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Zeiss Major Planetarium

Berlin building and structure stubsPlanetaria in GermanyScience museums in Germany
Berlin Zeiss Planetarium
Berlin Zeiss Planetarium

The Zeiss Major Planetarium (German Zeiss-Großplanetarium) is a planetarium in Berlin and one of the largest modern stellar theatres in Europe. It was opened in 1987 on the borders of the Ernst-Thälmann-Park housing estates in the Prenzlauer Berg locality of Berlin. Planning for the area commenced with old gas works to be torn down by 1981. The 750 anniversary of Berlin gave an opportunity to the communist government to create a new style of housing estates with decorative high-rise residential buildings, a cultural centre with restaurants and a planetarium supposed to be larger than the old one in the Archenhold Observatory of Berlin. The building from architect Erhardt Gißke was opened on schedule on 9 October 1987. The dome of the main hall has a diameter of 23 metres (75 ft) and it is currently equipped with a Universarium IX planetarium projector from Carl Zeiss AG. The building is not only used for astronomy shows; the dome hall with 292 seats also allows for music concerts and audio drama, with a regularly-scheduled "audio theatre under a starry sky" (German: Hörspielkino unterm Sternenhimmel) running since 1995. There is also a café and a movie theatre with 160 seats. The dome hall has not only a planetarium projector but also up to 100 slide projectors, a laser show installation, and sound equipment, including a recording studio to create new shows. The planetarium has 90,000 visitors every year.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Zeiss Major Planetarium (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Zeiss Major Planetarium
Prenzlauer Allee, Berlin Prenzlauer Berg

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Wikipedia: Zeiss Major PlanetariumContinue reading on Wikipedia

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N 52.542986111111 ° E 13.427986111111 °
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Zeiss-Großplanetarium Berlin

Prenzlauer Allee 80
10405 Berlin, Prenzlauer Berg
Germany
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planetarium.berlin

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Berlin Zeiss Planetarium
Berlin Zeiss Planetarium
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Ernst-Thälmann-Park
Ernst-Thälmann-Park

Ernst-Thälmann-Park is a park in the centre of the Prenzlauer Berg district in Berlin. It was laid out in 1986 at the site of a former coal gas plant and named after the former Communist party leader Ernst Thälmann (1886-1944). The former plant built in 1874 was closed in 1981, the last gasometer was demolished in 1984. In honor of Berlin's 750-year jubilee the East German government drew up plans for an "inhabited park", including a memorial, a public pool, a planetarium, a school and a housing estate for 4,000 residents. The park was inaugurated on 16 April 1986, Thälmann's hundredth birthday. The former use of the area left an extensive contamination of soil and groundwater with cyanides, phenols and tar that after German reunification had to be cleared by excavation and bioremediation. Though there had been some discussion about the name, a majority of dwellers voted against a change in 1997. Today the park features public houses as well as art galleries and a small theatre at the former administrative building of the gas plant. The Ernst Thälmann bronze monument with a height of 14 m (46 ft) was created by Soviet sculptor Lev Kerbel between 1981 and 1986. Some plaques with political slogans were removed in the 1990s. The monument remains a protected landmark today. Since the early 2000s the Ernst Thälmann bronze monument has become a famous skateboarding spot with professionals from all over the world visiting the site. Memorable skateboarders such as Dylan Rieder and Kenny Hopf have performed their outrageous trickery at the venue. Hopf even filmed a full video part at the historical site during COVID-19-lockdown in 2020.