Spreebogenpark
The Spreebogenpark is located in the Berlin district of Tiergarten . It is located in the interior of the Spreebogen , a striking north loop of the Spree , and is bordered by the Moltkebrücke in the west, by the Kronprinzenbrücke in the east and by the Federal Ribbon in the south . The Federal Chancellery , the Paul Löbe House of the Bundestag, the Swiss Embassy and the main train station are in the immediate vicinity of the park .
The approximately six hectare park has been characterized by lawns with loose groups of trees, two parallel riverside paths on different levels, two garden strips and a "viewing window" from the square of the Bürgerforum to the Humboldthafen .
The Spreebogenpark was created as a sub-project of the urban development concept, known as the Federal Band , for the reorganization of the parliamentary and government district of the federal capital.
Integration into the environment
The Spreebogenpark spreads out in the wide Spreebogen between Moltkebrücke and Paul-Löbe-Haus. It is bordered to the south by Willy-Brandt-Straße and Otto-von-Bismarck-Allee. The Bundestag daycare center is located in a triangle at the southeast end of the park between Otto-von-Bismarck-Allee, Konrad-Adenauer-Straße and Spree.
The open landscape of the largely treeless park directs the gaze to the opposite bank of the Spree, where the huge steel and glass construction of the main station, which opened in 2006, rises. To the east of the station, the Berlin-Spandau shipping canal branches off at the apex of the Spree bend . Since 1859 it has shortened the shipping route between the Spree and Havel . Shortly after it starts, it opens onto the small Humboldthafen , which is largely inoperative today. Looking to the northeast, you can see the extensive grounds of the Charité , the largest university hospital in Europe.
For pedestrians and cyclists, the Gustav-Heinemann-Brücke connects the Spreebogenpark with Rahel-Hirsch-Straße and Washingtonplatz in front of the train station . The 88 meter long and 5 meter wide footbridge spans the river like a narrow beam. The clear width of the steel structure between the two central pillars is 66 meters. The weight is 229 tons. The name of the footbridge is reminiscent of Gustav Heinemann , the third Federal President . The naming took place on June 30, 2005 at the same time as the park was opened.
layout
Overall system
The garden architecture restrained design of the Spreebogenpark was based on the plans of the landscape architect Toni Weber. With the involvement of older parts of the bank development, references to the history of the place should be made.
The park is dominated by a large, almost treeless lawn, which rises towards the central bank area to form a hill, but which is broken through by a cut into the landscape bounded by steel walls. A strict order of paths paved with gray or brownish pavement divides the terrain asymmetrically.
Groups of trees and bushes can only be found along individual paths, in the bank area and on the eastern edge of the park. In addition to beeches and oaks, exotic woods such as American sweetgum trees ( Liquidambar styraciflua ) or sura trees ( Cedrela sinensis ) were also planted .
A small pavilion in the eastern half of the park offers protection from rain and also forms a venue for smaller open-air events or concerts. Apart from this, the structural design concentrates on the area of the two riverside paths, along which the two ascending themed gardens “garden trail” (in the east) and “trail garden” (in the west) run like ribbons.
Riverside paths
The paths on Ludwig-Erhard-Ufer, which was integrated into the park design, run on two levels between the Moltkebrücke and the Kronprinzenbrücke . A panorama path is up to five meters above the actual promenade . Both levels are connected to one another by older stairs at the apex of the park and at the Moltkebrücke, by new stairs at the Kronprinzenbrücke and by the gently rising paths from the “garden trail” and “trail garden”.
The railing-lined panorama path is connected to the Moltke and Kronprinzen bridges at the same height. In places where the traditional bank revetment that otherwise supports it to the bank has not been preserved, it is continued like a ramp. This is especially true for the eastern bank area, where the panorama path is supported by concrete pillars. The meadow hill of the park is supported by high concrete walls facing the promenade. In the middle of the park, the path leads past the landscape window. It ends in the southeast at the Kronprinzenbrücke, beyond it only the promenade continues.
The promenade is designed with mastic asphalt and granite slabs . The historic limestone revetment was partially preserved and then fortified the embankments above. Where the revetment is missing, cave-like indentations open under the panorama path, in which there are benches. The ramp-like guidance of the panorama path in the eastern half of the park opens up a view of the garden lane .
Meadows and weeping willows line the promenade towards the Spree. Stone blocks at the apex of the park serve as seating. The clear lines of the promenade interrupt a large sculpture near the Moltke bridge. On the bank side, this is clad with limestone slabs, so that it looks like a segment pushed out of the bank revetment that opens up access to the trail garden of the Spreebogenpark.
Landscape window with historical references
Like other design elements in the park, the conspicuous cut in the area in the middle of the Spreebogen Park can be understood as a reference to the history of the Spreebogen. The aim is to make the north-south axis visible, which has determined the urban planning for this place since the 19th century, but which, unlike the riverside paths, has not been preserved. Landscape architect Toni Weber describes his goal as follows: "The story itself should take shape, the design should be self-evident, so that I wouldn't have to explain anything."
The incision follows the route of the former Alsenstrasse , which was laid out according to plans by Peter Joseph Lenné in the 1860s . The line of sight over the Spree corresponds to the course of the Alsenbrücke , which formerly extended the street , the abutments of which were exposed when the Spreebogenpark was designed. Alsenstrasse ran through the middle of the elegant Alsenviertel, which was built on today's park grounds by the end of the 19th century. Several embassies settled here near the Reichstag.
