One of my favourite stores

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Berlin, KaDeWe, Nazi, shopping, Tietz family

There is always a store or stores which are favourites for their wares on offer and the service they give customers. In Italy I had several such stores, elegant, beautiful and with a certain flair. In London I like Liberty with its Tudor revival architecture on Regent street or Selfridges on Oxford street.

In Berlin I like KaDeWe as it is called by the locals but whose name is Kaufhaus des Westens on Tauentzienstrasse the closest U-Bahn station is Wittenbergplatz. Kadewe.de

With over 60,000 square metres of selling space and more than 380,000 articles available on 7 floors and with a beautiful restaurant on the roof. The store was founded in 1907 their motto is Live the Lifestyle you love.

The so-called “Luxury Boulevard” is also situated here, with Bulgari, Burberry, Cartier, Céline, Chanel, Chopard, Dior, Fendi, Gucci, Hermès, Miu Miu, Montblanc, Longchamp, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Rolex, Tiffany & Co., Tod’s, Vertu, Wellendorff and Yves Saint Laurent . So many beautiful things to look at and possibly buy.

The story of KaDeWe goes like this, when the store opened Berlin was the capital of the German Empire, a cosmopolitan and crowded city with 800.000 inhabitants, full of museums, theatres and auditoriums, provided with a notable infrastructure it was a rich, proud and happy city.

KaDeWe located in Tauentzienstrasse, near to the fashionable Ku´damm was a symbol of  that spirit, the golden times: an elegant place to spend time in the beauty salon or the tearoom and to buy tailored dresses or delicatessen and caviar in the famous food court.

Kadewe, survived the First World War disaster, it was even enlarged in the uncertain times of the Weimar Republic, but like the city it was a victim of the Nazi Dictatorship: the jewish owners the Hermann Tietz group was forced in 1933 to sell the Department Store due to the boycott of the banks that refused to grant any credit after the implementation of the Nuremberg race laws. Within a few days, the Tietz family had sold all of its stock in the company to its creditors, among them Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, and the Dresdner Bank, for somewhere around 10% of their market value. The family eventually left Germany for the USA. The Dresdner Bank promoted the store Manager to CEO and Georg Karg profited from this war opportunity.  In 1949 the Tietz family received some financial compensation and 3 buildings from Georg Karg, they rebuilt part of their commercial holdings in Germany with success. In 2008 the family received more compensation on bank account holdings which had been confiscated in 1934 by the Nazi regime.

After years of Nazi management of Kadewe, in 1943 an American warplane crashed into it, the building burnt to the ground, a ruin until 1950, it became a metaphor of the ruined city.

The restoration of the KaDeWe building was a symbol of the resurgence of West Berlin, the new beginning, it also became a hated monument to consumption in East Berlin.

After the German reunification in 1989, the Department Store became once again the best-known in Germany and the largest one in the European continent with 60,000 square metres of sales floors. The store was completely renovated between 2004-2007 of the centennial anniversary, nowadays is the third most visited attraction in Berlin after the Bundestag (Reichstag) and the Brandenburg Gate.

The roof top restaurant and the food hall with a Moet Champagne bar to relax from all the shopping. Today KaDeWe is owned by the Central Group from Thailand. If you visit Berlin go and shop at KaDeWe it is a very nice experience.

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A beautiful painting

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Adolf Senff, Berlin, painting, Staatlicher Museum

Adolf Senff (1785-1863) started out as a theologian in Leipzig, before working as a private tutor to the children and students of painter Gerhard von Kügelgens (1772– 1820). Although he was already active as a painter and portraitist in Leipzig from 1813–14, it was only after the war on France, for which he volunteered, that he truly dedicated himself to the arts. He lived in Rome between 1816 and 1848 where he befriended the famous sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770–1844).

Night with her children Sleep and Death.

I think this is a beautiful painting of Night presented as a motherly figure with her two children who represent the human condition. Painting at the Staatlicher Museum in Berlin.

 

Berlin

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Bear, Berlin, history, Hohenzollern, MacDonogh

I am re-reading a book by Giles MacDonogh on Berlin, a portrait of its history. I read this book some years ago in 1997 the year it was published. This 20 year old book on Berlin is somewhat dated now given the incredible transformation the city has undergone since then.  My first visit to Berlin goes back to 1998 at a time when the City government, the Senate and Federal government of Germany where planning a massive re-construction of the Eastern sector now vacated from Communist rule.

