Beelitzhof Water Supply System Deep Well | 1893
Fountain gallery.
Berlin's drinking water comes almost exclusively from water protection areas within the city limits. These protection areas make up about a quarter of the city's area. 30% of the drinking water is obtained from groundwater and 70% from bank filtration.
In bank filtration, water that has seeped through many layers of sand from the Havel or Spree into the groundwater over months is pumped up from groundwater wells and piped to the waterworks via huge pipes.
Over 80 wells belonging to the Beelitzhof waterworks stretch along the banks of the Havel from here to the Wannsee lido. They reach a depth of 50 to 170 meters.
The wells are regularly maintained. Filters clogged with sand deposits are cleaned using targeted blasting.

Beelitzhof Waterworks | 1888/1981
The waterworks has been supplying the city of Charlottenburg with drinking water since 1888. The water has a long journey before it reaches households.
It flows from the groundwater wells through huge pipes into the waterworks' ventilation system, where it is enriched with oxygen and then fed into the reaction basin. This is where iron and manganese compounds dissolve. The sand filter system removes the flakes that settle.
The purified drinking water is finally stored in the pure water tank and from there pumped to households via a complex pipe system.
From 1981, an additional treatment plant for Havel water improved the quality of the Grunewald lakes.
The Berlin Waterworks currently operates nine waterworks and six sewage treatment plants in a network.

Berlin Natural Gas Storage Facility | 1992
Energy reserve.
The Allied Control Council called for the construction of a natural gas storage facility in the 1980s so that West Berlin would be less dependent on Soviet supplies. The storage facility went into operation in 1992 – after the political change. It is no longer needed because there is now access to other gas sources.
At least the storage facility can avoid price fluctuations. If the price of gas rises in winter, the gas bought cheaply in summer can be used.
The storage facility is located under the Wannsee and the Grunewald on an area of three by four kilometers at a depth of 850 meters. There, enclosed between layers of clay and loam, is a layer of porous sandstone filled with water. The water is pressed out at high pressure and replaced with gas.
In 2017, the facility was shut down because it was no longer profitable. Since then, it has been under dismantling. The use of the storage facility for deep geothermal energy is being examined.

Berlin-Wannsee Station
Transport temple for sun-seekers.
Octagon, dome and pointed arcades! The ticket hall turns the station, which opened in 1928, into a transport temple.
The station forecourt is simultaneously a public meeting place, transport hub and business center. An underpass connects it to the ferry landing.
This means that the station is perfectly able to cope with the mass excursion traffic to Wannsee even on hot summer days.

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.

Ferry to Lindwerder Island
Ferry service on the Wannsee.
The island has been accessible by ferry since 1905 and soon after by excursion steamer. It developed into a popular tourist destination.
After 1945, rubble was dumped on the east side to enlarge the island. A passenger ferry and a cargo ferry operate to operate the current restaurant.

International Congress Center (ICC) in Berlin
Unique congress machine.
The ICC, which opened in 1979, is a superlative, high-tech congress center. Major international events are intended to boost the economy of isolated West Berlin.
In keeping with the spirit of the car-friendly city, the building is integrated into Berlin's traffic flows. The aluminum facade is reminiscent of a spaceship - inspired by the first moon landing just six years ago.
The ICC is connected to the historic exhibition center by a three-story bridge. The ICC, designed by the architect couple Schüler-Witte, remained Germany's most important conference center for over 30 years.
The ICC will close in 2014. The preferred goal for future use is the development of a center for art and culture as well as the creative and innovative economy.

Ökowerk Berlin – Historic Waterworks and Environmental Education Center
Drinking water for the big city.
The waterworks, located on the banks of the Teufelssee, has been supplying the Westend residential area and other urban areas with drinking water since 1871. The main building with the machine and boiler house, round collecting well house and chimney dates back to the time of its foundation.
In the 1890s, the Rieseler building, the filter halls and the clean water tank were added. The waterworks went offline in 1969. Today it is the oldest surviving waterworks in Berlin.
Since 1985, an environmental education center with many hands-on activities has been located here. Guided tours provide insights into how the waterworks works and the history of Berlin's water supply.
The restored building complex retains important parts of the historical technology, including the flywheels of the steam engines.