According to Albert Speer's plans , the Alsenviertel was to disappear with the National Socialist redesign of Berlin to become the “ World Capital Germania ”. The core element of urban development was a large north-south axis that should run through the city and lead to the Spreebogen. The “ Great Hall ” and “Great Square” were planned here.
Houses were already demolished during the Nazi era to make Speer's ideas a reality; the rest of the Alsenviertel was largely destroyed during the Second World War. The street was withdrawn in 1978, the names "Alsenstrasse" and "Alsenviertel" were forgotten.
The rust color of the steel walls, which cut through the middle of the park hill and form the terrain, stands out clearly from the otherwise dominant natural colors of the park. They have been used as partitions for outdoor exhibitions since the park opened. Within the cut in the terrain, the lawn slopes gently towards the panorama path.
However, the incision fulfills the function as a "landscape window" ascribed by Weber only to a limited extent. Actually, the line of sight should provide a view of the Humboldthafen on the other side of the Spree. Since the Hugo Preuss Bridge, which opened in 2005 and leads over the entrance to the shipping canal, was higher than originally estimated, this view is blocked.
Segments and symbolism
The two sloping meadow segments form thematic garden bands that follow the radius of the Spreebogen. The western volume of the trace garden is intended with beds framed by boxwood ( Buxus sempervirens ) as a reminder of the front gardens of the Gründerzeit Alsenviertel , which around 1900 had developed into a preferred location for diplomatic missions and had replaced the swampy meadows in the Spreebogen around 50 years earlier. The colorful tall herb meadow of the eastern garden trail draws a line at the time of German division , as in the wall area grasses, cranesbill ( Geranium ), wild asters ( Aster sedifolius ) or bellflowers ( Campanula ) free overgrown.
The landscape architects deliberately equipped the park with rich symbolism that builds bridges to German history. For example, the nightly illumination of the Gustav-Heinemann-Steg traces a chain of lights . The topography of the different park levels and elevations is intended to symbolize the historical sediments from which the city is built.
Sculpture of the "Walk of Ideas"
As part of the Walk of Ideas , an artistic series of events for the 2006 soccer World Cup , which forms an art boulevard in Berlin under the motto “A walk through ideas from Germany”, the sculptures of two six-meter-high soccer shoes were unveiled on the meadows in March 2006 . The modern soccer shoe is reminiscent of Adolf Dassler's 1953, revolutionary screw-in studded shoes.
Data on origin and construction
In 1996/1997 the Berlin Senate announced an international competition, which was won by the Swiss architectural office Weber and Saurer with the design concept outlined above. With the Spreebogenpark working group, the Swiss office also carried out the specific planning and support for the implementation. The construction time of the six hectare area was three years, the opening took place on June 30, 2005. The total construction costs of 9.8 million euros were borne by the federal government and the state of Berlin as part of the joint task of the parliament and government district . The three tunnels , which were opened in 2006 and jointly referred to as the Tiergarten tunnel, run under the Spreebogenpark : the road tunnel, the Tiergarten Spreebogen (TTS) tunnel, the north-south long-distance railway tunnel and the tunnel for the subway line 55, which was opened later .
Unfinished realization
The Spreebogenpark could not be completed until today. The road to bypass the Swiss embassy, which was provisionally laid during the construction of the federal government belt, cuts through the park and prevents the completion of planned routes. A dismantling of the road has so far failed - contrary to the originally agreed traffic planning - due to safety considerations on the part of the Bundestag and the Federal Chancellery. Talks between the state of Berlin and the federal government on a compromise initially failed in 2008. It was only in 2018 that agreement was reached on a new compromise proposal, which includes the dismantling of the bypass road at the Swiss embassy and blocking the road at the Federal Chancellery for through traffic. On the other hand, the initially provisional road over the citizens' forum will be permanently retained as a replacement for the blocked passage in front of the Paul-Löbe-Haus. Finally, the park itself will then be completed by planting trees and bushes and setting up benches. Work began in late autumn 2018 and is expected to be completed in summer 2019. The total costs are estimated at around 4 million euros. [outdated]
Web links
- The Spreebogenpark, street and green space office Berlin-Mitte ( Memento from September 5, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ↑ According to the Bundesbaugesellschaft , the day care center is "integrated into the Spreebogenpark".
- ↑ a b Senate Department for Urban Development, opening of the Spreebogenpark.
- ↑ a b Spreebogenpark . In: architektur im netz , nextroom.at.
- ↑ Christina Bauer, Irene Mössinger: New Parks and Gardens Berlin , The New Architecture Guide, anthology 5, Stadtwandel Verlag, Berlin 2005, p. 10f ISBN 3-937123-33-4
- ↑ frei04-publizistik, Bau der Woche ( Memento from August 13, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )
- ↑ The Spreebogenpark remains unfinished. Berliner Zeitung , November 25, 2008, accessed on April 26, 2013 .
- ^ André Görke: Cars are disappearing: Spreebogenpark is getting greener. In: Der Tagesspiegel . November 23, 2018, accessed July 17, 2019 .
Coordinates: 52 ° 31 ′ 21 ″ N , 13 ° 22 ′ 20 ″ E