- De
- En
in Berlin
Lichtensteinbrücke (1873–ca. 1945)
Landwehr Canal, Berlin-Tiergarten
Destroyed in the Second World War
Since 1986: New building
“One must go to sleep with the landscape, glide with the river, float with the clouds, move with the trees, walk with the roads, jump over the water with the bridges.”
Anton Kerschbaumer, diary entry from 2 October 1919
Anton Kerschbaumer, Kanal mit Brücke (Tiergarten, Berlin), 1919, Brücke-Museum, Karl und Emy Schmidt-Rottluff Stiftung
Anton Kerschbaumer, Kanal mit Brücke (Tiergarten, Berlin), 1919, Brücke-Museum
Shady trees, expansive meadows, and inviting trails: nestled between the Spree and the Landwehr Canal, Berlin’s Tiergarten was already a popular urban retreat for the city’s residents at the beginning of the 20th century. The painter Anton Kerschbaumer also regularly visited this vast park, not only to relax, but also to seek inspiration for his art. During 1919 in particular, he captured the Tiergarten landscape in several prints, as in the case of the Lichtenstein Brücke (Lichtenstein Bridge).
Lichtenstein Brücke, 1912, photo: Waldemar Titzenthaler, Landesarchiv Berlin, F Rep. 290 (09) No. II3310
That same year, the bridge had become somewhat infamous: Rosa Luxemburg’s corpse had been found here in the wintery cold of January. In the political aftermath of the Spartacus Uprising, the left-wing politician and activist had been murdered by a group of right-wing soldiers.
Antonia Moldenhauer
Tiergarten, 1930s, video excerpt from: Berliner Aufnahmen um 1930, Landesarchiv Berlin, F Rep. 400 No. 1107
