experience with the arc lamps at Potsdamer Platz, adequate electrical street lighting should now also be installed in Berlin's boulevard Unter den Linden . In November 1887, the city of Berlin announced a limited competition for the design of ornate arc lamp candelabra, which Ludwig Schupmann won.

Construction work and operation were transferred to the Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft. The Berlin company Zeyer & Drechsler carried out the modeling work for the arc lamp candelabra. Works in Ilsenburg (presumably the Fürst-Stolberg-Hütte Ilsenburg) and Tangerhütte (presumably Eisenhütten- und Emaillierwerk AG, owner Franz Wagenführ, Tangerhütte) were commissioned with the foundry work. The Berlin company Ed took over the small-scale blacksmithing work. Pulse.

A total of 104 lamps were with a mounting height of 8 m for this design built and in 1888, Unter den Linden , on the Pariser Platz , on the Opera Square and the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Straße placed later by their Creator as Schupmann candelabra were named :

  • Single-flame candelabra poles were chosen to illuminate the roadway and sidewalk.
  • For the lighting of the central promenade of the linden trees , pairs of candelabra poles with arc lamps suspended from chains were used.

The two large Schupmann candelabra on Pariser Platz from 1905

Pariser Platz - funeral procession for Gustav Stresemann on October 6, 1929. The two large arc lamp candelabra can be seen in the center of the picture.

At the turn of the century, technical progress made it possible to build even lighter and taller arc lamp candelabra with intensive flame arc lamps , which were particularly suitable for illuminating large spaces. 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. 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.

Presumably in 1904, two 20 m high two-flame candelabra were erected on Pariser Platz , which were also attributed to Ludwig Schupmann (earliest picture credits from 1905). These two candelabra stood in the middle of the square between the Brandenburg Gate and the Hotel Adlon , built there in 1907, as an extension of the rows of trees on the central promenade of the linden trees .

Redesign of the linden trees in 1935

Unter den Linden with an equestrian statue, the Biedermeier lights from 1935, 1940 on the roadside.
Unter den Linden in July 1945 with a view of the Brandenburg Gate. The picture shows the remains of the Biedermeier lamps from 1935.

Prior to the 1936 Olympic Games, the underground was Berlin north-south commuter train from Stettin Station to the S-Bahn Unter den Linden in open construction built and completed. In this context, the entire street on Unter den Linden was redesigned. The existing linden trees were felled and the Schupmann candelabra dismantled. After the road surface was restored, new linden trees were planted and smaller, so-called Biedermeier lights were installed. Only at Pariser Platz and Opernplatz have individual 8 m high Schupmann candelabra been preserved. The two large candelabra from Pariser Platz were also dismantled.

After the Second World War, a large part of Berlin's jewelry candelabra was badly damaged or destroyed. The remains had to be dismantled and replaced with simple modern lamps.

Replicas of the Schupmann candelabra

Replica of the Schupmann candelabra from 1987, view from the linden trees into Friedrichstrasse (picture from 2006)
Replica of the one-armed Schupmann candelabra on Unter den Linden from 1998 (picture from 2006)

From the beginning of the 1980s, street lamps were again built in Berlin according to historical designs. In 1987, for the 750th anniversary of Berlin, replicas of the Hardenberg candelabra were erected on Kurfürstendamm in the western part of the city .

In 1987 some replicas of the Schupmann candelabra were placed in the eastern part of the city on Friedrichstrasse south of Unter den Linden. According to the available photo credits, this variant was still in 2006; In January 2020, modern lamps were found at this point.

After the German reunification , Pariser Platz and the old boulevard Unter den Linden came back into focus and were to receive special street lighting. For this purpose, both historical lamp designs based on the model of Schupmann lights and modern designs by Kleihues were very controversial. Ultimately, the Senate made the decision to produce replicas of the Schupmann candelabra, which were developed by the Berlin company Selux and equipped with modern lighting technology.

