Fichtestraße Gasometer (1884)

Illuminating gas for Berlin’s streetlights started being stored here in 1884. The city’s last remaining brick gasometer was once one of four such structures. The changeover to electric streetlights in 1937 made the gasometer superfluous. In late 1940 it was converted into an air raid shelter. The old brick structure served as a mere casing for the shelter’s massive walls. Mothers working for the war effort could take cover there with their children. After the war the gasometer offered windowless bunks to refugees passing through the city (down to the 1950s), after which it served as a nursing home and a homeless shelter. After the blockade of West Berlin (1948/49) it was used as a warehouse for the Senate Reserve. The gasometer was once again repurposed at the end of the Cold War; this time high-end apartments were built on its roof.

Tip: “Berliner Unterwelten” explains the rich history of the location on tours through the so-called “Fichte-Bunker.” berliner-unterwelten.de/en