Discover the industrial culture of Lichtenberg
Start in Alt-Hohenschönhausen in Hauptstraße 44 and discover the industrial heritage of Lichtenberg:
- Length of the tour: 8.4 km on foot: 3.0 h
- Start: Hauptstraße 44 End of the tour: Siegfriedstraße 31
Station 1: Paul Schmidt (1868-1948) lived from 1910 to 1929 in the Gutshaus Hohenschönhausen in today's Hauptstraße 44.1896 Paul Schmidt invented among other things the dry battery and patented the first German torch (DAIMON) in 1906. Until 1925, Schmidt produced radios in the landmarked office and factory building at Große-Leege-Straße 97/98. This is where his company finally went bankrupt.
Station 2: Via Oberseestraße you reach Obersee. It was built in 1895 as a water reservoir and served as an ice supplier for Löwenbrauerei AG, a lion brewery located on Konrad-Wolf-Straße. In 1899-1909 the brewery built a villa with administration building here. After the Second World War, only the malting building remained intact and served as a warehouse for the VEB Bärensiegel. In 2002, the brick building was converted into a retirement home.
Station 3 + 4: From 1900 onwards, the water tower on the Obersee will serve as a supply reservoir for the brewery and the local villa colony. Today it houses an apartment and a bar. In the 1920s, the Kindl brewery moved its administrative headquarters, production and malting plant to today's Indira-Gandhi-Straße. The silo tower on the road is striking. After 1949, the brewery belonged to VEB Getränkekombinat Berlin. Among other things, the Berliner Pilsner brand is produced here.
Station 5: After a ride on the M13 tram to Roederplatz, change to the M8 tram. With it you reach the building complex in Herzbergstraße 55. Designed in 1909 by architect Karl Schramm, the front building in particular testifies to the richness of the client's wealth through its representative design with Art Nouveau elements and the masonry embossing over two storeys. During the GDR period margarine was produced. In 2007, the buildings were converted into studios, workshops, studios and halls for creative artists and businesses.
Station 6: The Aktiengesellschaft für Automobilbau (AGA) produced up to 21 hp automobiles on Herzbergstraße 82. In 1924 the company went bankrupt, the impressive three-winged building remained intact. From 1940 onwards, the building housed the Reichsfiskus and from 1949, parts of the combine "Groß-handel Waren des Tagesbedarf" (Wholesale-trade goods of daily use). Today there are companies, service providers and social institutions here.
Station 7: After a short walk you will reach the BVG-Siedlung in Siegfriedstraße. From 1925 to 1930, the non-profit Heimstättengesellschaft der Berliner Straßenbahn GmbH commissioned the construction of two apartment blocks with large green courtyards for its employees. The adjacent tramway station had already been built in 1913 and was considered the world's largest courtyard at its opening. The northern block was built later and already had central heating.