Great Industrial Exposition of Berlin

The first Berlin trade exhibitions, there were already in the first half of the 19th century. The largest and most famous was in 1896 just outside of Berlin in the rural community Treptow Treptow Park place and is also known as " prevented World's Fair ". Today, only the Archenhold waiting at the gigantic show.

The first exhibitions

Initiated by the Prussian statesman Christian Peter Wilhelm Beuth, who was a great supporter of the industry, was held from September 1 to October 15, 1822 the first regional exhibition in commercial building in the monastery road instead. In those days, 182 exhibitors 998 different products from the 9,514 visitors. This was followed by another in 1827.

In 1844, the first General German commercial exhibition in the Armoury on Unter den Linden then took place. Among the 3,040 exhibitors were 685 Berlin entrepreneur. 260,000 visitors were counted already in this exhibition of German commercial products.

Berlin Trade Fair 1879

The exhibition took place at the Lehrter station in the Exhibition Park. She was a showcase of technological innovations of national significance and offered visitors also an adventure park.

The highlight and crowd-puller of the show was the first electrically operated railway company Siemens & Halske. Werner Siemens (then not ennobled ) presented its development on 31 May in person. No fewer than 90,000 people traveled during the four -month-long exhibition on the 300 meter track. Later, the technical sensation in Brussels, Frankfurt am Main during the general patent and design protection exhibition at the Palm Garden in Frankfurt, Copenhagen, London and Moscow was demonstrated. The original locomotive has been preserved and is now in the Deutsches Museum in Munich, a copy is on display in the Museum of Technology in Berlin.

Berlin Trade Fair 1896 in Treptow

Prehistory

Following the successful world exhibitions in London and Paris was also penetrated in the capital of Berlin to align a world exhibition. In particular, the founded the Industrial Exhibition in 1879 " club Berlin Merchants and Industrialists ' ( by the way, still exists today ) under its chairman, Max Ludwig Goldberger himself made ​​this their life's work ( Goldberger, which can be described in contemporary accounts as" dynamic ", spent a year in the U.S. and wrote, among other things, a book titled " land of Opportunity ", whose title is now literally ) - the advantages at the international level were aware of him. Berlin developed in the late 19th century is fast becoming the leading industrial city in Europe, so you did not want to be outdone by Paris in self-consciousness - the latest with the construction of the Eiffel Tower for the Universal Exhibition of 1889 led the bourgeois press of Berlin diligently the Word, the " hereditary enemy " to show again.

However, despite intensive efforts, it remained in repeated failures of chambers of commerce and due to the precarious financial situation of the Empire rejected Kaiser Wilhelm II and his chancellor Leo von Caprivi, the project then ultimately. Although one would have thought it well to the self -conscious representation like emperor, he was strongly averse to the project - on 20 July 1892 he wrote to his Chancellor:

" The fame of Paris can not sleep Berlin. Berlin is big city, so it must also have an exhibition. This is completely false. Paris is now times that Berlin will hopefully never, the great whorehouse in the world. "

And on many occasions, in which the subject came up, he says succinctly " exhibition isnich as gentlemen say Berlin ", alluding to the Berlin dialect.

In a kind of defiance, then took over the " Verein Berliner Merchants and Industrialists ' ( VBKI ) and an interest group founded for the initiative - are aligning on their own exhibition, she did not name, although more World's Fair, but the seemingly provincial name " Industrial Exhibition " Under no circumstances may more than the hide from the outset intended dimensions - a beabsichtiger misnomer. An appointment was quickly found - it should be held for the 25th anniversary of Berlin as the capital. In the spring of 1894 we started the construction - it should be a German exhibition will be to strengthen the domestic economy. Germany was considered a high-tech country and Berlin as the center of science, industry and services.

Exhibition

Finally, the exhibition took place as Berlin Trade Fair from May 1 to October 15, 1896 in Treptower Park. With an area of ​​900,000 m² it surpassed even the previous world expositions. To the " New Lake ", an artificial water basin with 10,000 m² of space ( approximately at the present site of the Soviet War Memorial ), clustered on the spacious grounds along the River Spree, the pavilions of the 3,780 exhibitors, who were divided into 23 groups. The largest building was located near the main entrance main industrial building in which 13 groups were accommodated to present their products and developments. The buildings directly on the " New Lake " with watchtowers, restaurant, foyer and gondola harbor created from designs by Bruno Schmitz.

As part of the preparations for the Commercial Exhibition 1896 took place in the rural community Treptow to numerous structural changes and improvements. To the many visitors ( about seven million were ) to get from downtown to Treptow, the roads had to be removed. Many roads have been created or secured now, significantly expanded public transport. Thus, the Görlitz line got its own station exhibition, which was closed after the exhibition. Several electric street railway lines of the Great Berlin Horse Railroad and operated by Siemens & Halske Electric Trams in Berlin were taken into operation in April. And the circle line had its own stop - the current S-Bahn station Treptower Park. You could go over the Spree to the exhibition - even jetties for Their Majesties had been set up. Likewise, it was planned that could be exhibited under the Spree - the Spreetunnel Stralau -Treptow should be a demonstration site for underground railways in Berlin, but was only in 1899 but taken from the Berlin Ostbahnen in operation.

