Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Schiller statue
he
statue of Schiller
outside the Konzerthaus was repositioned here in 1988, having
been removed by the Nazis more than fifty years earlier, returned to what was then East
Berlin from the West in exchange for reliefs originally from the Pfaueninsel (see p.163)
and a statue from a Tiergarten villa. Outside Germany, Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805)
is best known for the
Ode to Joy
that provides the words to the final movements of
Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, but in his homeland he is venerated as one of the
greatest German poets and dramatists of the Enlightenment. His works, from early
Sturm und Drang
dramas like
Die Räuber
(“he hieves”) to later historical plays like
Maria Stuart
, were primarily concerned with freedom - political, moral and personal
- which was probably the reason why the Nazis were so quick to bundle him off the
Gendarmenmarkt.
1
Bunte Schokowelt
Französische Str. 24 • Mon-Wed 10am-7pm, Thurs-Sat 10am-8pm, Sun 10am-6pm • Free •
T
030 20 09 50 80,
W
ritter-sport.de •
U-Französische Strasse
Despite being fairly barefaced corporate propaganda for German chocolatiers Ritter
Sport,
Bunte Schokowelt
(Colourful Chocolate World) can be excused - the company
remains a family operation with some commendable ethical principles, and above all
its dozens of varieties of chocolate are delicious. he key attraction here is that you can
design your own chocolate bar and have it made on the spot; it takes about thirty
minutes, during which time there's a little museum to browse - which includes a range
of amusing Ritter Sport German TV ads from the 1950s onwards. here's also a pleasant
café and many chocolatey bargains amid the extraordinary selection in the shop.
Jägerstrasse and around
Leading west from the Gendarmenmarkt,
Jägerstrasse
was the site of particularly
heavy fighting during the 1848 revolution, but is best known as the centre of Berlin's
nineteenth-century
banking quarter
. It was from here that the Mendelssohn Bank,
a huge Jewish concern founded by the sons of philosopher Moses Mendelssohn,
bankrolled much of Berlin's industrial revolution: a plaque on the north side of the
street, outside no. 51, tells the story.
Nolde Stiftung
Jägerstr. 55 • Daily 10am-7pm • €8 •
T
030 40 00 46 90,
W
nolde-stiftung.de • U-Hausvogteiplatz
he Berlin branch of the
Nolde Stiftung
(Nolde Foundation) showcases the work
of leading German Expressionist painter Emil Nolde. His vivid work and awkward
lithographs were predictably banned by the Nazis, but he defiantly continued to work
in secret in his home on Germany's Baltic coast, producing the wonderful work that's
revealed in the changing temporary exhibitions here.
The Bauakademie and around
Before World War II the block to the east of the Friedrichwerdersche Kirche, on
the banks of the Spree, was the site of the
Bauakademie
- Karl Friedrich Schinkel's
architectural school. his 1836 building is widely considered to be one of modern
architecture's true ancestors, rejecting the Classicism around it in favour of brick
exterior and terracotta ornamentation. he building spoke of industrialization and a
changing view towards design and construction, and even at the time it was thought
to be one of Schinkel's finest creations; he seemed to agree, moving in and occupying
a top-floor apartment until his death in 1841. he Kaiser however, hated it, referring
to it as “the horrible red box that blots the view from the palace” (see p.53). he GDR
regime also had no time for it, demolishing it in 1962 - despite its relatively light war
damage - in favour of a prefab for its foreign ministry, which became one of the first
