Platz der Luftbrücke
Encyclopedia
Platz der Luftbrücke is a landmarked square and transport node in Berlin
, Germany
, on the border between the localities
of Tempelhof
and Kreuzberg
. The entrance to the former Tempelhof International Airport
is on the square. The buildings around the square are now mostly government agencies, in particular police headquarters. The name of the square commemorates the Berlin airlift of 1948/49 in which Tempelhof was the main airfield used; the Berlin Airlift Monument is in the square.
(Mehringdamm and Tempelhofer Damm) and the east-west Columbiadamm (to Neukölln
) and Dudenstraße (to Schöneberg). Manfred-von-Richthofen-Straße runs from the square southwest to the Neu-Tempelhof Kiez
or housing development in Tempelhof
.
The Platz der Luftbrücke U-Bahn station
is at the north end of the square; called Flughafen (airport) until 1975, it provided a direct connection between the Berlin U-Bahn
and the airport (closed in 2008), whose main entrance was in the square.
, and administration building, in the same style. These prefigure the unrealised designs for the Nazi capital, Welthauptstadt Germania
; its North-South Axis would have run approximately 1 km west of the square and the airport entrance would have faced the triumphal arch.
On the southwest side of the square are apartment and business buildings designed by Bruno Möhring in the first phase of the development of the Tempelhof district before the First World War. The Neu-Tempelhof "garden city" development was created inside this ring of 5-storey buildings in the interwar years, designed by Fritz Bräuning.
In front of the airport entrance is the Berlin Airlift Monument (Luftbrückendenkmal; properly the Denkmal für die Opfer der Luftbrücke, 'Monument for the Victims of the Airlift') erected in 1951. An inscription on the base records the names and ranks of the 78 people killed in accidents during the Berlin Blockade
. Its design, by Eduard Ludwig (who won the contest to design it) features 3 arcs pointing west to symbolise the 3 air corridors that were the city's lifeline, as a result of which Berliners also call it the Hungerkralle (hunger claw) or Hungerharke (hunger rake). An identical counterpart reaching towards Berlin was erected in 1985 by the German-American Airlift Association at the southeast corner of the Frankfurt Airport
, directly adjacent to the A5 Autobahn
. Since 1988, a smaller copy has also stood at Celle Air Base
in Lower Saxony
.
Near the entrance to the departure building is a statue of an eagle's head. According to the inscription on the base, this is all that remains of the 4.5 m statue of an eagle, designed by Sagebiel and executed by the sculptor Wilhelm Lemke
, which stood on the roof of the building and was visible from a considerable distance. Contrary to the assumptions of many, it grasped in its claws not a swastika (like the eagle which symbolised the Third Reich) but a globe (like the planned summit of the Great Hall
designed for Germania
). In 1962 it was removed to permit the installation of new radar equipment and sent to the museum at the United States Military Academy
at West Point. The U.S. Air Force returned it to the people of Berlin and since 1985 the part of the square where it stands has been Eagle Square.
(Customs Investigations Office). The central Lost and Found
Office for the whole of Berlin is also located in the square.
, the then mayor, and landscaped with a sunken lawn, trees, flowers and a low hedge with an opening to frame the monument. This landscaping has changed several times since the 1950s.
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, on the border between the localities
Boroughs and localities of Berlin
Berlin is both a city and one of Germany’s federal states. It is made up of twelve boroughs , each with its own borough government, though all boroughs are subject to Berlin’s city and state government.-History:Each borough is made up of several officially recognized localities...
of Tempelhof
Tempelhof
Tempelhof is a locality of Berlin within the borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg. It is the location of the former Tempelhof Airport, one of the earliest commercial airports in the world. It is now deserted and shows as a blank spot on maps of Berlin. Attempts are being made to save the still-existing...
and Kreuzberg
Kreuzberg
Kreuzberg, a part of the combined Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough located south of Mitte since 2001, is one of the best-known areas of Berlin...
