The City As A Palimpsest: Teufelsberg

+52° 29' 49.89", +13°14' 27.64"

Strolling around Berlin is not a journeythrough history it is the simultaneous experience of various histories. Ergo,many urban theorists refer to the city of Berlin as a palimpsest.

Recently, lured by a sunny autumn Sunday, Itook a long walk in West Berlin’s Grunewald – The Green Forest. At 3000hectares it is the largest green area in the capital. With its old oak trees noone would expect a rich history on this site – if it wasn’t Berlin. Out of theflat sea of trees raises the Devil’s Mountain – the Teufelsberg - 80 m abovethe level of the surrounding and completely flat Grunewald. The Teufelsberg isone of the highest elevations in the city. I approached the site from S-Bahnstation Heerstraße, the north-eastern part of the Grunewald.
Soon after youenter the forest, the paths guide you upwards until you reach a vast plateau.You find yourself on a flat meadow. Very flat. However it’s not the Teufelsbergyou ended up- it is the Drachenberg –named after the most popular activity there: kite flying. From the plateau youhave a beautiful view over the city. If you look back where you came from, in immediateproximity, you experience the first evidence of the multiple histories ofBerlin which will become apparent on this excursion. Within one’s reach,embedded in the forest: Corbusier’s  Unitéd’Habitation (1956-1958), the monumental statement of modern living.  And right behind, quite disturbingly inscale, the Olympicstadium reminds you immediately of Berlin’s past as the imagined WelthauptstadtGermania. As my goal is the Teufelsberg I continue walking. Down the hill,back to the level of departure and upwards again to reach the peak of theDevil’s Mountain. On a clearing in the forest another monumental structureerects in front of you. Still having Corbusier in mind, I am surprised: Did themaster also built a chapel in Berlin?

Coming closer it becomes clear, it’s not aforgotten Corbusier relict standing on the hillside of  Teufelsberg. The concrete structure isa 10 metres high climbing sculpture built in 1970. Fascinated by theserendipitous experience I follow the path over a small bridge which is openingthe view again towards the Olympic Stadium, the Unité and a cooling tower of aclose power station. Despite its presence, the stadium is only the mostapparent reminder of the nazi period. The other relicts of the city’s dark pastare covered under your feet. Both the Drachenberg and the Teufelsberg are notgeological elevations but artificial mountains – so-called Schuttberge  or Trümmerberge. The debris of onethird of Berlin’s buildings that were destroyed during World War II are buriedunderneath the picturesque landscape. During the period of rebuilding Berlinafter the war from 1950 to 1972, up to 800 truckloads per day piled up to theartificial mountain. The reason for transporting the rubble to this particularsite excavates another layer of history: The unfinished WehrtechnischeFakultät, a massive university building designed by Albert Speer  also as part of “WelthauptstadtGermania”, lies under the debris.  The mountain is a burial ground for buildings (approximately15,000) and history. In 1972 the debris mountain got ‘naturalised’ and treeswere planted. Immediately the whole area was used as a sporting ground for manyBerliners. Especially in winter the mountain has been used for sledging orskiing –  a skiing lift included.In 1985 even a skiing worldcup slalom took place. On the southern slope of thehill even a vineyard was laid out. Nowadays all of this has vanished.

But let’s continue to the highlight of ourtour: The derelict listening station erected and in operation during the ColdWar by the NSA (National Security Agency) andthe British army.  Consisting of 4geodesic domes (with the highest - the radar tower - being 69 metres) the NSAand the RAF were able to surveil radiocommunication up to 600 kilometres - far beyond the Iron Curtainfrom the Teufelsberg. With their strategic point on the highest elevation ofWest Berlin, in all directions was “East”. It is rumoured that the station waspart of the global ECHELONintelligence gathering network.

When you enter the site, you are impressed byits sci-fi aesthetics of the geodesic domes. The ground is overgrown by pioneerplants, the adjacent buildings are half collapsed, with broken windows andimpress with an amazing variety of street art. In some buildings hugeincinerators and document shredders are still reminiscent of the past, wheretons and tons of sensitive information was collected – and destroyed.

If youvisit the site, the highlight is most definitely climbing up the radar tower.Half way you reach a plateau with two of the geodesic domes. Apart from theimpressive view over the city of Berlin, the domes are giving your visit analmost dramatic sci-fi moment.  Uponentering the partly vandalised domes you are witnessing an impressive not-of-thisworld acoustics many artists have already beenexploring.

With the echoes in my head I climbed up theradar tower, stopping at each floor with its textiles waving in the wind. Thesound of the wind and the sun setting down behind the domes is just one of themost strong experiences you can get at this trip. When reaching the most epicspot – a ‘window’ at the highest point of the tower – you have hopefullybrought your laptop to download the data from the DeadDrop that have been installed ther very recently. What a perfect spot forthese containers usually hidden to transmit secret messages that were typicallyused by spies and now are spread all over.Unfortunately I left my laptop at home hence I could not download what is onthe DD: confidential cold war material! (If anyone is ever going to find theDD, the downloaded material is NOT supposed to be spread over the internet).

 

It is time to leave this unique spot. Thesun has already disappeared behind the horizon. While walking back through thedark forest, which is also known for the high concentration of wild boar hanging around there, I am wondering ifthere is any other city in the world where the notion of the palimpsest is more appropriate or more intense?This excursion truly has been a journey expanding far beyond the couple ofhours of a sunny autumn afternoon.

all Images by SYNCHRONICITY