Berlin 2017

During a tour in Vienna, we visited the 17^th century Jesuitenkirche, a two-story Jesuit Church on Dr. Ignaz Seipel-Platz, adjacent to the old University of Vienna. It is also located near the Mozarthaus, where Mozart composed while living in Vienna from 1784 to 1787. The Church was first built between 1623 and 1627 when the Jesuits merged their college with the faculty of the University of Vienna’s philosophy and theology.

It was then remodeled by the Italian Jesuit, Andrea Pozzo, from 1703 and 1705. This Baroque-style church displays a simple exterior, but the interior is magnificent! The shape of the long ceiling is a semi-circular vault, but Pozzo used techniques to create at the entrance the illusion of a dome, known as the trompe l’oeil dome. The rest of the ceiling is decorated with allegorical frescoes, which are murals using an Italian Renaissance technique in which the painting and the plaster merge together using water.

Ersatz marble pillars line the sides of the interior, the walls are adorned with filigree, arched entrances lead into smaller altars on both sides, and at the end the main altar stands surrounded by 4 pillars. Above the main altar, the phrase “Assumpta est Maria gaudent angeli,” which translates to “Mary was taken [up into heaven] to the angels rejoice.” The church’s original dedication to Saints Ignatius Loyola and Francis Xavier changed to the Assumption of Mary after the redecoration by Pozzo.

 

Emperor Leopold had requested Pozzo to decorate the church. Our tour guide mentioned that the reason for the church’s magnificent redecoration was to encourage more people to go to church. Though it may be a shallow reason, I’m certain it attracted a larger audience of worshippers.

We were so lucky to celebrate the last night of the program at a traditional German restaurant together! We had a wonderful day of presentations, and ended the night eating some delicious traditional Christmas foods. Here are a few pictures from the night!

It took Berlin twenty years to remove all the World War Two debris that resulted from the bombing of the city. Over 98 million cubic yards of the debris was repurposed in the construction of a man-made hill in Berlin named Teufelsberg, or Devils Mountain. The hill served two main purposes; it was used as a site to dispose of rubble, as well as used to physically bury the Nazi Military-Technical academy. During the Cold War, Teufelsberg was home to one of the largest American NSA Surveillance Spy Stations, as the hill was the highest point in Berlin. After Reunification in 1990, the Spy Station was sold to investors to be rebuilt as apartments, however, the funding fell through and the station became heavily graffitied and vandalized until 2010, when it started to be preserved as a graffiti gallery.

Since 2016, the abandoned station is open to the public, and it currently serves as a constantly-evolving Street Art Gallery. Teufelsberg is not a museum and presents no information about its history, instead, visitors are free to interpret its historical significance for themselves as they wander throughout the abandoned spy station with few restrictions. However, the station is hard to access, as it is in Berlin’s largest forest and is situated on Berlin’s highest hill, resulting in many local Germans, such as my host family, never having dedicated a day to trek out to the site. The visitors who do make the trek tend to be either younger well-informed tourists, or younger local Berliners. A few of us Carleton students decided to make the trek, and it was worth it.

I believe, after having been in Berlin for almost three months, that Teufelsberg is one of the most honest representations of Berlin’s culture. The site accepts its dark history as an abandoned Cold War Spy Station that covered an old Nazi Military Academy using rubble from the Berlin bombings, yet it has been able to be transformed by modern Berlin culture into a vibrant and colorful piece of artwork that fosters conversations about society. Every surface appears to be covered in layers of graffiti, with pictures of the station varying week by week due to new artworks that keep the conversations current. World-famous graffiti artists will leave their mark on Teufelsberg, with the realization that it could be covered the next week. There is no censorship of the graffiti, rather there is an open dialogue that addresses the typical taboos in modern society; sex, drugs, race, politics, and religion.

We saw many groups of local Berliners who were embracing this reclaimed site as a place to socialize or discuss the issues of the day, with some groups walking on tightropes between the buildings, some relaxing on roof-top couches, some playing music in the highest tower, and some working on their own graffiti artworks. This truly is a reclaimed piece of history that is shaped by modern culture in a way that perfectly integrates into the Berlin of today.