I saw the first changes and re-construction of old building some of which had been completely obliterated during the war 1939-1945. We went back many times since to Berlin and it is truly a beautiful city, very people friendly.

Berlin today is a world city of culture, politics, media and science. Its economy is based on high-tech firms and the service sector, encompassing a diverse range of creative industries, research facilities, media corporations and convention venues. Berlin serves as a continental hub for air and rail traffic and has a highly complex public transportation network. The metropolis is a popular tourist destination. Significant industries also include pharmaceuticals, biomedical engineering, clean tech, biotechnology, construction and electronics.

Modern Berlin is home to world renowned universities, orchestras, museums, entertainment venues and is host to many sporting events. Its urban setting has made it a sought-after location for international film productions. The city is well known for its festivals, diverse architecture, nightlife, contemporary arts and a high quality of life. Since the 2000s Berlin has seen the emergence of a cosmopolitan entrepreneurial scene.

The city is first mentioned in 1237 as Berl, not a German word but a name derived from the old Slavic Wend word meaning Marsh or Marsh land. Slavs inhabited the area of Brandenburg for many centuries. German speaking population also lived in the area of Spandau around 900 and used the german word Bärlein or little bear as a name for the congregations of small villages around islands on the Havel and Spree rivers which cross the modern Berlin today. So the association of the little black bear became the symbol of the City of Berlin.

Berlin is dotted with lakes and forest and back then they were mostly fishing villages. The region was never part of the Roman Empire and did not benefit from Roman city planning schemes seen elsewhere in Western and Southern Europe. In the middle-ages no cathedral or great building existed, it was a backwater. The only significant buildings from the 13th century that can be seen today are the Nikolaikirche 1230 and the Marienkirche 1270 by Alexander Platz. The arrival in Berlin in 1415 of the Hohenzollern family will see the first construction of a Castle in 1443 on the Spree river and this will be the seat of the family until their fall from power in 1918. Enlarging many times their family palace as their power grew.

The Hohenzollern were Counts from the Southern region of Swabia in Bavaria where the family still has two large palace-castles Hohenzollern and in Sigmaringen. At first they were rulers of Brandenburg, then elevated to the dignity of Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, then by 1701 Kings in Prussia and in 1871 Emperors of Germany. Not bad for a bunch of mercenaries who played their cards carefully ingratiating themselves with the Holy Roman Emperor in Nuremberg.

The book also speaks of the people of Berlin, the various ethnic groups and the economic and social development of the city. With the wars of religions raging across Europe with the Reformation movement, the rulers of Brandenburg invited all those feeling persecution to come and settle in Berlin, religious tolerance was the official policy of the State. First French Huguenots arrived by the hundreds from France but also from other parts of Western Europe where they were persecuted. Then Jews started to arrive from all over Europe and later by the 19th century from Russia fleeing the Tsarist Pogroms. Then the Turkish guest workers who form a large ethnic group in Germany today.

The goal of all this immigration was to make Berlin and the region of the Brandenburg and then the Prussian Kingdom an economic powerhouse, a centre of culture and the arts. The Hohenzollern followed a careful policy of mixing and integrating people.

MacDonogh weaves a very interesting picture of the city, rich in details on its politics, architecture, history and society.  He did a lot of research on the city with the help of his German friends who themselves have a close connection to the city. He ends the story of the city in 1989 with the fall of the wall. I wish he updated the book so many things have happened in the last 30 years.

 

 

Staatsoper Berlin

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1742, Berlin, opera, renovations, Staatsoper, Unter den Linden

The State Opera House, Unter den Linden in Berlin re-opened last week after many years of reconstruction.

Since autumn 2010, the most lavish renovation measures in the history of the Berliner Staatsoper – the Berlin State Opera – have been taking place at a cost of roughly € 296 million (gross). Contributing to the general renovation are the German federal government with about € 200 million as well as friends and patrons of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden with € 3 million.

Following public debates about the redesign of the auditorium, the architect HG Merz was commissioned to renovate the historic monument. The ensemble of buildings comprising the Staatsoper was very much in need of a general overhaul. While complying with listed building requirements, structural defects are therefore being remedied and the antiquated building equipment updated in line with modern safety requirements. The accessibility, air-conditioning and fire protection have been improved. The outer appearance of the opera house will, however, remain the same when viewed from a pedestrian perspective. The volume of the auditorium is being enlarged so as to improve the acoustics. To achieve this, the hall is being expanded upwards within the existing building structure by raising the historic ceiling some 16 feet or 5 meters.

