Volkspark Humboldthain
| Volkspark Humboldthain | |
|---|---|
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| The Humboldthöhe in the park | |
| Basic data | |
| place | Berlin |
| District | Healthy well |
| Created | 1869-1876 |
| Newly designed | 1948-1951 |
| Surrounding streets |
Brunnenstrasse , Gustav-Meyer-Allee, Hussitenstrasse, Hochstrasse |
| Buildings |
Outdoor swimming pool , flak tower , Ascension Church |
| use | |
| User groups | Foot traffic ; Leisure time , Berlin's underworld , tobogganing , sport climbing |
| Park design | Humboldthöhe , rose garden , toboggan run |
| Technical specifications | |
| Parking area | 290,000 m² |
The Humboldthain Park is located in the Berlin district of Gesundbrunnen the Mitte district . It is bounded in the east by Brunnenstrasse , in the south by Gustav-Meyer-Allee, in the west by Hussitenstrasse and in the north by Hochstrasse and the S-Bahn that runs parallel to it . The Volkspark Humboldthain is protected as a garden monument .
history
Park before World War II
The first planning for the Volkspark began in 1865. After the Volkspark Friedrichshain, which was completed in 1846, the Berlin city council decided on a park for the north of the city. Here - between Grenzstrasse, Badstrasse, Hochstrasse and Wiesenstrasse, Berlin owned a 15 hectare property, to which a further 22 hectares were to be acquired. Construction postponed several times, so that construction of the Volkspark finally began on September 14, 1869, the 100th birthday of Alexander von Humboldt .
In the meantime, the plans had to be changed, as part of the planned park area was used for the railway line in the northwest of the park. Construction began with the laying of the foundation stone for a monument to Alexander von Humboldt. The park was usable from 1872 and was finally completed in 1876. It was designed according to plans by Lenné's student Gustav Meyer .
New greenhouses in the park were built in 1885, 1888 and 1894. In 1888/1889 the monument in honor of Humboldt was added on a hill 20 years after the foundation stone was laid. The Church of the Assumption was opened in 1893 .
The park was designed as a landscape park with a strong emphasis on "nature". In order to make the park easier to develop, some avenue-lined assembly points and promenade paths were added, as well as the first playground to be built in a Berlin park. It was four hectares in size, overgrown with lawn, circular and surrounded by benches from which one could watch the children. It was intended solely for the use of schools and clubs; general and freely accessible public use was not yet an option. In winter this should be flooded and serve as an ice surface for ice skating.
In memory of Alexander von Humboldt, the designers tried to plant various trees from Europe , Asia and North America and to mark them with labels to explain them to the park visitors. There was also a real botanical garden with an open-air vivarium for native reptiles and amphibians , which the public could visit on Wednesdays and Fridays for a fee. From 1896 a "geological wall" was built in the park, which was supposed to show a cross section through the rocks of Central Europe. In 1912 it was moved to the Blankenfelde school garden, which has been Blankenfelde-Pankow Botanical Park since 1950 .
The first major redesign took place in the 1920s in the style of what was then a modern public park . Additional playgrounds for children were added, as well as sports facilities and changing rooms. During the National Socialist era , the area south of Gustav-Meyer-Allee was added to the AEG .
Bunker construction, destruction and reconstruction
In the years 1941/1942 a designed as a bunker was in the park Flakturm built and slightly built southern one called a "Leitturm" tower with radar system for keeping the anti-aircraft guns. The short construction time of the monumental buildings was only possible with the involvement of numerous forced laborers.
During the battle in the city center in the last days of the Battle of Berlin at the end of April / beginning of May 1945, the remnants of the Wehrmacht were pushed back onto the two towers. On May 2, 1945, around 1,000 German combat troops from all branches of service gathered in the park under General Erich Bärenfänger . From there they wanted to break out of the city to the north. A commander's meeting among bear catchers came to the conclusion that a breakthrough battle was hopeless and so the order was given to destroy all handguns and to make the guns and tanks unusable. Most of the soldiers left the park individually and in small groups to avoid being captured by the Red Army .
The "Leitturm" was blown up after the end of the war and almost completely covered with rubble and serves as a toboggan run in winter , the northern battle tower was partially blown up and filled in, it is called Humboldthöhe and serves as a viewing platform. Here is an aluminum sculpture from 1967 by the artist Arnold Schatz (from Senne ) as a memorial for German reunification , which is popularly known as the “plump pimple”.
