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-Kreuz ...

district of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. 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. Fischerin ...

residential condominium project, it accommodated a self service restaurant with 880 seats and a shopping arcade for the employees of the

East German East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

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 This is a list of minor-planet discoverers credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of one or several minor planets (such as near-Earth and main-belt asteroids, Jupiter trojans and distant objects). , the discovery of 612,011 num ...

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 city 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 "na ...

. 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 (, ) was a building in Berlin that hosted the '' Volkskammer'', the parliament of East Germany, from 1976 to 1990. Also known as the "People's Palace", it was located across the Unter den Linden from Museum Island in ...

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

After reunification

After

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

, 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 (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

, 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 ope ...

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