Bayer Cross Leverkusen

As Bayer Cross of the company Bayer Leverkusen in the oversized logo is known; it is the largest neon sign worldwide. On other factory premises of the Group, there are other, smaller Bayer crosses ( eg in Uerdingen ).

History

The underlying trademark ( logo) is over a hundred years old. The characteristic lettering was added to the Imperial Patent Office already on 6 January 1904 and replaced the from used since 1881 lion emblem. On the packaging of the drugs the cross is marked since 1910. In spring and autumn the cross is regularly in the evening for a few weeks in the night from 22 clock and 4 clock in the morning off so as not to confuse migrating birds. Although Bayer plants in Dormagen and Krefeld -Uerdingen are provided with similar neon signs.

Even before the Second World War there was a Bayer cross as a neon sign. This was built in 1933 between two 126 meters tall chimneys of a power plant and had a diameter of 72 meters. 1939, was shut down in the wake of wartime blackout measures and 1944 dismantled.

Today Leverkusen neon sign was installed in 1958. It shows the emblem of the company Bayer and depends on two 118 -meter-high steel towers. The diameter is 51 meters and a weight of 300 tons. In 2003, the Bayer Cross was overhauled.

After the completion of the media facade of the Bayer tower in 2009 was planned to dismantle the Bayer Cross and represent with 3.5 million LEDs on the facade of the skyscraper. In addition, it was planned to build a lying on the BayArena Bayer Cross with 200 meters diameters in the summer of 2009. These projects were (for now) stopped. Against the demolition of the Cross stir in Leverkusen's population resistance. Ultra groupings of belonging to the Group football team Bayer 04 Leverkusen then founded the initiative "The Cross must remain " and collected signatures to express the public interest in maintaining the Bayer Cross, and so to prevent demolition. On 4 December 2007 it was announced by Bayer, not tear down the cross.

For lighting 1712 40 -watt bulbs were used in the early decades. As would anyway pending an upgrade of the technology due to the upcoming ban on incandescent lamps, 2009 lamps were tested based on LEDs and installed in August and September 2009 since May.