. The entrance to the former Tempelhof International Airport
Tempelhof International Airport
Berlin Tempelhof Airport was an airport in Berlin, Germany, situated in the south-central borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg. The airport ceased operating in 2008 in the process of establishing Schönefeld as the sole commercial airport for Berlin....
is on the square. The buildings around the square are now mostly government agencies, in particular police headquarters. The name of the square commemorates the Berlin airlift of 1948/49 in which Tempelhof was the main airfield used; the Berlin Airlift Monument is in the square.
Transport
The square is the junction of two major traffic arteries, the north-south Bundesstraße 96Bundesstraße 96
The Bundesstraße 96 is a federal highway in Germany. It begins in Zittau in the Saxony, close to the border triangle between Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic, heads north through Berlin and ends in Sassnitz on the island of Rügen in the Baltic Sea...
(Mehringdamm and Tempelhofer Damm) and the east-west Columbiadamm (to Neukölln
Neukölln
Neukölln is the eighth borough of Berlin, located in the southeastern part of the city and was part of the former American sector under the Four-Power occupation of the city...
) and Dudenstraße (to Schöneberg). Manfred-von-Richthofen-Straße runs from the square southwest to the Neu-Tempelhof Kiez
Kiez
Kiez is a German word that refers to a city neighbourhood, a relatively small community within a larger town. The word is mainly used in Berlin and northern Germany.-Original Meaning and Etymology:...
or housing development in Tempelhof
Tempelhof
Tempelhof is a locality of Berlin within the borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg. It is the location of the former Tempelhof Airport, one of the earliest commercial airports in the world. It is now deserted and shows as a blank spot on maps of Berlin. Attempts are being made to save the still-existing...
.
The Platz der Luftbrücke U-Bahn station
Platz der Luftbrücke (Berlin U-Bahn)
Platz der Luftbrücke is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the . It is located under Platz der Luftbrücke and the south end of Mehringdamm on the border between Kreuzberg and Tempelhof, near the former Tempelhof International Airport, and is now named for the square there with its memorial to the...
is at the north end of the square; called Flughafen (airport) until 1975, it provided a direct connection between the Berlin U-Bahn
Berlin U-Bahn
The Berlin is a rapid transit railway in Berlin, the capital city of Germany, and is a major part of the public transport system of that city. Opened in 1902, the serves 173 stations spread across ten lines, with a total track length of , about 80% of which is underground...
and the airport (closed in 2008), whose main entrance was in the square.
Buildings and monuments
On the east side of the square are the airport departure building, designed by Ernst SagebielErnst Sagebiel
Ernst Sagebiel was a German architect.- Life :Sagebiel was a sculptor's son, and after his Abitur in 1912, he began his studies in architecture in Braunschweig...
, and administration building, in the same style. These prefigure the unrealised designs for the Nazi capital, Welthauptstadt Germania
Welthauptstadt Germania
Welthauptstadt Germania refers to the projected renewal of the German capital Berlin during the Nazi period, part of Adolf Hitler's vision for the future of Germany after the planned victory in World War II...
; its North-South Axis would have run approximately 1 km west of the square and the airport entrance would have faced the triumphal arch.
On the southwest side of the square are apartment and business buildings designed by Bruno Möhring in the first phase of the development of the Tempelhof district before the First World War. The Neu-Tempelhof "garden city" development was created inside this ring of 5-storey buildings in the interwar years, designed by Fritz Bräuning.
Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockade was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War and the first resulting in casualties. During the multinational occupation of post-World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway and road access to the sectors of Berlin under Allied...
. Its design, by Eduard Ludwig (who won the contest to design it) features 3 arcs pointing west to symbolise the 3 air corridors that were the city's lifeline, as a result of which Berliners also call it the Hungerkralle (hunger claw) or Hungerharke (hunger rake). An identical counterpart reaching towards Berlin was erected in 1985 by the German-American Airlift Association at the southeast corner of the Frankfurt Airport
Frankfurt Airport
Frankfurt Airport may refer to:Airports of Frankfurt, Germany:*Frankfurt Airport , the largest airport in Germany*Frankfurt Egelsbach Airport, a general aviation airport*Frankfurt-Hahn Airport , a converted U.S...
