Fichte-Bunker
Encyclopedia
The Fichte-Bunker is a nineteenth-century gasometer in the Kreuzberg
district of Berlin
, Germany
that was made into an air-raid shelter
in World War II
and subsequently was used as a shelter for the homeless and for refugees, in particular for those fleeing East Berlin
for the West. It is the last remaining brick gasometer in Berlin.
The Fichte-Bunker is located between Fichtestraße and Körtestraße in an area of Jugendstil apartment houses, many of which are now under historic protection
. The gasometer itself is protected, but in September 2006 the State of Berlin's Real Property Fund sold it to private investors and residences have now been constructed on the roof.
. It was the second of four gasometers he designed for Berlin's street lighting; the first was in Friedrichshain
and has since been destroyed. Both were topped with the "Schwedler cupola", an engineering innovation of his that used an unsupported curved steel vault to span diameters of up to 45 m.
The gasometer is a cylinder 56 m in diameter, 21 m high exclusive of the cupola and 27 m high in total. Its form was based on an 1827 design by Karl Friedrich Schinkel
for a circular church. The capacity of the telescoping gas container was 30,000 cubic metres.
After the introduction of electric street lighting, the gasometer was taken out of service in 1922 and until 1940 stood empty. At the end of 1940, Fritz Todt
, Inspector-General of Buildings for the capital, had it converted into a 6-level air-raid shelter, one of three intended primarily for the protection of women and children. (The other two were side by side in Wedding
). These were the largest shelters built anywhere in the Reich
in the crash programme of shelter construction. The roof, interior walls and floors were constructed of reinforced concrete
up to 3 m thick. The contractors, Siemens-Bauunion, used predominantly prisoners-of-war and forced labourers
. Originally the shelter was planned for 6,000 people, but during the air raid of 3 February 1945, some 30,000 people took shelter in the approximately 750 individual rooms, which are in many cases only 5 to 7 square meters. In 1944-45, it sheltered Germans expelled from the eastern territories as well as Berliners. Despite heavy bombardment, the bunker survived the war more or less undamaged.
After the war, the Fichte-Bunker was initially a much needed place of refuge for the displaced. It was used as a home for the elderly and as a juvenile detention facility. It was also typically the first place where refugees from East Germany
stayed. Finally it became a homeless shelter, which rented rooms to the needy for 2.50 DM a night. Conditions were notoriously bad; it was called the Bunker der Hoffnungslosen ("Bunker of the Hopeless") and a reporter who went in incognito found it unbearable.
The facility was closed for health reasons in 1963 and from then until reunification
, the city used the building as a storehouse for part of the Senate Reserve
, goods and provisions which the Senate of West Berlin was legally required to maintain in case of a second Berlin Blockade
.
After 1990, the Fichte-Bunker again stood empty; entrance was only possible on special tours.
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...
district of Berlin
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...
that was made into an air-raid shelter
Air-raid shelter
Air-raid shelters, also known as bomb shelters, are structures for the protection of the civil population as well as military personnel against enemy attacks from the air...
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and subsequently was used as a shelter for the homeless and for refugees, in particular for those fleeing East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
for the West. It is the last remaining brick gasometer in Berlin.
The Fichte-Bunker is located between Fichtestraße and Körtestraße in an area of Jugendstil apartment houses, many of which are now under historic protection
Historic preservation
Historic preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...
. The gasometer itself is protected, but in September 2006 the State of Berlin's Real Property Fund sold it to private investors and residences have now been constructed on the roof.
Construction and technical data
The Fichte-Bunker was constructed in 1874 for the Municipal Gasholder Authority to the design of Johann Wilhelm SchwedlerJohann Wilhelm Schwedler
Johann Wilhelm Schwedler was a German civil engineer and civil servant who designed many bridges and public buildings and invented the Schwedler truss and the Schwedler cupola.-Life and career:...
. It was the second of four gasometers he designed for Berlin's street lighting; the first was in Friedrichshain
Friedrichshain
Friedrichshain is a part of Berlin's borough of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, and like Kreuzberg across the river it has its own distinct character, with the result that the new double name is hardly ever used outside government administration. From its creation in 1920 until Berlin's 2001...
and has since been destroyed. Both were topped with the "Schwedler cupola", an engineering innovation of his that used an unsupported curved steel vault to span diameters of up to 45 m.
