Hansaviertel Berlin
23 images Created 17 Oct 2017
The history of the Hansaviertel architecture.
When World War II was over, many Berlin districts lay in ruins. One of the most devastated neighborhoods was Tiergarten’s Hansaviertel. Nine in ten buildings were destroyed. The upper class residences – magnificent homes of the pre-war Bohéme – completely vanished from the face of earth. Many of the residents belonged to an eclectic society. Käthe Kollwitz, Kurt Tucholsky, Lenin, Rosa Luxemburg, Else Lasker-Schüler and many more famous artists, writers and politicians had fled and sought asylum. Others had already been dead by the time the war was over.
Thus, a whole neighborhood was irretrievably destroyed, both socially and in terms of town planning.
At the time, Hansaviertel provided an unique opportunity for city planners to rebuild a whole area from scratch.
The initial task was to loosen the development in the central parts of the city, to basically de-centralise it and make more room for green areas.
But the Cold War began and Berlin was stuck in the middle of the conflict.
Both the East and the West seized every opportunity to show off their superiority in every aspect of public life here. The Sowjets started to build Friedrichshain’s superb Karl-Marx-Allee along the lines of Moscow’s. So the West reacted: Hansaviertel promised to be the ideal area for architectonical countermeasures.
By the early 50ies, the properties had to be divided out. And in 1953, an international competition was arranged. The Interbau 57 (a part of a nation-wide series of architectural exhibitions) was created and provided the suitable context for development.
Iconic architects such as Walter Gropius, Alvar Aalto, Arne Jacobsen, Egon Eiermann were invited to design and build the new Hansaviertel by standards and in the style of modern architecture.
When World War II was over, many Berlin districts lay in ruins. One of the most devastated neighborhoods was Tiergarten’s Hansaviertel. Nine in ten buildings were destroyed. The upper class residences – magnificent homes of the pre-war Bohéme – completely vanished from the face of earth. Many of the residents belonged to an eclectic society. Käthe Kollwitz, Kurt Tucholsky, Lenin, Rosa Luxemburg, Else Lasker-Schüler and many more famous artists, writers and politicians had fled and sought asylum. Others had already been dead by the time the war was over.
Thus, a whole neighborhood was irretrievably destroyed, both socially and in terms of town planning.
At the time, Hansaviertel provided an unique opportunity for city planners to rebuild a whole area from scratch.
The initial task was to loosen the development in the central parts of the city, to basically de-centralise it and make more room for green areas.
But the Cold War began and Berlin was stuck in the middle of the conflict.
Both the East and the West seized every opportunity to show off their superiority in every aspect of public life here. The Sowjets started to build Friedrichshain’s superb Karl-Marx-Allee along the lines of Moscow’s. So the West reacted: Hansaviertel promised to be the ideal area for architectonical countermeasures.
By the early 50ies, the properties had to be divided out. And in 1953, an international competition was arranged. The Interbau 57 (a part of a nation-wide series of architectural exhibitions) was created and provided the suitable context for development.
Iconic architects such as Walter Gropius, Alvar Aalto, Arne Jacobsen, Egon Eiermann were invited to design and build the new Hansaviertel by standards and in the style of modern architecture.
