On a whim, we and a colleague wanted to hit the Funkturm (Radio tower) last week.
The Funkturm is one of Berlin’s well-known structures, and looks a little like a miniature Eiffel Tower….constructed of steel and exuding that 19th century vibe. Unfortunately the tower was closed for renovation, but the regional public television headquarters was nearby. So a little farther than the Haus des Rundfunks (House of Radio) we stumbled into the lobby of RBB (public broadcaster).
Climbing a staircase in a pretty sterile lobby we found radio equipment being exhibited. Much of it was original–both in authenticity, and in the fact the equipment represented the most basic radio equipment ever to have existed. It was on loan from the Technology Museum…and today we turned that piece of info into a field trip.
What “Master Control” looked like to early TV professionals. This was cutting edge technology at one time…
The Technikmuseum is located at Gleisdreieck in Berlin–a still under-construction station a short walk from Anhalter Bahnhof. Anhalter was the premier train station at one time, being the entry point into Berlin for many of the southern train lines to Prague and Vienna. It was also connected to the S-Bahn (commuter rail) system south of Potsdamer Platz. When Hitler came to power, he and his chief architect made plans to reroute much of the rail traffic away from Anhalter, to somehow better create the “perfect” capital city, whatever that means. Though much rail traffic was diverted from Anhalter before the war, Allied bombings in WW2 left it a dangerous ruin. Now only part of the facade remains.
This interesting story about a once grand rail station makes for a good primer into the Technikmuseum. One of the first things a visitor sees is the original statue which once sat above Anhalter’s entrance. And further into the building are locomotives from each phase of German development, from ones which look like stage coaches (in terms of comfort,) to rail cars which carried prisoners to concentration camps, to more recent rail technology. (The Technikmuseum was originally the cargo section of Anhalter Bahnhof, so tracks and trains are everywhere.)
A recreation of a 1950s-era TV studio. It reminds me of the old set-up at KUID in Moscow. (just kidding?)
With the trains, were jewelry machines, looms, planes and other random technology. After some searching we found the Nachrichten (news) section, which contained everything from telegraph machines to transmitters to radio equipment and a working TV studio.
I have to stop to take in how far technology has really come when I see a museum like this. My radio kit and laptop are as, if not more, powerful than cases full of equipment in these exhibits. But without the early pioneers, I wouldn’t have a profession, nor the technology to keep the magic of radio alive.
And though I try to put the historical context on a situation, it’s clear not everyone does. A woman was trying to work a telegraph machine at one exhibit, though it was clear she had no proper telegraph training. (Doesn’t everyone?) She left frustrated saying “It’s just too hard,” before quickly dialing someone up on her cell phone.
Yes…we’ve come a long way…in some respects. Maybe we have a bit more to go in others…