The best Sundays often involve escaping the city for a dose of nature. Journeys into the green don’t have to be long, however — only a few S-Bahn stations outside “the ring” lies Schöneweide, a name chosen to describe the landscape there in the late 20th century, when it was already a popular excursion destination for wealthy city dwellers. But when AEG moved its operations to these beautiful pastures in 1897, this changed dramatically. Within few years, Emil Rathenau had built the world’s largest electrical industrial location. Factory halls as large as cathedrals, the world’s first three-phase power plant, a crane serving as a promenade — much of it still stands today, and can be visited on a guided tour on Sundays. During the 2.5-hour talk along the imposing industrial facades from the Wilhelminenhofstraße to the historic AEG cant, the modern university campus in the former cable plant to the Peter Behrens tower, the tour immerses you in the multifaceted industrial history of Berlin. By the way, Olafur Eliasson and Bryan Adams have recently purchased one of the gigantic halls. What they’ll do with it remains yet to be seen. Here’s hoping that art and culture will prevail and bring more beauty back to the pastures of Schöneweide. (Text: Stefanie Rothenhöfer / Photos: Devan Grimsrud, Industriesalon Schöneweide)
Industriesalon Schöneweide, Reinbeckstr.9, 12459 Berlin-Oberschöneweide; map
Wed, Fri-Sun 14-18h
Stefanie Rothenhöfer is the founder of the Food Entrepreneurs Club (FEC), a cutting-edge networking platform and hub for young chefs, innovative restaurateurs and ambitious food entrepreneurs committed to the values of the food trade.
