Best Parks With Barbecues In Berlin Near Me

4worldlovers:
The watchtower of the former Schlesischer Busch command post stands today in Schlesischer Park, between the boroughs of Kreuzberg and Treptow on Puschkinallee, as though it were nothing but a lookout tower for visitors. Only its rifle hatches and the searchlight on the roof, accessible from below, testify to its former role as a key part of the border regime.

This command post, around 10 meters high and 4.2 by 4.2 meters wide, was responsible for 18 watchtowers and the electronic security devices in this section of the border. The square-shaped tower was made of pre-cast concrete components and had four floors. In construction and function, it can be compared to the Kieler Eck command post, also a listed historical monument. The base of the tower was underground and contained technical equipment and cables, as well as telephone lines connecting it to the surrounding observation towers. The entrance was on the ground floor, as were a WC and a holding cell. The floor above that was the staff room for the commanding officer and three guards. The top floor was the actual observation post, with large panorama windows on all four sides, an electric control panel used to monitor the border, and the lever that controlled the searchlight on the roof. Trapdoors and steep iron stairs connected the various floors. The hatches in the walls of the middle floor, which could be closed with iron flaps, indicate that the watchtowers had not been built especially for use on the inner-German border: since this floor was only the staff room, the hatches had no actual function. One explanation given for their existence is that these command posts were based on a design developed for watchtowers on the Soviet-Chinese border. Another explanation is that the hatches were intended to make the watchtowers look especially well-defended.