Breitscheidplatz

Breitscheidplatz is a major public square in the western part of Berlin, Germany.

Geography

Today the Breitscheidplatz lies within Charlottenburg (a region of inner-city Berlin) at the tip of the Tiergarten between the Kurfürstendamm boulevard, the Tauentzienstraße and the Budapester Straße. The Europa-Center closes off the Breitscheidplatz to the East. To the west the Breitscheidplatz ends at the "Schimmelpfeng-Haus" and the Kantstrasse.

Early History

Breitscheidplatz was first constructed in 1889 on the former hunting grounds laid down in 1542 by Kurfürst Joachim II. The platz was originally called the Gutenbergplatz after the designer of the printing press and was changed in 1892 to the Augusta-Viktoria-Platz in honor of the German empress. Today it is named after Rudolf Breitscheid, a German Social Democrat, who died in a Nazi concentration camp in 1944.

Shortly after the grounds of the platz were laid, Kaiser Wilhelm II used it as the host for his Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche in honor of his grandfather, Kaiser Wilhelm I. The church was a prime example of the neo-romantic style and was constructed by Franz Schwechten, the royal architect of Wilhelm II. Before WWI, the platz experienced further development with exhibition halls, shopping centers and cultural centers.

20th Century

After the first World War the Breitscheidplatz became a meeting place for intellectuals in Berlin, specifically in the Romanisches Cafe (also constructed under Wilhelm II) - where writers, artists and musicians congregated and exchanged ideas. The house was located in the Budapester Straße 53 -now standing in the spot of the Europa-Center. In 1943, the platz was heavily bombed and most of the area was destroyed.After the Second World War, the platz experienced massivereconstruction and became the quasi symbolic center of West Berlin(with the Alexanderplatz being the symbolic platz in East Berlin). Theplatz took on the new name 'Breitscheidplatz' in 1947 after Rudolf Breitscheid, a German social-democrat who died at Buchenwald.The Gedächtniskirche, (also known as the "Hollow Tooth" by Berliners) was inshambles after the war. It became the unofficial trend of Berlin afterthe war to tear down the ruins of monuments destroyed by the warand to build new. The renowned West German architect Egon Eiermann commissioned a new monument (which also serves as afunctioning church) which was to stand next to the destroyed church. The memorial was completed in 1962 and the almost forgotten church became the architectural pride ofWest Berlin and a memorial against war and destruction. In 1965, an eighty-six metre high 'Europa Centre' was constructed onthe platz. This centre became the main consumer grounds of West Berlinand unofficially gave the Breitscheidplatz the reputation of being thecommercial center in West Berlin. The building still stands today andhosts numerous department stores, outside coffee shops and restaurantsand is a popular tourist attraction. The Europa center stands under preservation order. The Berlin Zoologischer Garten lies near the Breitscheidplatz, it was constructed in 1882 and functions as the main S- and U-Bahn stationwithin Berlin West. The Breitscheidplatz, now one of the most visited places in Berlin, isknown by many as one of the quintessential squares of Berlin. It presents anawkward yet typical Berliner combination of the old and the new, thecultural and commercial.

Plans for the Breitscheidplatz

Future City Plans for the Breitscheidplatz [http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de] Include; Bettering the quality for pedestrians, more public competitions for the future planning of Breitscheidplatz, renovation of the Bikini Haus and the Europa Center, the destruction of the old Schimmelpfenghaus and building the “Neue Schimmelpfeng Haus"(to include, offices, restaurants Hotel, to create an attractive city-quarter with livable space. Other plans include; renovating the bus station in front of the the Bahnhof-zoo, building a large cinema complex at the current site of the Zoo-palast, and closing the automobile-tunnel in front of the Bikini Haus (completed in 2006).

Media

[http://www.snafu.de/cgi-bin/dotnet/web/bild_refresh.cgi?url=/cgi-bin/no_cache_zoomimg2.sh&refresh=60&bildtext=Breitscheidplatz%2BBerlin&ueberschrift=Breitscheidplatz&typ=bild Webcam of the Breitscheidplatz]

[http://images.google.de/images?q=breitscheidplatz&oe=UTF-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi Google Images of the Breitscheidplatz]

[http://www.europa-center-berlin.de/?lang=en|Homepage of the Europa-Center]

Public Transportation

S-Bahn (Zoologischer Garten) S 5, S 7, S 75, S 9... U-Bahn (Zoologischer Garten) U 2, U 9 ...Bus (Breitscheidplatz) 100, 200 ...Bus (Europa-Center) 129, 219

In time for the World Cup 2006 the new Lehrter Bahnhof was completed, with the Lehrter Bahnhoff now the main train station in Berlin, the German high speed trains (InterCityExpress, Intercity) no longer stop by default at the Berlin Zoologischer Garten station.

ources

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de 18.05.2006

Senatsverwaltung für Stadtentwicklung (2004) „Nachhaltiges Berlin“. April. Berlin

Senatsverwaltung für Stadtentwicklung (2005) „Stadtforum Berlin. December. Berlin