The Second World War and the post-war period largely destroyed the original Volkspark, so that it was completely rebuilt between 1948 and 1951. The Humboldthain was rebuilt with the support of Weddinger emergency workers and the remains of the two bunkers were filled with rubble according to the designs of the Weddinger garden director Rieck. An "archaeological window" with the grille of a window and remnants of the foundation walls are reminiscent of the Church of the Assumption, which was destroyed in the war, opposite the confluence of Ramlerstrasse and Brunnenstrasse.
rose Garden
The Church of the Assumption, formerly located at this point, was blown up after the end of the Second World War and rebuilt in 1956 in the southern part of the Humboldthain. In its original location is the freely designed rose garden with its geometric structures, with rose beds framed by boxwood and numerous benches that are protected by higher yew hedges . The area, shielded by embankments made of hornbeam and rhododendrons , is arranged according to the model of Italian Renaissance gardens. Geometrically trimmed hedges made of boxwood and yew trees structure the garden. The approximately 15,000 roses in 70 varieties are signposted in accordance with the name of the park. Along the arched, wisteria- covered pergola with flower borders in front of it, a lawn, the former water lily basin, can be reached at the foot of the Humboldthöhe. The figure Hunting Nymph by the sculptor Walter Schott has also been located here since 1953 . A small fountain made of beaver figures is also part of the decoration of the rose garden, which is based on the tradition of the old, destroyed Humboldthain.
Humboldthain summer pool
The bath was built during the reconstruction in the 1950s west of the Humboldthöhe. It has a 50 m pool with a large, winding slide, a large paddling pool, a diving platform with a diving board and a large lawn for sunbathing, as well as a restaurant.
Others
In 1981 a water garden was created, which meanders along a small watercourse through the area. It rises from a well on a hill with a pavilion surrounded by pyramid oaks and several seating areas. The watercourse forms several ponds and wetlands before it seeps into the lawn.
A two-meter-high memorial stone for the patron saint Alexander von Humboldt has stood on the main path near today's Church of the Assumption since 1952, a simple stele made of shell limestone with a portrait relief, made according to a design by Karl Wenke.
In addition to a conventional playground on the sunbathing lawn near the outdoor pool, there is also an adventure playground with wooden huts in the Humboldthain next to the Ascension Church.
Parts of the battle tower were made accessible by the Berliner Unterwelten association . In the summer months, guided tours are offered, in the winter months bats can be found in the premises. The flak tower is currently the third largest Berlin bat hibernation area, with around 250 animals, distributed in six different species.
Similar to the Kreuzberg in Berlin, there is a vineyard on Humboldthain , from whose grape harvest around 200 bottles of wine are pressed each year.
The northern wall of the large bunker and the wall of the small bunker are under the domicile of the German Alpine Club (DAV, Berlin section) and are used for sport climbing in the upper levels of difficulty .
In 2013, the Humboldthain Club was opened in the Humboldthain S-Bahn station, where house , techno and other events take place on two levels and an open space . The club also includes studios and workshops.
Data on the Humboldthain
- Area: 29 hectares
- Date of origin: 1869–1876; Reconstruction 1948–1951
- Leisure activities: walking paths, sunbathing lawns, diverse play options, especially for children, nature experience
- Special facilities: rose garden, outdoor pool, toboggan slope, water garden, viewing platform, pedagogically supervised playground
- Special feature: dogs and bicycles may not be brought into the rose garden
- Legal status: Dedicated public green and recreational area
- Landscape architect: Gustav Meyer , Günther Rieck (redesign 1948–1951)
- Transport connections: S-Bahn ( station ), U-Bahn , various bus lines
literature
- Clemens Alexander Wimmer: Parks and Gardens in Berlin and Potsdam ; ed. Senator for Urban Development and Environmental Protection, Dept. III - Garden Monument Preservation; Nicolaische Verlagsbuchhandlung: 3rd edition Berlin 1989; ISBN 3-87584-267-7 ; Pp. 45-47.
Web links
- Volkspark Humboldthain on berlin.de
- Sights: Volkspark Humboldthain on berlin.de
- History of the Berlin flak towers
- Flak tower Humboldthain
- Ulrich Hottelet: Look into the Berlin underground. In: the daily newspaper of March 2, 2004
- Entry in the Berlin State Monument List
Remarks
- ↑ a b c d e Grit Hottträger: Kommunales Grün - Humboldthain - Freizeit before 1900 . In: "... where a free and healthy air breathes". On the origin and significance of the Volksparke in Wedding . Kulturbuch-Verlag, Berlin 1988, ISBN 3-88961-001-3 , p. 10-27 .
- ↑ GRÜNBerlin (ed.): Botanischer Volkspark Blankenfelde-Pankow. Leaflet, September 2017.
- ^ The emergency hospital under the Reich Chancellery - A doctor experiences Hitler's end in Berlin , VMA-Verlag, Wiesbaden 2000, pages 163-165
- ↑ Humboldthain Club Clubs from A - Z The most important Berlin clubs at a glance. In: Clubs from A - Z: An overview of the most important Berlin clubs on berlin.de - the official capital city portal. Retrieved September 2, 2019 .
- ↑ Official website: Humboldthain Club. Retrieved September 2, 2019 .
Coordinates: 52 ° 32 ′ 50 ″ N , 13 ° 23 ′ 10 ″ E