Berlin, city of lights

Kurfürstendamm 227, corner of Joachimstalerstrasse, around 1930

 

"The intensity of a cosmopolitan city can be measured by the intensity of its nocturnal lights. If no lights burn at night, you're not in a city but in a dark province town. " Hugo Häring, architect.

"Light is an important issue for Berlin, because Berlin has grown up with the electronics industry. AEG, Siemens and Osram were the major industrial companies that shaped the industrialization of the capital at the end of the 19th century, at the turn of the 20th century, and which also contributed to the rapid growth of Berlin. " Daniel Morat, historian.

With the introduction of night work in brightly lit workshops, many companies increased their profits. Electric light also opened up new creative possibilities: numerous facades and monuments were illuminated, colorful neon signs shaped the nocturnal cityscape.

That changed the city life. The whole image of Berlin as a Babel of all Sins has a lot to do with this artificial lighting. The whole entertainment industry - theaters, cinemas, cabarets - all benefited from this new technology.   


Berlin in Light - 1928