, directly adjacent to the A5 Autobahn
Bundesautobahn 5
is a 445 km long Autobahn in Germany. Its northern end is the Hattenbach triangle intersection is a 445 km (277 mi) long Autobahn in Germany. Its northern end is the Hattenbach triangle intersection is a 445 km (277 mi) long Autobahn in Germany. Its northern end is the...
. Since 1988, a smaller copy has also stood at Celle Air Base
Celle Air Base
Celle Air Base is a military airbase of the German Army. The airfield is situated southwest of the city of Celle, Lower Saxony, Germany. It was opened in 1934 and has been in military use ever since...
in Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
.
Near the entrance to the departure building is a statue of an eagle's head. According to the inscription on the base, this is all that remains of the 4.5 m statue of an eagle, designed by Sagebiel and executed by the sculptor Wilhelm Lemke
Wilhelm Lemke
Wilhelm Lemke was a Luftwaffe flying ace of World War II. Lemke was credited with 131 victories. All but six of his victories were claimed over the Soviet Air Forces in over 700 combat missions....
, which stood on the roof of the building and was visible from a considerable distance. Contrary to the assumptions of many, it grasped in its claws not a swastika (like the eagle which symbolised the Third Reich) but a globe (like the planned summit of the Great Hall
Volkshalle
The ' , also called ' or ' , was a huge domed monumental building planned by Adolf Hitler and his architect Albert Speer for Germania. The project was never accomplished....
designed for Germania
Welthauptstadt Germania
Welthauptstadt Germania refers to the projected renewal of the German capital Berlin during the Nazi period, part of Adolf Hitler's vision for the future of Germany after the planned victory in World War II...
). In 1962 it was removed to permit the installation of new radar equipment and sent to the museum at the United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
at West Point. The U.S. Air Force returned it to the people of Berlin and since 1985 the part of the square where it stands has been Eagle Square.
Institutions on and near the square
Former airport buildings now house many government agencies. The headquarters of the Berlin Police occupies buildings in and immediately adjacent to Platz der Luftbrücke, including the Police Praesidium (housed in the southwestern portion of the former airport departure hall, adjacent to Eagle Square), the State Criminal Division, and also the Police Museum (Polizeihistorische Sammlung). The building now called Columbia House houses offices of the Deutscher Wetterdienst (German Weather Service), Bundeswertpapierverwaltung (Federal Financial Services Oversight), Hauptzollamt Berlin (Berlin Central Customs Office) Prüfungsamt des Bundes (Testing Service of the Federation) Wasser- und Schifffahrtsamt (Office of Water Transport and Shipping), Wasserstraßenneubauamtes (Watercourse Construction Office) and the Berlin-Brandenburg ZollfahndungsamtZollfahndungsamt
The Zollfahndungsamt is a German Customs Investigation Office. They are all directly subordiate to the central Zollkriminalamt which has its headquarters in Cologne....
(Customs Investigations Office). The central Lost and Found
Lost and Found
Lost and Found is the third full-length album by Mudvayne. The album was released on April 12, 2005 through Epic Records. The album had major success in the U.S., debuting at number #2 and being certified Gold by the RIAA shortly afterward. It has sold about 800,000 copies as of August 2006...
Office for the whole of Berlin is also located in the square.
History
Sagebiel planned a square encircled by buildings of similar heights except for the taller buildings at the airport entrance, and a promenade and series of waterfalls cascading down the Kreuzberg hill opposite, but his plan was not realised; in the late 1930s the area was a grassy half-circle. The square was given the name Platz der Luftbrücke on 25 June 1949 by Ernst ReuterErnst Reuter
Ernst Rudolf Johannes Reuter was the German mayor of West Berlin from 1948 to 1953, during the time of the Cold War.- Early years :...
, the then mayor, and landscaped with a sunken lawn, trees, flowers and a low hedge with an opening to frame the monument. This landscaping has changed several times since the 1950s.