By Graysen Sanchez (’20)

On our first excursion, we traveled to Prague and toured the Charles Bridge and Malá Strana. Upon arriving at the street Velkopřevorské náměstí, I noticed large sums of people gathered in front of a wall. Not knowing any prior information of this, I witnessed a vast array of graffiti art dedicated to John Lennon. It was quite moving as different quotes, portraits, and sketches embodied this wall from corner to corner. To be there, felt to me as being the closest moment I will ever have to be in presence of John Lennon. This wall felt like it had an abundance of historical meaning and passionate thought engrained on it. As it turns out, the wall has been constantly repainted as several layers of paint have covered over the original paintings. Started in the 1980’s by mostly youth, this wall symbolized freedom and revolution against the communist regime in Prague. During the nights, youths would express their protests to the crown by writing them on the wall. If caught, they were sent to prison for crimes against the regime. The youths’ dedicated the wall to John Lennon because of his admiration for equality, peace, and righteous freedom. His message through song revolutionized the thought that people in Prague had at the time during this political grievance. Today’s world in Prague is in the times that were wished upon by the youths in 1980s Malá Strana. Seeing what has been accomplished in the Prague of today, makes me appreciate the value of the world we all live in. If witnessed, you will understand the significance people see and feel around it.

 

Our last class trip was to Potsdam to visit the Sanssouci Palace and tour the city. Although it is less than an hour from the city center, we enjoyed visiting the city as well as lunch in a local restaurant.

Our last week is upon us and as we think about our term, this trip is one of our fond memories! Just a few days to go until the program is done.

 

The Votivkirche (Votive Church) is a church on the Vienna Ringstraße, completed in 1879. It was commissioned to commemorate the miraculous survival of Emperor Franz Josef I when his collar deflected an assassin’s knife blade. The church was primarily meant as a votive offering — hence the name — an object placed on a sacred site for commemorative or other religious purposes. It was to be built on the site where the Emperor was attacked.
To create the church, a competition was held to find a suitable project to match the grand purpose of the church.This competition was won by the young architect Heinrich von Ferstel, who designed it in the Neo-Gothic style. Indeed, simply looking at it, the church looks like it was built in medieval times, despite being a mere 140 years old. Walking along the Ringstraße, the church stands out as unique among the Baroque buildings that define much of the street. It is an arresting presence, riding high above the other buildings and easily seen from far away.
Today, as a part of the Ringstraße, the church is a major tourist attraction. But despite its constant flow of people, the Votivkirche makes sure to be accessible for worship as well. Outside of service time, a special section of the church is separated for prayer. Behind glass walls is a small alcove with seating and a small altar for worship at all times of the day. Tourists are forbidden to enter to keep it as a quiet, secluded place for churchgoers only, a unique solution among the churches of Vienna. It ensues that no matter how busy the church may be, it can keep its original purpose as a place of worship for believers.

During our latest excursion to Vienna, we were able to explore the luxurious Belvedere, the former palace of Prince Eugene of Savoy. The first moment I saw the  Upper Belvedere, I began to realize the extent of how extravagant the lives of the Habsburgs were. Both the Lower and Upper Belvedere palaces were constructed by the Baroque architect Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt as a summer residence for Prince Eugene. Like other Baroque architecture, the Upper Belvedere has several grandiose domes and an elegant white facade with golden trimmings that are meant to impress visitors like me.

Within the Upper Belvedere palace is an art museum that showcases impressive art pieces from the Middle Ages to present, focusing on Viennese Artists such as Gustav Klimt, a founding member of the Viennese secession art movement. The most famous of his works is the oft photographed but nevertheless beautifully ornamented Kiss, which like many of his other works, doesn’t have a concrete meaning or purpose. As someone who is not well versed in art history, our tour guide did an excellent job giving historical context to each of the paintings. This historical experience allowed me to form a deeper connection with each individual art piece, such as how Carlo Carlone painted beautiful mural of Mars on the ceiling of the massive Marble room in order to demonstrate the military prestige of his patron, Prince Eugene.

