Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Luftwaffenmuseum
Am Flugplatz Gatow 33 • April-Oct Tues-Sun 10am-6pm; Nov-March Tues-Sun 9am-4pm • Free • T 030 36 87 26 01,
W mhm-gatow.de • S-Spandau, then bus #135 to “Luftwaffenmuseum” stop, 1.5km from entrance.
he giant Luftwaffenmuseum (German Air Force Museum) records more than a hundred
years of air force history across several hangars on Berlin's Gatow airfield. his was one
landing place for the “raisin bombers” breaking the Berlin Blockade (see p.124), and also
where the RAF was stationed in the days of West Berlin; the exhibition itself leaves no
aileron or propeller unturned in its examination of the German military's aeronautical
past. here are dozens of planes to view, from Red Baron-era WWI aircraft to Cold
War-era fighter jets from both sides of the Iron Curtain. hough most information is in
German, enthusiasts could easily spend the best part of a day here; the café is very basic,
however, and it's a long way to come, on infrequent buses - bring supplies.
10
Spandau
Spandau , situated on the confluence of the Spree and Havel rivers, about 10km
northwest of its centre, is Berlin's oldest suburb. Granted a town charter in 1232, it
escaped the worst of the wartime bombing, preserving a couple of old village-like
streets - at their best during the Christmas market - and an ancient moated fort, the
Zitadelle . hough the word Spandau immediately brings to mind its jail's most famous
- indeed, in later years, only - prisoner, Rudolf Hess , there's little connection between
Hess and Spandau itself. he jail, 4km away from the centre, was demolished after his
death to make way for a supermarket for the British armed forces.
Spandau Altstadt
In comparison to its Zitadelle, Spandau's Altstadt , or old town, is of minor interest.
It begins just to the northeast of the Rathaus and is at its best around the medieval
Nikolaikirche ; the Reformationsplatz (with a good Konditorei ), where playful sculptures
adorn the modern marketplace; and in the restored street called Kolk . Also here is the
Brauhaus Spandau , a nineteenth-century brewery that produces beer to a medieval
recipe; tours are available.
Zitadelle
Daily 10am-5pm • €4.50 • W zitadelle-spandau.de • U-Zitadelle, or a 10min walk through the Altstadt from S-Spandau where the #134
from Alt-Kladow stops
he postcard-pretty Zitadelle (Citadel), just northeast over the Havel from the Altstadt,
was established in the twelfth century to defend the town. Its moat and russet walls
were built during the Renaissance by an Italian architect and it's an explorable, if not
totally engrossing, place with a small local history museum, a pricey restaurant and the
thirteenth-century Juliusturm , from which there's a good view over the ramshackle
Zitadelle interior and the countryside.
RUDOLF HESS 1894 1987
Rudolf Hess marched in the Munich Beer Hall putsch of 1923 and was subsequently
imprisoned with Hitler in Landsberg jail, where he took the dictation of Mein Kampf . For a
time he was the deputy leader of the Nazi party, second only to the Führer himself. An
experienced World War I airman, he flew himself to Scotland in 1941, ostensibly in an attempt
to sue for peace with King George VI and ally Great Britain with Germany against the Soviet
Union. It remains unclear whether he did this with Hitler's blessing, but there is evidence to
suggest that the Führer knew of Hess's plans. Either way, he was immediately arrested and
Churchill refused to meet him; he was held until sentenced to life imprisonment at the
Nürnberg trials. He finally committed suicide in 1987 in his Spandau jail - the only inmate in
a jail designed for six hundred - hanging himself on a short piece of lamp flex, aged 93.
 
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