The Großgaststätte Ahornblatt (, ''Great Maple Leaf Restaurant'') was a building located in the

Mitte Mitte () is the first and most central borough of Berlin. The borough consists of six sub-entities: Mitte proper, Gesundbrunnen, Hansaviertel, Moabit, Tiergarten and Wedding. It is one of the two boroughs (the other being Friedrichshain-Kreuzb ...

district of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. Built between 1971 and 1973 as part of the new

Fischerinsel Fischerinsel (, ''Fisher Island'') is the southern part of the island in the River Spree which was formerly the location of the city of Cölln and is now part of central Berlin. The northern part of the island is known as Museum Island. Fischerinse ...

residential condominium project, it accommodated a

self service Self-service is the practice of serving oneself, usually when making purchases. Aside from Automated Teller Machines, which are not limited to banks, and customer-operated supermarket check-out, labor-saving of which has been described as self- ...

restaurant with 880 seats and a shopping arcade for the employees of the

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

Ministry of Construction and for the workers of other nearby offices. Despite protests, the building was demolished in 2000.

Background and construction

The ''Ahornblatt'' was built between 1970 and 1973 along with the tall towers of the new Fischerinsel residential condominium project, and was intended to serve as its social center. The building was located on the corner of Gertraudenstraße and Fischerinsel. The ''Ahornblatt'' design came from the architects Gerhard Lehmann and Rüdiger Plaeth, following the urban concepts of Helmut Stingl. The ''Ahornblatt'' name resulted from the leaf-like, outwardly curved shape of the roof. The construction of the concrete shell was made by Ulrich Müther (1937–2007), one of the world's leading authorities in this area, using the VEB special concrete from

Binz Binz is the largest seaside resort on the German island of Rügen. It is situated between the bay of Prorer Wiek and the ''Schmachter See'' (a lake) in the southeast of the island. To the north of Binz stretches the Schmale Heide (the "narrow hea ...

. The outer walls were glazed and divided by arranged horizontal louvres. Its construction lasted from 1970 to 1973, with its main function being a restaurant for employees of the East German Bauministerium, the Ministry of Construction. After 1976, it was also used as a bar for the construction workers of the

Palast der Republik The Palace of the Republic (german: link=no, Palast der Republik) was a building in Berlin that hosted the ''Volkskammer'', the parliament of East Germany, from 1976 to 1990. The Palace of the Republic, also known as the "People's Palace", was ...

. After working hours, various recreational events (disco dances, brigade evenings, etc.) took place there.

After reunification

After

German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

, the building was used as a nightclub, under the name ''Exit''. DJ Tanith held his first regular after-hour events there. Later, the ''Ahornblatt'' fell into disuse. In 1997, the local Oberfinanzdirektion (revenue office) sold the site to the private firm Objekt Marketing GmbH. The demolition of the ''Ahornblatt'' was seen as part of an ongoing destruction of modern architecture from East Germany; Müther's Hyparschale in

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...

, while still standing, is unoccupied and under threat of ruin. Despite numerous protests against the demolition of the ''Ahornblatt'', the new owner obtained a demolition permit for the ''Ahornblatt'', with the consent of the Denkmalschutzbehörde (preservation authority), even in the absence of general agreement. On 21 January 2000, Müther held the last guided tour in his building. Demolition began on 19 July 2000. The

Accor Accor S.A. is a French multinational hospitality company that owns, manages and franchises hotels, resorts and vacation properties. It is the largest hospitality company in Europe, and the sixth largest hospitality company worldwide. Accor op ...

Group built a hotel for business travelers and families on the site.

Bibliography and media

*Falser, Michael. "Zweierlei Erbe auf ein und derselben Insel: Das 'UNESCO-Weltkulturerbe' der nördlichen Museumsinsel und der Abriss des "Ahornblatt" auf der südlichen Fischerinsel (1999/2000)" and "Steinbruch, Mythenraum, Geschichtswerkstatt – die Berliner Spreeinsel und ihr Umfeld nach der deutschen Wiedervereinigung", in ''Zwischen Identität und Authentizität. Zur politischen Geschichte der Denkmalpflege in Deutschland''. Dresden: Thelem, 2008. pp. 243–250. . *Fuchs, Margarete. ''Für den Schwung sind Sie zuständig''. Documentary, 58 min. Produced: 2002, Released: 2006.Dokumentarfilmpreis des Goethe-Instituts 2003
Also includes archival footage about the construction of the ''Ahornblatt''.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Grossgaststatte Ahornblatt, Berlin Buildings and structures in Mitte Demolished buildings and structures in Berlin Buildings and structures of East Berlin Former buildings and structures in Germany Restaurants in Germany Defunct restaurants in Germany Commercial buildings completed in 1973 Buildings and structures demolished in 2000 Restaurants established in 1973 Restaurants disestablished in 1989 1973 establishments in East Germany 1989 disestablishments in East Germany 2000 disestablishments in Germany East German architecture Modernist architecture in Germany