The opera house was opened in 1742 as a court opera house, and experienced its first premiere in the still uncompleted building. This thus saw the start of the more than 250-year successful collaboration between the Berliner Staatsoper and the current Berliner Staatskapelle.

The architect Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff was commissioned to design the building. He conceived the opera in the Palladian style. The King Frederick II selected a fortress site near the Kronprinzenpalais where he lived. By placing it on the city’s main axis – the Unter den Linden boulevard – and not as would be usual within the palace complex, this created Europe’s first independent theatre building as a cultural expression of the Enlightenment.

The building, which was conceived as a nave, comprises the Apollo Hall (banqueting hall, foyer), the Theatre Hall (auditorium, ballroom) and the Corinthian Hall (stage and concert hall). Together with the Kronprinzenpalais, the Prinzessinnenpalais and the Zeughaus, the court opera house was the fourth prestigious building on Unter den Linden.

Just a few steps away on the Museum Island the re-construction of the City Palace is nearing completion and will open in 2019. Thus the ensemble of all the buildings built by Frederick II the Great will be complete once more on Unter den Linden reflecting the Age of Enlightenment. Berlin once again is an elegant capital full of history and culture a pleasure to visit.

Autumn

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Berlin, german romanticism, painting

On this first day of Autumn, I chose this painting by a German romantic painter I like Caspar David  Friedrich (1774-1840)

this painting is entitled; Two men contemplating the Moon.  Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin.

 

Wunderschön

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Berlin, City Palace, Forum, Hohenzollern, Humboldt, palace

I have been following the rebuilding of the Berlin City Palace located on the museum island in the centre of the City at the end of Unter den Linden avenue in Berlin. The palace which stood on the site from 1443 was the official residence of the Kings of Prussia and then the Emperors of Germany. The baroque style building was fire bombed during the second world war and totally demolished by the Communist East German Government in the 1950’s.

Through private and public financing it has been rebuilt and will be inaugurated in 2019, now serving as a museum, library, conference centre as part of the Humboldt University.

The reconstruction of the outside walls is faithful to the original. Here are some photos of the finished product in its soft pale yellow colour, as the scaffolding comes down.

All the decorative elements in stone had to be re-carved from drawings and photos of the original.

Renovations

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1847, Berlin, Charlottetown, City Palace, Legislature, PEI, Province house

I have blogged about the massive rebuilding project in Berlin of the former Imperial City Palace now renamed the Humboldt Forum the work is almost complete and it is a marvel baroque architecture. The architect is Italian, Franco Stella, the cost is 750 million Euros. http://cam01.berlinerschloss-webcam.de it is the largest building project in Berlin.

Here in Charlottetown, PEI on a smaller scale the Legislative building of 1847 by architect Isaac Smith is undergoing a reconstruction and renovation phase over 5 years at a now estimated cost of $47 million CDN dollars. Parks Canada is responsible for the project.

The project has been under discussion and went through a long tendering phase of about 3 years, makes you wonder what took so long. The Legislature had to move out some years ago because the building had become dangerously unstable and many feared it would collapse on itself. Province House formerly known as Colonial House prior to 1864 has been the seat of the Legislative Assembly of PEI all those years and is the place where some of the main conferences of the Fathers of Confederation took place in 1864. So it is a National Historic Building of great importance, built in the Greek Revival style popular in the Georgian Period.

As I walked to Grafton Street today I went around Province House where workers are preparing the building for phase one which will stabilize the structure before more major work is undertaken. I noticed how badly cracked some of the stones are on the exterior walls, the wooden window frames are rotten and the stone steps are worn away with age. Given the age of the building, 170 yrs, with little to no maintenance it is a miracle that some great catastrophe has not struck.  Many of the original facing sandstone will need a full replacement.

The interior has retained its original rooms and it is quite elegant. It will be interesting to watch the progression of the work in the months and years to come. The idea is to return the building to its original splendor.

if you look at the outside walls you can see the damage on the stone.

Stone is cracked, chipped and discoloured

Here the workers are removing  the ceiling of the balcony on the North side to reveal the old original wood skeleton of the building supporting the roof, the original wood is rotten and the roof in danger of caving in.

The North facade of Province House, soon the windows will be removed and a steel skeleton will envelop the building to give it extra support and prevent any mishaps.

Province House with the Provincial Flag, only a few trees have been cut down for being to close to the walls of the building, all others are protected.

