POET PARKS: Schiller Parkwo of the most famous poets in German history, Schiller and Goethe, both have parks named after them in Wedding. I haven't been able to find a park named after my favorite poet, Maria Rainer Rilke, even though he also wrote extensively about nature.
Schiller and Goethe were contemporaries, writing in the late 1700s. They wrote in the style of the romantics, a reaction to the enlightenment focus on facts and science, they turned to nature, love, and individual freedom and self determination.
Of the two parks, Schiller Park is much grander, spanning two city blocks split by a street in the middle and full of winding pathways and rolling hills.
In this video a friend and neighbor to Schiller Park explains why he enjoys spending time there.
PARK PROJECT BERLIN is a multimedia museum, inviting intercultural dialogue: through photographs, videos and conversations filmmaker Laura J. Lukitsch and photographer Gundula Friese explore the importance of public space and the role that parks play in our society.
#parkprojectberlin
parkprojectberlin.com
Video Production: www.globalperformancemedia.com
Forest Bathing, Berlin StyleI recently became aware of the concept of forest bathing, which is like a walking meditation in nature. I had been doing this for years on weekend outings in California but missing my time in nature since coming to Berlin. So this week Gundula and I went to Grunewald Forest with the express purpose of spending time walking in nature and observing our surroundings.
I created this video to transfer some of this feeling to you. This is a virtual forest bath and I hope you enjoy it!
PARK PROJECT BERLIN is a multimedia museum, inviting intercultural dialogue: through photographs, videos and conversations filmmaker Laura J. Lukitsch and photographer Gundula Friese explore the importance of public space and the role that parks play in our society.
#parkprojectberlin
parkprojectberlin.com
Produced by: www.globalperformancemedia.com
Ahrensfelde and People's Parks of East BerlinAhrensfelde is an area at the far eastern edge of Berlin at the end of the S7 line. The architecture in the area is based on the socialist idea of creating “palaces for the people” and consist of large housing blocks with expanses of greens and parks beneath them.
Today, these green spaces include pathways for both people and dogs and play grounds for children. For adults, there is a grocery store in the complex and numerous bars.
Wondering around the complex on a cold November day, many people were passing through but the parks themselves were empty making the area quieter than expected given the number of housing units.
I can imagine the place feeling much livelier in the summer sun.
PARK PROJECT BERLIN is a multimedia museum, inviting intercultural dialogue: through photographs, videos and conversations filmmaker Laura J. Lukitsch and photographer Gundula Friese explore the importance of public space and the role that parks play in our society.
#parkprojectberlin
parkprojectberlin.com
Produced by: www.globalperformancemedia.com
Autumn Forage, mushroom hunting in BerlinOn an early November day after several days of rain, filmmaker Laura J. Lukitsch and photographer Gundula Friese set off to the northwestern edge of Berlin, to the Spandauer Forst to forage for mushrooms.
It was the end of Hallimish season. They decided to head to Spandauer Forest because of how remote it is but could have gone to at least one of seven other forests located within Berlin including Plänterwald (Treptow), Westlicher Düppeler Wald (Wannsee), Bucher Wald (Buch), Tegeler Forst (Tegel), Jungfernheide (Reinickendorf), Grunewald (Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf) or Müggelberge (Treptow-Köpenick).
In the end, they were surprised at what they found.
PARK PROJECT BERLIN is a multimedia museum, inviting intercultural dialogue: through photographs, videos and conversations filmmaker Laura J. Lukitsch and photographer Gundula Friese explore the importance of public space and the role that parks play in our society.
#parkprojectberlin
parkprojectberlin.com
Produced by: www.globalperformancemedia.com
Ernst Thälmann, who is this man?Ernst Thälmann Park was christened in 1986, one hundred years after Thälmann's birth and three years before the fall of the Berlin wall. Despite this history, the statue remains along with his namesake on this park in Prenzlauerberg.
Thälmann grew up in Imperialist Germany and became a pro-labor and anti-war activist then went on to join and lead the German communist party during Weimer Germany, the years between the two world wars, before being imprisoned by the Nazis.
There is some speculation that Stalin could have negotiated for Thälmann's release yet chose not to and instead created a cult of personality after his death. The East German government spent millions of dollars on a series of films glorifying his life and Eastern Bloc countries around the world taught of his legacy and monumentalized his life through naming streets and programs after him.