The first replicas of the single-flame Schupmann lights were set up in 1992 on Pariser Platz . In 1998 these replicas of the single-flame Schupmann lights followed in the entire Unter den Linden area . Sections of Friedrichstrasse also received these replicas.

A little later, a slightly higher two-flame variant of the Schupmann candelabra was redeveloped and posted on Pariser Platz and on the square in front of the Brandenburg Gate .

In January 2020, the replicas of the one-armed Schupmann candelabra stood along the Unter den Linden street from the Karl Liebknecht Bridge (south side) or from the street am Lustgarten (north side) to the beginning of Pariser Platz. There were four replicas of two-armed Schupmann candelabra directly on Pariser Platz, and two replicas of two-armed Schupmann candelabra stood on March 18 .

Picture gallery

  • Unter den Linden with a view of the armory and the university, 2006

  • Unter den Linden with a view of the cathedral and the armory, 2007

  • two-flame replica of the Schupmann candelabra on Pariser Platz, 2007

literature

  • 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 .

Web links

Commons : Schupmann-Kandelaber - historical recordings 1888 to 1945  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Commons : Schupmann-Kandelaber - recordings after 1990  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

References and comments

  1. ^ Herbert Liman: More light . Haude & Spener, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-7759-0429-8 , pp. 31 .
  2. ↑ Competition result: light carriers for electric street lighting. Centralblatt der Bauverwaltung , Volume 8, No. 1, January 1, 1888, pp. 7–8, accessed on December 29, 2019.
  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. ^ The electric lighting of the street "Unter den Linden" and the Kaiser Wilhelmstrasse in Berlin. Polytechnisches Journal , 1888, Volume 269, pp. 418-420, accessed December 31, 2019.
  5. ^ Herbert Liman: More light . Haude & Spener, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-7759-0429-8 , pp. 32 .
  6. ↑ Chronicle: Competition for the architectural training of arched light candelabra (short description of the award winners). In: Berliner Architekturwelt , 5th year 1903, issue 5, pp. 179f, accessed on January 11, 2020.
  7. ^ 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 11, 2020.
  8. ↑ The Senator for Building and Housing (Ed.): 300 years of street lighting in Berlin . Berlin 1979, p. 27 , Fig . 3 .
  9. ^ Herbert Liman: More light . Haude & Spener, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-7759-0429-8 , pp. 81 .
  10. ^ Herbert Liman: More light . Haude & Spener, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-7759-0429-8 , pp. 36, 84, 86 .
  11. ^ Herbert Liman: More light . Haude & Spener, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-7759-0429-8 , pp. 40 .
  12. ^ Herbert Liman: More light . Haude & Spener, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-7759-0429-8 , pp. 41 .
  13. ^ Herbert Liman: More light . Haude & Spener, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-7759-0429-8 , pp. 96 .
  14. ↑ a b Note: A site inspection on January 19, 2020 showed that the Schupmann candelabra in the picture from 2006 in Friedrichstrasse is no longer there. While doing some research, it turned out that Liman mentions in his book Mehr Licht that these candelabra had been erected in 1987 in GDR times. The shape of the burner dummy differs from the later replicas. Otherwise, during the site visit, the replicas set up in 1998 were found along the entire course of Unter den Linden between the Schloßbrücke and Pariser Platz, apart from a few gaps caused by construction sites. There are currently no Schupmann candelabras in front of the Berlin Cathedral , but starting from the street Am Lustgarten. Schupmann candelabras were also set up in front of the Humboldt Forum (reconstruction of the Berlin City Palace).
  15. ↑ The Senate builds cobblestones and Schupmann candelabra around the Brandenburg Gate - City Councilor Flierl (PDS) foams with rage . In: Der Tagesspiegel , October 21, 1999, accessed on January 12, 2020.
  16. ↑ https://www.ddrbildarchiv.de/info/ddr-fotos/historischer-brunnen-bei-eroeffnung-nach-sanierung-pariser-platz-brandenburger-tor-berlin-20923.html
  17. ↑ https://archiv.berliner-zeitung.de/historische-laternen-unter-den-linden-15997736