In addition, visitors were able to reach the high points comfortably on the huge site in the exhibition with an electric circular path of the Siemens & Halske. For the power supply of the entire plant, a power station was built.

The exhibition was accompanied by a worldwide advertising campaign, and even though it rained on 120 of the 168 days of the exhibition, came more than seven million visitors.

The attractions of the exhibition

The exhibition was not a pure product fair, but rather created as a work of art. Besides the presentation of technological advances and the pleasure should not be neglected and the distant world are presented in the fledgling capital.

For sustenance was provided with numerous cafes, restaurants and breweries. The main restaurant at the eastern end of the "new lake " was operated by Adlon & Dressel. Opposite lay before the main industrial building, the Café Bauer. Prior to the gondola harbor invited to a Venetian gondola rides on the lake. The famous Berlin restaurateurs Aschingers were represented multiple times on the show. In addition, companies such as Sarotti, Hoffmann & Tiedemann, Breslauer sausage factory, the Civil brewery Pilsen, the Patzenhofer, Tucherbräu brewery and many others have their products offered. Fresh gezaptes beer and hot food could be bought in a vending machine restaurant in the amusement park.

In the amusement park Hagenbeck's animal circus and the North Pole panorama, Dr. Wölferts steerable airship, a balloon playground, water slide, the American Theatre, the air- Carousel and much more contributed to the diverse program.

In the 1st German Colonial Exhibition on both sides of Park Avenue (now the Bulgarian road ) were recreated villages from East Africa, Togo, Cameroon and New Guinea. About 100 " natives " had been taken specifically for this exhibition to Berlin and lived there to demonstrate authentic life in distant countries.

In Cairo streets of Old Cairo were modeled with an Arabic coffee shop, mosque, residential and commercial buildings and bazaars of 400 " Arabs ", " Nubians ", " Sudanese ", " Egyptians ", " Palestinians ", " Tunisians " and " Algerians " were revived. Also, pyramids and a fellah village complemented the exotic ensemble. By means of an elevator could be the largest pyramid, a replica of the Great Pyramid (which was actually built of stone only in the front), drive up to the top and use it as a vantage point.

Old Berlin was the replica of parts of the late medieval and early modern Berlin with a total of 120 buildings, including two city gates ( Spandau and Georgentor ), kennel, Market Square, Town Hall, and Holy Spirit Hospital. Daily theater shows and parades at the neighboring theater " Old Berlin " the architect Bernhard Sehring which offered 1850 spectators (more than the Royal Opera House ) and had a 750 -square-foot stage took place.

Otto Lilienthal also presented with his company for steam engines at the exhibition. Its originally planned flight demonstrations were not approved and so he had to be content to give a lecture on " Practical flight tests " on 16 June.

The giant telescope sparked particular interest from the visitors, although developed by Friedrich Simon Archenhold telescope, which was also called sky cannon in September was fully functional. That with a focal length of 21 meters largest to date refracting telescope in the world was housed in a wooden building. Because of the great interest and the lack of money for degradation after the trade exhibition originated from this later the oldest and largest public observatory in Germany: the Archenhold waiting. She is the only received the big show. Everything else had to go to the exhibition again be removed from the Treptower Park, since the authorization was granted subject to the proviso that the parks took no damage.

Other attractions were the Alps, the naval spectacles and the building of the city of Berlin. The factory building itself was at that time famous for its architecture, both by their size as formal language - a reminder of the type found in the still existing upper tree bridge, which was at the same time down the river built with the trade exhibition 1894-1896.

Some companies themselves contributed their own pavilions with their own attractions, Siemens & Halske showed a giant dynamo, Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen was the first public medical use of his X - rays, Carl Zeiss provided high-precision scientific instruments, and the AEG brought light into the exhibition - in up there never viewed one extent, the exhibition area was ( a still young and still expensive invention) lit in the evening with thousands of incandescent light - the electric light was then itself an attraction.

Outline of exhibition

The exhibition was divided into 23 groups:

• I. textile industry
• II Garment Industry
• III. Construction and Engineering
• IV timber industry
• V. porcelain, chamotte and glass industry
• VI. Short and haberdashery
• VII metal industry
• VIII Graphic and decorative arts. Book Trade
• IX. chemistry
• X. food and beverage agent
• XI. Scientific industry
• XII. Music instruments
• XIII. Engineering, shipbuilding and transportation
• XIV Electrical Engineering
• XV. Leather and rubber industries
• XVI. Paper industry
• XVII. photography
• XVIII. Welfare facilities
• XIX. Teaching and education
• XX. fishing
• XXI. sports
• XXII. horticulture
• XXIII. German Colonial Exhibition