Today the area houses people, a theater, a gallery and swimming pool and the park has both expanses and pockets of calm and wilderness.
PARK PROJECT BERLIN is a multimedia museum, inviting intercultural dialogue: through photographs, videos and conversations filmmaker Laura J. Lukitsch and photographer Gundula Friese explore the importance of public space and the role that parks play in our society.
#parkprojectberlin
parkprojectberlin.com
Produced by: www.globalperformancemedia.com
Treptower Park, a conversation about war and freedomA beautiful autumn evening in Treptower Park provides a background for a story from Pascale Weber about his father who came to West Berlin during when the city was still divided. At that time, men living in West Berlin were exempt from compulsory military service.
Part of the park conversation series, where we talk to various residents of Berlin about their history in Berlin and their vision for the future.
PARK PROJECT BERLIN is a multimedia museum, inviting intercultural dialogue: through photographs, videos and conversations filmmaker Laura J. Lukitsch and photographer Gundula Friese explore the importance of public space and the role that parks play in our society.
#parkprojectberlin
parkprojectberlin.com
Statue Garden without BordersFilmmaker Laura J. Lukitsch took a bike ride out to Steine Ohne Grenzen, or Statues without Borders. It is a pathway on the outer limits of Berlin, at the border of Berlin and Brandenburg in Buch.
These sculptures were created as part of ‘Steine Ohne Grenzen,’ an international sculpture symposium held in 2001 dedicated to peace and humanity and inspired by the work and life of Otto Freundlich, a German-Jewish painter and sculptor who conceived of the “Road of Sculptures, Paris-Moscow” as a way of unifying people.
PARK PROJECT BERLIN is a multimedia museum, inviting intercultural dialogue: through photographs, videos and conversations filmmaker Laura J. Lukitsch and photographer Gundula Friese explore the importance of public space and the role that parks play in our society.
parkprojectberlin.com
Peacock Island / PfeueninselAs research for PARK PROJECT BERLIN filmmaker Laura J. Lukitsch rode out to the southwest edge of Berlin to see if there really were peacocks on Peacock Island (Pfaueninsel).
Yes, there were peacocks but also so much more. Wondering the island and happening upon flowers in bloom, a hidden fountain, and an aviary out of the 18th century. So many unexpected treasures.
The 30 km bike ride was 15 km longer than expected, which meant arriving at 18h (6 pm). The last boat returns at 19h (7 pm) so that didn’t leave much time to explore. The island merits more time so another trip is in order.
PARK PROJECT BERLIN is a multimedia museum, inviting intercultural dialogue: through photographs, videos and conversations filmmaker Laura J. Lukitsch and photographer Gundula Friese explore the importance of public space and the role that parks play in our society.
parkprojectberlin.com
#parkprojectberlin
Fake Palms of Südpanke ParkThe team of filmmaker Laura J. Lukitsch and photographer Gundula Friese ran across this little neighborhood park, a strip of land along the Südpanke river, while on their way to film in Moabit. The Federal Building across the way was quite cinematic and the fake palm trees installed on the property, strange and wonderful in their own way.
This short captures a bit of the life of the park as neighbors walk their dogs, and stroll along the water on foot and bike at 11 am on a sunny Friday morning.
parkprojectberlin.com
Monument for the love of moneyI walk by this park somewhat regularly but never took the time to check out the imposing statue. What I learned was surprising. In the early 1800s this spot was the first neighborhood market. The statue was erected after the market had closed to commemorate the space.
He is a money counter.
PARK PROJECT BERLIN is a multimedia museum, inviting intercultural dialogue: through photographs, videos and conversations filmmaker Laura J. Lukitsch and photographer Gundula Friese explore the importance of public space and the role that parks play in our society.
#parkprojectberlin
parkprojectberlin.com
Produced by: www.globalperformancemedia.com
Autumn in Gartenplatz, an impressionThere are so many types of parks in Berlin but many of them offer similar opportunities for relaxation. Even this little church park offers a basketball court, table tennis table and trampoline in addition to lots of places to sit.
PARK PROJECT BERLIN is a multimedia museum, inviting intercultural dialogue: through photographs, videos and conversations filmmaker Laura J. Lukitsch and photographer Gundula Friese explore the importance of public space and the role that parks play in our society.