Radio House
Perfect sound in modern architecture.
The provisional studio at Potsdamer Platz is no longer sufficient. The architect Hans Poelzig is commissioned to build Berlin's first radio building. The building, which opened in 1931, becomes a model for the large radio buildings in Europe.
The cleverly thought-out functionality with a triangular floor plan still offers the best production conditions today. The office and editorial rooms on the outside shield the studio complexes inside from noise.
For two years, broadcasting takes place here independently and freely. Then the Nazi regime spreads propaganda.
After the war, the Soviets control the radio station in the British sector. Before handing it over to the British, the Soviets dismantle the technical equipment and use it to equip the Nalepastrasse radio station in the Soviet sector in 1951.
In West Berlin, the new Sender Freies Berlin (SFB) goes on air in 1954. In 1970, the television center opens, which is connected to the Haus des Rundfunks by a pedestrian bridge.

Teufelsberg and Drachenberg (Devil's Mountain and Dragon Mountain) | 1950–1972
Rubble with a view.
One of the rubble mountains is named after the neighboring Devil's Lake. The other is a great place to fly kites in the autumn. Both mountains are full of history.
The Nazi regime begins to build the Military Technology Faculty here as part of the world capital Germania. After 1945, the shell of the building is blown up and the area is turned into a rubble dump.
From 1950, trucks hauled in a third of the rubble from bombed-out Berlin for 22 years. Then soil is piled up and trees are planted.
In 1972, the rubble pile is the highest elevation in West Berlin and develops into a popular tourist destination. To this day, the Drachenberg offers a magnificent panoramic view of the Berlin skyline.

Teufelsberg Listening Post
Cold War espionage center.
The Western Allies have been monitoring communications in the Eastern Bloc from here since the 1950s. In 1962, the station was expanded with five antenna domes made of white plastic. The domes protect against the weather and counter-espionage.
Within a radius of 500 km, well into the Warsaw Pact area, all unprotected radio and telecommunications connections can be recorded, intercepted and disrupted.
After the end of the Cold War, the station was abandoned in 1992. An investor bought the site, but his plans failed. The facilities fell victim to vandalism.
Today, the site, with its lost place feel, is one of the largest street art galleries in the world with many events and festivals.

The "Alte Liebe" Restaurant Ship
From barge to coffee barge.
Disused barges have been transformed into floating restaurants since 1900. A restaurant ship has been located here since 1950. The aging barge was replaced in 1970 by a HADAG ferry (1911) from Hamburg.

The Havel—a waterway with a rich history
Berlin has always been supplied by water. As early as the 17th century, the rivers were used as waterways and connected with canals. This created a transport network of supra-regional importance for the transport of goods and raw materials.
During the Berlin Airlift in 1948/1949, the Havel was not only a waterway, but also Berlin's longest runway. To relieve the pressure on the airports, Allied seaplanes landed here. They were preferably loaded with salt because of their corrosion resistance.
To this day, federal waterways such as the Havel are an essential part of the transport system. In addition to transporting goods, they are mainly used for sports and leisure boating.

The Theodor Heuss Monument and the Blue Obelisk
Decorative square of a new residential area.
The square, opened in 1906, is the gateway to the Westend housing estate. As in the London district of the same name, upscale housing is being built here. In Berlin and London, westerly winds bring clean air that only becomes polluted over the city.
The property developer Quistorp plans the housing estate, builds a waterworks and speculates on high profits. Martin Gropius takes over the architectural planning.
The square, opened under the name Reichskanzlerplatz, is renamed in 1933. As Adolf Hitler Square, it becomes part of the plans for the world capital Germania. A heroes' memorial planned by Albert Speer is not built.
Instead, an eternal flame for the victims of flight and expulsion has been burning here since 1955, inaugurated by Federal President Theodor Heuss. After his death, the square is named after him.

