Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
he floors where Stauffenberg worked are occupied by the absorbing exhibition
Gedenkstätte Deutscher Widerstand (
Memorial to German Resistance), a huge collection
of photos and documents covering the many and wide-ranging groups who actively
opposed the hird Reich - an eclectic mix that included communists, Jews, Quakers and
aristocrats. Much of the exhibition is in German, though the free English audio tour (ID
required as deposit) gives a good taste by covering the highlights in around forty minutes.
5
Shell-Haus
At the southern end of Stauffenbergstrasse, beside the Landwehrkanal, the
Shell-Haus
-
also called the BEWAG (Berlin Electric Company) building - is one of Berlin's few
great modernist buildings to largely survive World War II intact. Designed by Emil
Fahrenkamp in 1931, the o
ce building's tiered levels and undulating facade were an
attempt to reproduce elements of the adjacent canal and became a leading piece of
modernist architecture.
The embassies
he
diplomatic district
kicks off at the northern end of Stauffenbergstrasse, site of the
dignified
Egyptian
Embassy
, with its polished stonework and detailed engravings, and
the flamboyant
Austrian
Embassy
, the work of Viennese architect Hans Hollein. West
along Tiergartenstrasse, the bulky building hewn from rough-cut red sandstone is the
Indian Embassy
, a clever design that attempts to symbolize India's complexities in
architectural terms. he entrance is through a gap in a cylinder that starts a contrast
of void and solid that continues throughout the building, though the public can only
get a closer look during rare exhibitions (check
W
indianembassy.de for details).
Further west down Tiergartenstrasse are the two unmistakable Nazi-era edifices of
Germany's closest prewar allies. he
Japanese
completed their embassy in 1942 as
many other buildings in Berlin started to collapse in bombing raids. hough it has
been restored and remodelled since reunification, the architects carefully respected the
original design, preserving stone cladding and only removing some ornamentation -
replacing it with sleek lines that tend to add to the monumentalism. he
Italian
Embassy
has a similar look, as does the beautifully restored
Spanish Embassy
, though
that's a little out of the way - a five-minute walk west to the corner of Lichtensteinallee
and homas-Dehler-Strasse. Providing a sharp contrast are the bold bright lines of the
area's most exciting modernist buildings around the corner on Klingelhöferstrasse.
Nordic Embassy
Rauchstr. 1 •
Exhibition hall
Mon-Fri 10am-7pm, Sat & Sun 11am-4pm
Canteen
Mon-Fri 10-11.30am & 1-4pm • U-Wittenbergplatz
or bus #100
On Klingelhöferstrasse, in the stunning
Nordic Embassy
, o
ces for Denmark, Sweden,
Finland, Iceland and Norway each occupy a separate building but share an outer skin
of pre-oxidized copper panels that playfully reflect changes in light or weather - it
looks particularly stunning when floodlit at night. hough each country employed
different architects, all feature stone and timber designs with a light, simple elegance.
he compound includes an
exhibition hall
and a
canteen
where visitors can enjoy
herring, meatballs and other Nordic specialities.
Mexican Embassy
Klingelhöferstr. 3 •
Exhibitions
Mon-Fri 9am-1pm • U-Wittenbergplatz or bus #100
he avant-garde
Mexican Embassy
, next door to the Nordic Embassy, is another tribute
to the simplicity and beauty of modernism, and like its neighbour is floodlit after dark to
tremendous effect. Its main features are slanting supports that create a vertical blind effect
and a massive concrete-and-marble entranceway. he public exhibition area in the atrium
is a homage to a Maya observatory, the first cylindrical construction in the Americas.