Almost every art piece in the museum hangs in a lofty Baroque interior. These interiors are just as impressive as the outside of the Upper Belvedere, with many carved and painting ceilings. I observed that many of these illustrations seemed to be of Greek gods and goddesses like Mars and Athena, which I thought was odd considering the deep connections the Habsburgs had with the Catholic Church. I asked our tour guide about this oddity, and she noted that Greek mythology often appears in Baroque and architecture because of the prestige and power that it represents. The view from the third floor of the palace also offers a stunning view of the Lower Belvedere and the skyline of Austria.

The Lower Belvedere is a much comparatively more modest Baroque building, as it served as an actual residence while the Upper Belvedere served to display prestige. It was built between 1712 and 1717 in conjunction with the installation of the neighboring gardens. The gardens themselves are picturesque with several marble sculptures and fountains, as well as carefully trimmed hedges and trees. After entering the Lower Belvedere from the gardens, I was able to walk two much smaller but still impressive exhibitions focusing on the art of the modernist movement and works of art created during Maria Theresa’s rule. The former exhibition includes key works by Austrian and Croatian artists of the early 20th century such as Robert Auer’s portrait of artist’s wife, while the latter had a wide variety of art that often had some connection to the Habsburg family, such as Daniel Schmidley’s portrait of Maria Theresa. All in all I was able to see a large and varied collections of artwork with incredible historical insight.

Maria Theresa in Hungarian Coronation Dress by Daniel Schmidley

Portrait of an Artist’s Wife by Robert Auer

Am zweiten Oktober 2017 gab es in Berlin das große Coca-Cola Musikfestival für die Feier des Tages der deutschen Einheit. Das Festival fand vor dem Brandenburger Tor statt. Trotz Regen und Wind sind hunderte von Menschen mit Regenschirmen und Mäntel vor dem Tor gestanden, und ich war einer davon. Acht verschiedene berühmte deutsche Sänger repräsentierten eine bestimmte Region Deutschlands, und gaben eine ungefähr 45 Minuten Aufführung auf der Bühne. Zwischen jedem Akt gab es eine kleine Band, die andere bekannte deutsche Lieder in einer kreativen Mischung spielen würden. Bevor jeder Künstler die Bühne betrat, spielte ein kurzes Video über ihre Geschichte und wovon ihre Liedtexte sprach. Mehrere Musikgenres waren am Festival repräsentiert, von Elektro Pop (Glasperlenspiel) zu Rock (Barna). Frühere deutsche Youtube Stars (die Lochis), von denen ich viele Komödien Videos gesehen habe, haben sogar auch mit neuen Songs auf der Bühne gesungen.

Ich freute mich, dass ich die meisten Sänger erkennen konnte, und zu vielen ihrer Lieder mitsingen konnte. Einer meiner Lieblingssänger, Mark Forster, war den großen Akt am Ende des ganzen Festivals, und es war unvergesslich, ihn mit buntem Licht und viel Konfetti nur wenige Meter entfernt zu sehen. Am Ende des Abends sah der Boden aus, als wäre er mit einem großen Teppich aus geschreddertem Papier bedeckt. Die Menschen um mich herum waren auch in dieses Konfetti umhüllt. Es gab ein großes Gefühl des Zusammenseins, weil die ganze Gruppe beim Festival laut zusammen gesungen hat, vor allem wenn die Sänger Pausen machen würden, wo wir allein zur Musik singen könnten. Während des Liedes ,,Au Revoir´´ von Mark Forster, das auch bei der Fußball-Weltmeisterschaft 2014 gesungen wurde, hatten die Menschen beim Festival dieselbe Handbewegungen gemacht, als ein Symbol des Friedens, der Zusammengehörigkeit und des Wanderlusts.  Die Energie war überall zu spüren, und die Musikaufführungen waren auch für diejenige verfügbar, die nicht nach Berlin kommen können. Es hat so gefühlt, als ob das ganze Land im Namen der Freiheit und einer hoffnungsvollen Zukunft vereint war. Das historische Gebiet, in dem wir alle waren, machte dieses Gefühl immer noch stärker. Es war ein Erlebnis, das ich nie in den USA erleben können.

