BlackandWhite – Ostberliner

Neue Nationalgalerie

The museum building and its sculpture gardens were designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and opened in 1968. The building is considered an icon of modern architecture.

Mies van der Rohe reverted to two of his older architectural designs, which remained unrealized. One was the administration building of the rum producer Bacardi in Santiago de Cuba, and the other was the building of the Museum Georg Schäfer in Schweinfurt. Mies‘ solution, with its latent classicism, is a modern realization of the ancient podium stamp and built on a 105 x 110-meter granite terrace with a 1260 ton steel roof structure.

In 2012, it was announced that British architect David Chipperfield will oversee a major renovation of the building. The reopening is scheduled for early 2021.

Department Store Jonas & Co

Designed in the „Neue Sachlichkeit“ (New Objectivity) in 1928 as a seven-storey department store with a rooftop restaurant by Jewish owners.
The concept was groundbreaking at the time: customers paid a quarter of the purchase price, received a bill of sale, and could pay off the rest in four monthly installments. The option of buying in installments was particularly convenient for the financially weak population in the nearby Scheunenviertel and the tenement buildings on Prenzlauer Allee.

In 1933, after the expropriation of the Jewish owners, the building was rented to the Reich Youth Leadership and served as the organization’s headquarters
In 1945 became the seat of the Communist Party’s Central Committee. In the late 1950s, the building was converted into the Institute of Marxist-Leninism. The extensive party archive was stored in the basement.
In 2007, a German-British investor group acquired the building and opened „Soho House“ in 2010 as a burgeoning creative membership club in the Mitte district. The original concept of the builders remains history. An architectural history that should be filmed.

Alte Nationalgalerie

Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin. The Museum Island Master Plan will be completed in 2020, and will connect all five museums, all completely renovated during the last two decades (UNESCO World Heritage).

Volksbühne

Volksbühne Berlin. Old theater (1892) well known for his ambitious performances. In 2003 Marilyn Manson shot his video „mObscene“ at the Volksbühne (remixed together with Rammstein).

Reichstag Kuppel

In 1992, Norman Foster won the architectural contest for the reconstruction of the building. The large glass dome at the very top of the Reichstag has a 360-degree view of the surrounding Berlin cityscape and offers a stunning view from above into the German parliament. A free visit to the dome is available via online registration. Well, you won‘t see Angela, the dome is closed during plenary sessions.

Reichstag

Neues Museum

The museum was heavily damaged during World War II. In 1997, planning for the reconstruction project was resumed and English architect David Chipperfield was officially appointed for the project. Reopened in 2009.

Strausberger Platz

The Strausberger Platz is a large urban square in the Berlin district of Friedrichshain. The square was the starting point for the East German uprising of 1953. A large fountain has stood on a lawn in the middle of the roundabout since 1966. In the Middle Ages, this was the place of execution (f.e. Hans Kohlhase was executed in 1540).

Alexanderplatz

Historic GDR prefabricated building „Plattenbau“ on Alexanderplatz.

Kino International

The cinema was opened on November 15, 1963, in the presence of the Chairman of the State Council Walter Ulbricht and was the main theater for premiere in the former GDR till 1989. It is popular with Berlin cinema-goers as a cinema with tradition and a special atmosphere.

Café Moskau

Café Moscow (originally Restaurant Moscow) was opened in 1964 with a total of 600 seats. At the opening, the full-size Sputnik, a gift from the Ambassador of the USSR, was installed. One of the legendary party locations in Berlin between 2000-2007 (WMF, GMF).

Gendarmenmarkt

Lion statue with an angel at Gendarmenmarkt. This place is commonly considered the „most beautiful square in Berlin“ and hosts one of Berlin“s most popular Christmas markets.

Kollhoff Tower

Kollhoff-Tower at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin. Great viewpoint platform on the top floor.

Reichstag

Potsdamer Platz

Rollschuhbahn

The old roller-skating rink at the „Poststadion“ in Berlin (built in the 1950s).

Poststadion

The entrance of the old „Poststadion“ in Berlin (1929). Several football matches during the 1936 Summer Olympics were held at the Poststadion, where on 7 August outsider Norway in front of 55,000 spectators kicked Germany out of the tournament by a 2–0 win in the quarter-finals. The Poststadion was the largest stadium in Germany at the time.

Polizeipräsidium

Built as Karstadt headquarters in 1932 (reinforced concrete skeleton), the „Thousand Windows“ building proved to be too oversized for a department store and was taken over by the „Reichsfinanzministerium“ in 1934. From 1948 on, it was the headquarter of the Berlin police and until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, it was used by the GDR Volkspolizei and as Prison.
1990 Filming for „The Lives of Others“.

Marx-Engels-Forum

Marx and Engels – close to Alexanderplatz. After all, they were committed to the working class, which was not a bad thing.

Moltkebrücke

Griffin sculpture on the Moltke Bridge/Moltkebrücke (1891). Near Reichstag building in Berlin.

Moscow Metro

The Moscow Metro was built in 1935. The Park Pobedy station is 84 meters below the surface and has the world’s longest escalator (126 m, 740 steps).

Moscow-VDNKh

The main entrance to VDNKh, the „Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy“. The exhibition was established in 1935 and was expanded as a trade fair venue from 2005 and also serves as a recreation park, one of the largest in the world (2,375,000 square meters).

Rheinberger Gefängnis

Das Gefängnis ging 1916 in Betrieb mit zwölf Einzel- und zwei Gemeinschaftszellen und eine Wohnung für den Gefangenenaufseher. Nach dem Krieg wurden auch leere Zellen für Kriegsflüchtlinge angemietet. Bis in die 80er Jahre diente das Gebäude auch zur Verbüßung von Jugendarresten. 2012 wurde das Gebäude abgerissen.