The Tuileries Column (Tuileriensäule) in Schwanenwerder
Upper-class idylls.
In 1882, a petroleum lamp manufacturer bought the island. He had the island filled up and parceled out as a bourgeois arcadia for the construction of country houses. Thanks to the profits in industry and finance, the new upper-class class was able to imitate a lifestyle that had previously been reserved for the nobility.
Due to a lack of infrastructure and transport links, sales were slow. The situation only improved with the opening of the Nikolassee train station in 1902. In addition, modern water and electricity supply systems were built. The island now developed into a discreet refuge for wealthy industrialists and bankers, who built exclusive country estates here.
After 1933, high-ranking Nazis took over the island. Jewish owners had to sell their properties due to persecution. Beneficiaries included Joseph Goebbels, Albert Speer and Hitler's personal physician Theodor Morell.
One of the country estates was converted into a school for Reich brides. Here, the fiancés of SS and NSDAP officials were ideologically prepared for their marital duties.
After the end of the war, the American military elite prepared the Potsdam Conference in one of the villas. Later, Lucius D. Clay planned the relief flights of the Berlin Airlift from here.
As part of the restitution, the properties were returned to their rightful owners. Most of them sold to the state of Berlin. Some of these properties became youth recreation centers. Since the 1960s, private individuals have also been acquiring land again. The most prominent new arrival in 1961 was the publisher Axel Springer.
Only six of the historic country houses remain. One of these is the "Schwanenhof" at Inselstrasse 37.

View of the radio tower | 1926
Pioneering location in radio history.
Radio is booming. The wooden transmitter mast is to be replaced by a steel tower in the 1920s. The radio tower is built here because the radio industry association has been showing its latest equipment at the exhibition grounds since 1924 and is planning a special exhibition with broadcasting operations in 1926.
In return, the association undertakes to present the latest developments every year. To this day, world firsts can be admired at the International Radio Exhibition (IFA). Albert Einstein gave the opening speech at the radio exhibition in 1930.
The importance of radio at that time is hard to imagine today. The design of the radio tower, including the restaurant and viewing platform, is inspired by the Eiffel Tower. The actual function, transmitting, is taken over by the antenna at the top.
With the opening of the House of Radio, broadcasting operations increase rapidly. Today, the radio tower only serves as a transmitter mast for the regional police and mobile communications.

View of the Scholzplatz Transmitter | 1963
Replacement for the radio tower.
The location is only intended to be temporary until the West Berlin TV tower opens. The transmitter mast, unlike the radio tower, is designed as a purely functional building.
In 1963 it goes into operation for the Sender Freies Berlin (SFB). The 230 m high mast replaces the radio tower, which had previously been used for broadcasting radio and television with its 150 m high antenna. The programs can now be broadcast far into the GDR.
The transmitter is not dismantled because a West Berlin TV tower is never built. The transmitter still broadcasts radio and television programs today.

Wannsee Swimming Area
Baltic Sea beach on the outskirts of the city.
During the Weimar Republic, a new ideal of health emerged. The working population was supposed to soak up light, air and sun in their free time and stay fit through sporting activities. Berlin built public parks, sports stadiums and outdoor swimming pools.
When you stand in front of the entrance building, built in 1928 in the conservative Heimatschutz style, you cannot imagine the modernity of the outdoor swimming pool. The cosmopolitan city project planned by Martin Wagner and Richard Ermisch is in the style of New Objectivity.
Four halls provide space for changing rooms, shower rooms and shops. These halls, built into the bank, are connected by a long colonnade. The roofs provide space for terraces and sports areas.
Only this part of the complex was built by 1930. Five more halls, a large round building with a restaurant, a lake bridge, a harbor and an open-air theater were originally planned. But the money for this was lacking due to the global economic crisis.
In 1933, the Nazi regime prevented further construction due to the un-German architectural style. Nevertheless, when it opened, the facility was the largest and most modern inland outdoor swimming pool in Europe.
The beach, which is over a kilometre long and 80 metres wide, is still an inviting place for swimming today.

Westkreuz S-Bahn Station | 1928
The exhibition center station.
The junction station between the city and ring railway is the gateway to the planned exhibition center. The station opened in 1928 under the name Ausstellung and was renamed Westkreuz in 1932, as a counterpart to Ostkreuz.