. Generally, this 374 foot (114 meter) high mountain looks weird in the plains of Berlin. Moreover, Teufelsberg can be seen with the naked eye from many sights in Berlin. Although, the tourists are not brought there and there’s practically no information in the city guides about it. In short, Teufelsberg is a very unusual, and even mysterious, place!
Let me share my own mixed impressions about it! What is so interesting about Devil’s Mountain? About 70 years ago, there was no hill.
The construction of a building, the future University of Technology, began here during Nazi Germany but had not been completed. Hitler was personally very concerned about the formation of the true Aryans. The city looked pitiful after the capture of
in 1945 by the Soviet army. Most of the destroyed buildings of the historical center had no sense to be restored. The capital of Germany laid in ruins, and these ruins had to be removed. The streets were gradually cleaned and the waste was brought to the unfinished building of the University. So thus, the bulk of Teufelsberg appeared out of the wreckage and debris of old Berlin. Later, the mountain formed was filled with ground, trees were planted, and even in the early stages, a ski track with a lift was built. Though, it has not existed for a long time. The US military men observed it as a new strategic height. Soon, a top-secret military facility appeared on the hill. Since 1951, Americans have imported the latest equipment for wiretapping. Over time, equipped with powerful radars, Teufelsberg became the most important ear of the West toward the East. Well, the Teufelsberg radar base was completely dismantled after the reunification of Germany in 1990. The amusement park in the style of Tibidabo in Barcelona or luxury housing was planned to be built there. But, apparently, this place has had bad karma. Local authorities declared that Teufelsberg had a special green status and any construction was prohibited. We got to know that the entire base area is now in the hands of local fans of street art. They are now the ones who care about the order, arrange excursions for tourists and suppress any attempts of illegal passage there. So now Teufelsberg became a kind of center for illegal graffiti art, in fact, it turned into a giant workshop and the most unusual modern art gallery in Berlin. We also were offered to go around the territory of the base in an organized group for an adequate fee of 7 Euros (as of 2015). Naturally, we agreed and did not regret our decision. We saw a checkpoint booth with bullet-proof glass at the entrance. A little further, there was a large warehouse of some stuff. Of course, all the walls and angles there were embellished with graffiti. We found ourselves in a remarkably ornamented and untidy world; an alternate reality. Graffiti artists are quite responsible in the matter of maintenance of this place. They gradually take out the trash from the abandoned military base buildings, or enclose dangerous places. Here you can find the second part of this review.
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Teufelsberg is translated as Devil's Mountain. This is one of the most unusual places in
What is so interesting about Devil’s Mountain? About 70 years ago, there was no hill.
The city looked pitiful after the capture of
So thus, the bulk of Teufelsberg appeared out of the wreckage and debris of old Berlin. Later, the mountain formed was filled with ground, trees were planted, and even in the early stages, a ski track with a lift was built. Though, it has not existed for a long time. The US military men observed it as a new strategic height. Soon, a top-secret military facility appeared on the hill.
Since 1951, Americans have imported the latest equipment for wiretapping. Over time, equipped with powerful radars, Teufelsberg became the most important ear of the West toward the East.
Well, the Teufelsberg radar base was completely dismantled after the reunification of Germany in 1990. The amusement park in the style of Tibidabo in Barcelona or luxury housing was planned to be built there. But, apparently, this place has had bad karma. Local authorities declared that Teufelsberg had a special green status and any construction was prohibited.
We got to know that the entire base area is now in the hands of local fans of street art. They are now the ones who care about the order, arrange excursions for tourists and suppress any attempts of illegal passage there.
So now Teufelsberg became a kind of center for illegal graffiti art, in fact, it turned into a giant workshop and the most unusual modern art gallery in Berlin.
We also were offered to go around the territory of the base in an organized group for an adequate fee of 7 Euros (as of 2015). Naturally, we agreed and did not regret our decision.
We saw a checkpoint booth with bullet-proof glass at the entrance.
A little further, there was a large warehouse of some stuff. Of course, all the walls and angles there were embellished with graffiti.
We found ourselves in a remarkably ornamented and untidy world; an alternate reality.
Graffiti artists are quite responsible in the matter of maintenance of this place. They gradually take out the trash from the abandoned military base buildings, or enclose dangerous places.
Here you can find the second part of this review.
