Monuments
Homage to a revolutionary – Einstein Tower reopened
The Einstein Tower in Potsdam “will now last another 20 to 30 years.” photo
© Soeren Stache/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa
The Einsteintum in Potsdam was built to test Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity. Now the “building physics fiasco” is open to visitors again.
After extensive renovation, the Einstein Tower reopened in Potsdam on Tuesday. “History is being written here,” said Science Minister Manja Schüle (SPD) at a ceremony on the Telegrafenberg, an important science location in the Brandenburg state capital.
The Einstein Tower is a tribute to an extraordinary person and scientist. The solar observatory was built to test Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity and was inaugurated in 1924 based on designs by the architect Erich Mendelsohn.
To date, the tower has been renovated a total of nine times because it was in need of repairs from the start and there was a lot of structural damage. “It will now last another 20 to 30 years,” said Wolfram Rosenbach, the administrative director of the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP), which operates the tower. Nobel Prize winner Einstein was also there at the opening – as a black and white cardboard figure in front of the tower entrance.
Expensive financing
The listed building has sometimes been described as a “building physics fiasco,” as it was said on Tuesday. But above all it is an icon of modernism and expressionist architecture, said Philip Kurz, managing director of the Wüstenrot Foundation, which said it financed the renovation with 1.25 million euros.
Those interested can gain insights into the history of the building’s creation via a digital exhibition (www.einsteinturm.com). There is also a QR code in front of the building. Although there are also guided tours inside the tower through the Potsdam association Urania, these are very limited.