 

A new President in Germany

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Bellevue, Berlin, Bundestag, Germany, President

Frank-Walter Steinmeier was born in 1956 in the small town of Detmold in North Rhine-Westphalia. His father was a carpenter and it is said that some within Germany’s political elite look down on Steinmeier for his lowly background. On the flip-side, he is often praised for having risen to such heights within the political system.

He has a doctorate of law which he was awarded in 1991 by the University of Giessen, and did his dissertation on state prevention of homelessness.

Soon after leaving university he went to work for the state Chancellery of Lower Saxony as an advisor, and in 1993 became director of the personal office for the Minister-President of the state, and later Chancellor of Germany, Gerhard Schröder.

While serving as head of the office of the Chancellor from 1999 following Schröder’s election victory, he earned himself the nickname “The Grey Efficiency” because of his ability to manage teams behind the political spotlight. Steinmeier was made responsible for Germany’s intelligence services and he helped Schröder forge a coalition with Russia and France against the US’s invasion of Iraq.

In the grand coalition of 2005, Merkel appointed him Foreign Minister, from where he was shifted up to Vice-Chancellor in 2007. But come the elections of 2009 his party was rejected in favour of Angela Merkel’s, and he became leader of the opposition until he was given the position of Foreign Secretary again in 2013 following another election.

The Election process

The process by which a new President is chosen is not a simple one. It’s not a direct vote by the German people, but rather the Federal parliament calls in so-called “Electors” to vote on behalf of the nation.

The 630 members of the Federal parliament or Bundestag are joined by 630 “Electors” in the house.

Each different state is given a different number of Electors to send to the Federal parliament depending on their population size, and the regional governments can vote for anybody to become an Elector. This led to the surreal situation on Sunday where politicians were mixing with film stars, the national football coach, and the nation’s best known drag queen to vote for the next head of state.

Different parties can put forward their candidate, but in reality the government chooses who it wants to be President and then the vote is purely a formality. Steinmeier received 74% of the ballots with 931 votes out of 1,260.

The role of the German President

The official role of the President is as the head of state of Germany. The President often has a lot of freedom in their job, but they tend to leave the actual running of the country to the Chancellor.

The President cannot create laws or policies, but can give direction as to what the political debate should be. The President must also sign off on laws. He also has the power to veto a law.

In general however the President represents the State of Germany itself, and has a role in upholding the law and constitution. The President is obliged not to comment on current political affairs, and should stay politically neutral, staying above party politics.

Probably the most important role of the President is to represent Germany at home and abroad, and having been Foreign Minister, Steinmeier is very qualified to do this. He will now spend the next four years fulfilling his duties at home and abroad. He has promised to focus on visiting “left-behind” communities around Germany.

He takes Office in March and will replace the current President Joachim Gauck who is 77. The Official Residence of the President is a former Royal Palace Schloss Bellevue in central Berlin, built as a summer residence for the brother of King Frederick II the Great of Prussia in 1786. The German President actually lives in a Villa in Dahlem a suburb of Berlin, the palace is only used for Official functions.

Christmas trees

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2011, 2016, Berlin, Charlottetown, Christmas, Milan, Munich, Ottawa, PEI, Rome, Strasbourg, Tree, Vienna, Vilnius, Warsaw

Some example of favourite City and their Christmas tree, 2016.

Milan in front of the Duomo (cathedral) of Milan 2016.

Rome, Piazza Venezia in front of the Altar to the Italian Nation.

Berlin, Brandenburg gate, Pariser Platz

Munich in front of City Hall, Christmas market.

Athens, Syntagma Square in front of the Greek Parliament.

Shönbrunn Palace, suburbs of Vienna

Vilnius, Lithuania

Warsaw, Poland in front of the old Royal Palace.

Strasbourg, Alsace

Ottawa, Canada, behind the Parliament Buildings

Our tree at home in Charlottetown, PEI.

Christmas in Rome 2011, at the top of the stairs of the Church of Santa Maria Ara Coeli in Capitolinum. One of my favourite photos of us on that last Christmas in Rome, I remember it was a crisp but sunny day.

Morning photos

Tags

Berlin, capitals, photos, Rome, St-Petersburg, World

Here are photos of 3 cities in the world this morning. I have visited and or lived in these capitals.

A fountain in Trastevere, Rome

A view of St-Petersburg, Russia with of the St-Nicholas Naval Cathedral

A view of the dome of the Lutheran Cathedral of Berlin, extensively restored after the Second World War. The modern wall on the left is the East side of the City Palace being rebuilt now. The interior of the Cathedral are as they were in 1918.