 

Picture 1: The Historic Traffic Light in the middle of Potsdamer Platz.

At the heart of the city stands Potsdamer Platz.  High-rise buildings surround the square with bright lights and an exuberant energy. Here you can feel Berlin buzz with life.  Yet this has not always been the case.  This square was once a wasteland and served to separate the city of Berlin.  Today Potsdamer Platz reminds visitors of the city’s turbulent history while simultaneously celebrating Berlin as a world city—famous for its culture, diverse architecture, renowned universities, and more.

Potsdamer Platz was originally a crossroads outside of the city wall.  It was rapidly developed into an economic and cultural hub in the early 1900’s as wealthy Berliners began to settle beyond the city walls.  In the 1920’s, Potsdamer Platz quickly became the busiest traffic knot in Europe which led to the erection of the first traffic light on the continent. The square was home to high end entertainment, grand hotels, and the cultural elite of Berlin.

Just as quickly as the square burst into life, was it blasted into oblivion.  Potsdamer Platz was almost entirely destroyed during World War II and would remain a wasteland until the 1990’s. In 1961 Potsdamer Platz was no longer a bustling crossroads, but rather a dead end.  The Berlin Wall was erected through the square and all of the buildings that remained were torn down.  For 28 years, Potsdamer Platz was the widest point of the Wall’s “death strip”. The barren divide not only prevented the movement of people and products, but the exchange of ideas and values as well.

Picture 2: The Bahnhof Station with a market surrounding it, November 2017. Potsdamer Platz

When the wall fell, architects and large companies jumped at the opportunity to rebuild Potsdamer Platz and establish their place in Berlin’s city center. Today the square blends practical living and working opportunities with world-class entertainment, food, shopping, and cultural experiences. The Sony center is a Berlin skyline-landmark and offers visitors a cinema, restaurants, a film museum, living space, and offices while functioning as Sony’s European headquarters.  Adjacent to the Sony Center is the Deutsche Bahn high rise that towers over one of Berlin’s main transport hubs.  Potsdamer Platz is easily accessible by underground, rapid transit train, automobile, and by foot which makes it a difficult site to miss when visiting or living in Berlin.  The accessible nature of Potsdamer Platz makes it a natural meeting space within the city.

For residents of Berlin, Potsdamer Platz provides nearly all of the daily living essentials: shopping, grocery, transportation, offices, living space, and entertainment. The space also invites tourists to explore Berlin with its wide range of food and entertainment offerings.  Visitors can find a piece of home at Potsdamer Platz while also exploring the history and diverse culture Berlin has to offer.  The first, and most obvious, reminder of Berlin’s turbulent past are the segments of the Berlin Wall that remain in the central square.  Here visitors can read about the history of Berlin as a divided city and its reunification in 1989.  A brick line also cuts through the square to denote where the wall used to stand.  Though remainders of the wall act as a reminder of Berlin’s darker past, other historical monuments and markers along with the new architecture celebrate the city as a cultural hub and international city.  Beyond the Berlin Wall, a replica of Germany and Europe’s first traffic light tower is located on the corner of the central intersection.  As the light changes from red to green, it celebrates Berlin’s history as a major trade and cultural hub in Europe. Overall Potsdamer Platz creates an inviting environment in which the history of Berlin is seamlessly integrated with the charismatic and international nature of the city today.

Photos 3 and 4: Advertisements for Potsdamer Platz in the U-Bahn.

 

Last week David’s class took a trip to the Bundestag and toured the building. Take a look at some of our pictures and get a taste of the tour!

A picture of the large glass dome on top of the building- an architectural wonder!

We enjoyed the tour and got a group picture below the emblem in the main hall.

In Christian Boltanski’s “Archive of German Members of Parliament” there are boxes with the names of all the democratically elected members from 1919-1999. There is a narrow passage between these stacks of metal boxes which is lit by hanging bulbs. This is one of the many art pieces installed in the Bundestag.