Fairgrounds | 1930 / 1935 / to the present

Meeting point of the world in Berlin.
The Berlin trade fair tradition goes back to 1822, when the Prussian government combined markets and trade fairs for the first time into a comprehensive trade fair. There is still no fixed location. Buildings are erected and dismantled.

From 1913, an area of the Grunewald that had previously been used as a parade and shooting range can be reached via an S-Bahn station (today the Messe-Nord/ICC S-Bahn station). In 1924, the House of the Radio Industry opens on this site for the first Great German Radio Exhibition.

In 1930, Martin Wagner and Hans Poelzig develop an overall architectural concept that is only partially implemented. Under the Nazi regime, the architect Richard Ermisch radically changes the concept. The entrance building and hall of honor from 1936 are evidence of this.

From 1939, the Reich Office for Grain uses the halls as a warehouse. In 1946, reconstruction of the war-damaged site begins. One year later, the first exhibition entitled Values under Ruins takes place.

The site is still being expanded today.