History

One of the most-read articles of 2010 and 2011 was the RAF Laarbruch – Abandoned Military Airbase which is quite surprising, I never thought that such an article would be so popular.

Therefore, I went back to North Rhine-Westphalia, to take a couple more pictures to give you a better overview of the whole area. Well, that was the plan, but I had to notice, that many companies bought or leased properties around the airport and many of the old buildings were refurbished or demolished, to make place for a more modern architecture but I hope you will get an idea on how it looked like about 50 years ago.

I’m really happy that I went there once again to take these pictures because by the end of the year, the “old” Military Airbase will be almost gone.

>>> RAF Laarbruch – Abandoned Military Airbase [Updated] <<<

The Stadtschloss, in English the Berlin City Palace, was a royal palace in the centre of Berlin. It was the principal residence of the Hohenzollern Kings of Prussia from 1701 to 1918 (the German Emperors from 1871 to 1918) and a museum following the fall of the German Empire in 1918.

Damaged by Allied bombing in World War II, although possible to repair at great expense, the palace was demolished in 1950 by the GDR authorities, despite West German protests. Following the reunification of Germany, it was decided to rebuild the Stadtschloss.

The new Castle will be named Humboldt Forum and will be rebuilt as a replica of the former Baroque building. In the meantime a big blue box, called HumboldtBox, will cover the empty space right beside the Berlin Cathedral. If you want to know more about the whole project, just visit the exhibition on the first floor, or if you just want to relax, the restaurant on the fifth floor provides you a 360° panoramic view over Berlin.

Read the full article →

125 Years of Automobiles met 125 Years of the Kurfürstendamm and connected these two anniversaries in the form of an exclusive classic car rally at Germany’s most beautiful and glamorous boulevard

On 28 and 29 May 2011, the two great anniversaries were celebrated in a dazzling array of beauty and ever-fascinating technology from 125 years of bodywork and unique Berlin flair.

Up to 1,250 vintage cars from the 1930s to the 1970s could be admired at an exhibition space of over two kilometres stretching from Breitscheidplatz to Olivaer Platz.

Read the full article →

Madame Tussauds, founded by wax sculptor Marie Tussaud, displaying waxworks of historical and royal figures, film stars, sports stars and famous murderers has now grown to become a major tourist attraction around the world with branches in Amsterdam, Bangkok, Berlin, Blackpool, Dubai, Hamburg, Hollywood, Hong Kong, Hot Springs, AR, Las Vegas, Moscow, New York City, Shanghai, Vienna and Washington, D.C.

Madame Tussauds Berlin is your chance to experience the real glamour and elegance of Berlin and the World of celebrity. You will find a total of 82 figures featuring predominantly historical dignitaries, cultural icons and A-list celebrities.

Meet and interact with the people that shaped German history and culture and learn about their achievements through hands-on exhibits and immersive sets.

Read the full article →

The legendary tourist attraction Art House Tacheles was closed last month after serving as a home for many artists from around the world for more than 20 years and I went there to take a couple of pictures before the whole thing will be demolished in the near future.

The Kunsthaus Tacheles was an art center and nightclub that was opened in East Berlin after the Berlin Wall came down in the spring of 1990. Tacheles is a large (9000 square meter) building on Oranienburger Straße in the district known as Mitte. The exterior of the building was damaged from shelling in World War II, and much of the damage was never repaired. Huge, colorful graffiti-style murals are painted on the exterior walls, and modern art sculptures are featured inside.

The Kunsthaus was formerly a department store in the Jewish quarter (Scheunenviertel) of Berlin, next to the synagogue, it was originally called Friedrichsstadtpassagen. After serving as a Nazi prison, the building was taken over by artists, who called it “Tacheles”, Yiddish for “straight talking.”

Read the full article →

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe is a construction which was build on 1st April in 2003, well let’s say they began to build it, because the last stelae was erected on 15th December in 2004.

The Memorial, which contains 2,711 stelaes, covers a vast area of 19.000 m² and can be found near the Brandenburger Tor in the middle of Berlin

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in the centre of Berlin is Germany’s central Holocaust memorial site, a place for remembrance and commemoration of six million victims.
The Memorial consists of the Field of Stelae designed by architect Peter Eisenman and the underground Information Centre and is maintained by a Federal Foundation.

Read the full article →

A new Museum just opened its doors in Berlin’s Karl-Marx-Allee, and it’s not one of those boring historical ones, the Computerspielemuseum or Computer Games Museum Berlin. Well, it’s about the history of gaming and it might be boring if you are not interested in Video Games… but if you are, it is really interesting and informative.

Our museum, which was opened in Berlin in 1997, was the world’s first permanent exhibition devoted to digital interactive entertainment culture. Since then, we have documented the development of the medium at over 30 national and international events.

You are invited on an entertaining expedition to meet the game players of the 21st century. Numerous rare original exhibits, playable classic games and assorted media productions help you exploring the world of “Homo Ludens Digitalis”.

Anyway, if you have a liking in video games and want to know more about the creation of the Comodore64 and the invention of Apple’s first personal computer, you should pay it a visit.

Read the full article →

Le Museum de Paris Bar

by Carsten on November 18, 2010 in Art,History

Three pieces of the Berlin Wall were placed in front of the famous Paris Bar in Berlin’s district Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf.

The Paris Bar is a place where artists, writers, journalist and film stars typically congregate and where Iggy Pop once gave a Rolling Stone journalist a blitzed interview that ended with him rolling around on the sidewalk out front. The French bistro has been a local favorite since it cheered up the postwar years in dismal bombed-out Berlin.

The pieces, each 3,60 meters high and 1,20 meters wide, were designed by the owner himself, of course, the owner of the Paris Bar, not the Berlin Wall.

Read the full article →

300 Years of Science

by Carsten on September 29, 2010 in Exhibitions,History

A new exhibition has started last Friday in the Martin-Gropius-Bau, about 450m away from Berlin’s Potsdamer Platz.

This year, Berlin celebrates 200 years of the Humboldt University, 300 years of the Charité, 300 years since the first statute and first publication by the Academy of the Sciences and, one year later, 100 years of the Max Planck and Kaiser Wilhelm Society and the 350th birthday of the Berlin State Library.

The exhibition, called “WeltWissen – World Knowledge”, is the high point of the Berlin Year of Science. For the first time since the Reunification, the city as a whole takes a look from a united perspective at the history and present situation of its sciences.

Read the full article →

A Renaissance Festival is fun for the whole family and every year around Easter, the knights are back in town. With fire-eaters, blacksmiths, knights, jugglers and jesters everything you need to feel like you are back in Medieval Times.

All over the place you can smell the scent of freshly baked bread, cold beer and roasted sausages. A minnesinger is playing his lute and somewhere you can here the sounds of jousting knights.

Read the full article →