The gasometer is a cylinder 56 m in diameter, 21 m high exclusive of the cupola and 27 m high in total. Its form was based on an 1827 design by Karl Friedrich Schinkel
Karl Friedrich Schinkel
Karl Friedrich Schinkel was a Prussian architect, city planner, and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed both neoclassical and neogothic buildings.-Biography:Schinkel was born in Neuruppin, Margraviate of...
for a circular church. The capacity of the telescoping gas container was 30,000 cubic metres.
History
The Kreuzberg gasometer was one of four built to supply gas for street lighting during Berlin's explosive growth in the 1870s.After the introduction of electric street lighting, the gasometer was taken out of service in 1922 and until 1940 stood empty. At the end of 1940, Fritz Todt
Fritz Todt
Fritz Todt was a German engineer and senior Nazi figure, the founder of Organisation Todt. He died in a plane crash during World War II.- Life :Todt was born in Pforzheim to a father who owned a small factory...
, Inspector-General of Buildings for the capital, had it converted into a 6-level air-raid shelter, one of three intended primarily for the protection of women and children. (The other two were side by side in Wedding
Wedding (Berlin)
Wedding is a locality in the borough of Mitte, Berlin, Germany and was a separate borough in the north-western inner city until it was fused with Tiergarten and Mitte in Berlin's 2001 administrative reform...
). These were the largest shelters built anywhere in the Reich
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
in the crash programme of shelter construction. The roof, interior walls and floors were constructed of reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete is concrete in which reinforcement bars , reinforcement grids, plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the concrete in tension. It was invented by French gardener Joseph Monier in 1849 and patented in 1867. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is...
up to 3 m thick. The contractors, Siemens-Bauunion, used predominantly prisoners-of-war and forced labourers
Unfree labour
Unfree labour includes all forms of slavery as well as all other related institutions .-Payment for unfree labour:If payment occurs, it may be in one or more of the following forms:...
. Originally the shelter was planned for 6,000 people, but during the air raid of 3 February 1945, some 30,000 people took shelter in the approximately 750 individual rooms, which are in many cases only 5 to 7 square meters. In 1944-45, it sheltered Germans expelled from the eastern territories as well as Berliners. Despite heavy bombardment, the bunker survived the war more or less undamaged.
After the war, the Fichte-Bunker was initially a much needed place of refuge for the displaced. It was used as a home for the elderly and as a juvenile detention facility. It was also typically the first place where refugees from East Germany
Eastern Bloc emigration and defection
Eastern Bloc emigration and defection was a point of controversy during the Cold War. After World War II, emigration restrictions were imposed by countries in the Eastern Bloc, which consisted of the Soviet Union and its satellite states in Eastern and Central Europe...
stayed. Finally it became a homeless shelter, which rented rooms to the needy for 2.50 DM a night. Conditions were notoriously bad; it was called the Bunker der Hoffnungslosen ("Bunker of the Hopeless") and a reporter who went in incognito found it unbearable.
The facility was closed for health reasons in 1963 and from then until reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
, the city used the building as a storehouse for part of the Senate Reserve
Senate Reserve
The Senate Reserve was a stockpile of food and other necessities which the Senate of West Berlin was required to maintain in case of another Berlin Blockade...
, goods and provisions which the Senate of West Berlin was legally required to maintain in case of a second Berlin Blockade
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...
.
After 1990, the Fichte-Bunker again stood empty; entrance was only possible on special tours.
Luxury housing
In September 2006, the State of Berlin's Real Property Fund sold the building and approximately 8,000 m2 of land to the newly formed development company SpeicherWerk Wohnbau GmbH. The investors planned to construct luxury 2-storey condominiums on top of the former gasometer and build townhouses and a five-storey apartment building on the land around the building. Despite objections from neighbours to the density of the development, planning permission was granted and work began in December 2007; the freestanding residences were completed in 2009. In spring 2008, there was concern about possible violation of the historic building code, and in summer 2009 the scaffolding around the gasometer was set on fire as part of Action Weeks by squatters and opponents of demolition of housing to build for the rich. In spring 2010, completion of the "Circlehouse" of 13 condominiums on top of the bunker was announced. Designed by architect Paul Ingenbleek and engineer Michael Ernst, they have rooftop gardens in front of the lower storey and front walls of steel and glass and are reached by means of a bridge from a tower which contains a lift and stairs.External links
- Reiner Janick and Gudrun Neumann, Bunkereinbau Gasometer Fichtestraße, Berliner Unterwelten e.V. (German)
- Aro Kuhrt, Der Fichtebunker, Berlin:Street, Berlin für Neugierige (German)
- SpeicherWerk Wohnbau GmbH Project site (German)
- Stop-motion film of 3 days' construction on top of the Fichte-Bunker, 8 March 2008 (YouTube)