Europe Center

Europa-Center is a complex of buildings with a memorable high-rise building on Breitscheidplatz in Berlin's Charlottenburg district . In the 1960s, along with the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, it became a symbol of West Berlin . It is under state protection as a historical monument.

At the place where Europa Center is now located , the Romanesque Cafe opened in 1916 , which has become a legendary meeting place for writers, artists and theater workers. During the bombing during World War II , in November 1943, the building was destroyed. For several decades, the land was not used, the place was considered a "shameful spot on the visiting card of Berlin . "

In 1961 , soon after the construction of the Berlin Wall , dividing the city, the picture changed. New construction was necessary for political purposes as a symbol of the vital energy of the inhabitants of West Berlin. In the area of ​​Breitscheidplatz, located in the center of the western part of Berlin, in addition to the restored Gedechtniskirche , further improvements were required. The construction client was a successful Berlin businessman and investor Karl Heinz Pepper . He instructed Professor Helmut Gentrich and engineer Hubert Pechnigg to create and implement an American-style office and shopping center project. Egon Ayerman , architect of the Memorial Church, participated in the preparation of the project as an artistic consultant. Construction work began in 1963 , and on April 2, 1965, the opening ceremony of the Europa Center took place, in which the ruling mayor of Berlin, Willy Brandt, took part.

On a total area of ​​80,000 square meters. m. a complex of buildings of various configurations was located: a two-story basement building with an underground floor and two courtyards, a cinema building, a hotel, a residential building and a high-rise office building of 21 floors with a height of 86 m and an office area of ​​13,000 m. At that time it was the only a building of this kind in Berlin and therefore it gained great fame. Numerous reconstructions and modernizations carried out subsequently were aimed at increasing the attractiveness of the structure and its commercial success. So, the courtyards were closed, and the artificial ice rink in one of them was closed in 1979. In 2005, operating companies indicated the following data: about 100 trade and gastronomy enterprises, from 20 to 40 thousand visitors per day.

On the roof of a high-rise building, the Mercedes logo is clearly visible from all sides. The design weighs 10 tons, the outer diameter is 10 meters, per minute makes about two revolutions around its axis and glows at night.

In the famous film " Mimino " by George Danelia , the protagonist buys a green crocodile in the "Europe Center".