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Berlin - Teufelsberg
Teufelsberg
in GrunewaldThe views over Grunewald and to Havel are uniquely beautiful. The TV tower and the Berliner Dom can be seen to the east in good weather. To the west you can see sailboats on the water. Teufelsberg is built on a mountain of rubble from the time of the war. During the Nazi era, there was a military faculty on the site and after the war 25 million cubic meters of rubble from Berlin were poured on top. Teufelsberg, is named after the nearby "Devil's Lake" and became the highest point in Berlin at 114.7 meters after the Müggelberge. The Americans started using the "mountain" as a listening post in the 50's. One can still see the remains of the installation with the five large radar domes today.
Teufelsberg in Grunewald - Homemade postcard
The story:
Teufelsberg ("Devil's Mountain"), is an artificial hill in Grunewald on the outskirts of the former West Berlin. The hill is located approx. 120 meters above sea level and it was created from rubble and waste from the clean-up of the city after the war. Under the debris is an unfinished Nazi building – the Military Technical College (Wehrtechnische Fakultät), which was designed by Albert Speer.
Albert Speer began the construction of the Wehrtechnische Fakultät on November 28, 1937, after Hitler had laid the foundation stone. The project was intended as part of the East-West axis and the school was supposed to teach the new military elite. However, construction was put on hold when the head of construction development, Karl Becker, committed suicide in April 1940, presumably due to harsh criticism from Hitler and other top Nazis for the inability to maintain a strong military production.
Later, Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring ordered that all "militarily insignificant" construction projects
to be stopped, including work on the Wehrtechnische Fakultät. The buildings were not expected to be completed until after the "final victory", which never came.
Albert Speer designed the Wehrtechnische Fakultät as a castle, both to
capture the grandeur and power of the Nazi army, but also to act as a
defensive measure if necessary. The school was also part of a larger project
for the development of the East-West axis, a planned axis from the city
center in the east - Alexanderplatz - past the Siegessäule - and to the
Olympic Stadium.
In addition, the Wehrtechnische Fakultät was intended as the first part of a
"Hochschulstadt", a large university center where not only Berlin's
universities, but also the affiliated clinics (Charité) and the Zoological
and Botanical Gardens were to be rebuilt according to the plans of the
General Building Inspector and later Reich Minister of Armaments and War
Production, Albert Speer.
Wehrtechnische Fakultät
After the war, it was decided that it was
easier to cover the school with rubble than to try to blow up the sturdy
structure. Thus the Wehrtechnische Fakultät was buried under what is now the
Teufelsberg.
In addition to being an unfinished military-technical college and later a
listening post during the Cold War, the Wehrtechnische Fakultät was also
used as a weather station during the war.
Wehrtechnische Fakultät
After the construction of the Berlin Wall
in 1961, an agreement was reached between the British and the Americans for
joint use of the area and in 1961 the US Special Operations Unit (SOU)
installed mobile facilities on Teufelsberg, while the British monitored
Warsaw Pact air traffic.
"Field Station Berlin" on Teufelsberg was continuously expanded and became
one of the most important listening posts during the Cold War, where it was
primarily run by the National Security Agency (NSA) and functioned as part
of the global espionage network Echelon. The station's location on the
Teufelsberg, the highest point in West Berlin, allowed it to receive signals
from all directions and on all frequency bands that would otherwise be
difficult to pick up over long distances.
The NSA left Teufelsberg after the end of the Cold War. After, the complex was used for air traffic control until 1999, when it was sold. Today, the area is known for its historical significance and is a popular excursion destination.
Teufelsberg 2013
Address:
Teufelsseechaussee 10
Gruewald
Distance:
Guided tours:
Guided tours are offered daily every full hour from kl. 12 - 14 and from 16 and if necessary until sunset.
The tours take visitors to the former canteen and observation tower over to
Radom Unit 1463. It is one of the largest graffiti and street art galleries in
Germany. From the platform of this art house there is a unique view of the city.
The acoustic experience in the domes completes the visit.
Price:
7.00 € per person. For children under 15 and for people accompanying the severely disabled, it is free.
Link:
From Teufelsberg in Grunewald - 2013
Wanted
Berlin is always worth a visit - summer or winter - but where to go? Here are some slightly unusual and very different suggestions for places I like to go.
Interesting places
A B C
"Beelitz-Heilstätten" - Old military hospital |
Bendlerblock" - Memorial and museum |
"Berlin Untervelten" - Berlin's "Underworld" |
"Bernauer Straße" - About the Berlin Wall etc. |
"Bornholmer Straße - Former border crossing east/west |
"Boxhagener Platz - Green area and flea market" |
D E F
"Europacenter" - Shopping center etc. |
Flakturm Humboldthain" - Bunker facility WW2 |
"Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg" - Busy airport |
"Flughafen Berlin Tempelhof" - Recreational area.
|
"Escape tunnels between East and West Berlin - Kold krig
|
"Friedhof Invalidenhof - Soldiers Cemetery |
G H I J K
"Old Danish Embassy" - Tiergarten |
Gedenkstätte Plötzensee" - Memorial |
"Glienicker Brücke" - Dividing East/ West |
- "Pallasstrasse bunker" Bunker i centrum |
" Weissensee Jewish Cemetery - Jewish cemetery |
Karlshorst - German-Russian Museum" |
L M N O P Q R S
"Majakowskiring" |
Prenzlauer Berg" - Memorial |
"Schöneberg town hall" - JFK tale" |
"Schwerbelastungs- |
" Friedhof Grunewald-Forst - Cemetery for suicides |
SS residences – Zehlendorf |
S T U V X Y Z
"Stasimuseum" - Stasimuseum |
Teufelsberg" - NSA in Grunewald |
"Tiergarten" - The Nordic Embassies" |
"Tiergarten - Siegessäule" 67 meter tall victory column |
"Villa Riefenstahl - Leni Riefenstahls House |
"Zionskirche Prenzlauerberg - Where Bonhoeffer preached |
Recreational areas:
"Grunewald"
|
Strandbad Wannsee"
|
"Tempelhofer Park" |
"Tiergarten" |
"Volkspark Friedrichshein - Recreational area |
"Volkspark Jungfernheide" - Recreational area |
Food and drinks:
"Biergarden am Neuen See" in the Tiergarten. |
Biergarden "Prater" - From 1837 and the oldest |
Biergarden "Schleusenkrug", "Biergarden in Tiergarten". |
"Mustafa’s Gemüse Kebap" - known all over Berlin |
"Restaurant Zillemarkt" Unfortunately closed by now |
"Zur letzten Instanz" - Oldest restaurant in Berlin |
