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Wall Tour - Changes to the historical site
Luisenstädtischer Canal/Engelbecken basin
Moving away from the River Spree, the Wall initially followed the bend taken by the former Luisenstädtischer Canal, which flowed in the direction of the Engelbecken basin before turning southwards towards the Landwehr Canal. It had been laid out around 1850 as the centrepiece of a green space designed by Lenné. False calculations of the gradient turned the canal into a cesspool and it was filled in together with the Engelbecken basin in 1926.
St. Michael's Church on the Engelbecken basin was built as a Catholic garrison church by August Soller between 1851 and 1856 and completed after his death by Friedrich August Stüler.
Historic garden experts were quick to propose that the former border strip should be made into a green space again. Work on redesigning the site began in 1993. Today parts of the former canal have been turned into a low-lying rose garden.
The Engelbecken basin was dredged in 1999 and allowed to fill with ground water. The western side of the basin has been developed for residential purposes. The Heinrich Heine Forum, a residential and shopping centre incorporating the listed drill hall and indoor riding school designed by Schinkel, was opened in 1998 on Annenstraße just a stone's throw from the former border crossing at Prinzenstraße, which is commemorated by a plaque at the corner of Sebastianstraße and Prinzenstraße.
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Images:
Landesarchiv Berlin (3)
Jörg Küster
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