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Karl-Marx-Allee – Architecture of East Berlin

A giant Coffee Cup sign on the side of a building on Otto-Braun-Strasse in Berlin

The influence of Soviet-style architecture on DDR-era construction in East Berlin is plain to see on Karl-Marx-Allee, which runs from Alexanderplatz to Frankfurter Tor.

Yesterday, I set out from home with no plan other than to make the most of the sun and get a bit of fresh air.  I just wandered.  And I ended up walking along the Karl-Marx-Allee.

Unfortunately, because of my lack of planning my feet were tired and I was ready to call it a day by the time I reached Frankfurter Tor so my photos are mainly from one side of the street.  I will have to go back another day and walk from Frankfurter Tor to Alexanderplatz on the South side of the street.

There is an excellent article about Karl-Marx-Allee on Journey to Berlin with more detail about the history of the street and plenty more photos.

The Haus Berlin sign on Karl-Marx-Allee in Berlin The picture of Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in the Iron Lady adds to the effect of the architecture of Kino International on Karl-Marx-Allee in Berlin The sign on the roof of Cafe Moskau on Karl-Marx-Allee in Berlin

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6 Responses to Karl-Marx-Allee – Architecture of East Berlin

  1. James 20 March, 2012 at 09:27 #

    Great post!
    If you want to dig deeper into Berlin’s Soviet heritage, a friend of ours has made a documentary called “My DDR T-Shirt”. Check it out:
    http://www.ianhawkins.co.uk/myddr/

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Berlin Riots (1953) – British Pathé: Sunday Documentary - 13 December, 2015

    […] 16 June, in protest against state demands for increased production quotas, construction workers on Karl-Marx-Allee, then named Stalinallee, laid down their tools and marched towards the House of the Ministries on […]

  2. Berlin Style – Gucci vs. Givenchy - andBerlin - 15 January, 2016

    […] Berlin vibe for the Pre Fall Collection lookbook, shot in the Kino International and outside on the Karl-Marx-Allee.  The photographs taken by Max von Gumppenberg and Patrick Bienert have a stark and deliberately […]

  3. 17 June Memorial by Wolfgang Rüppel - andBerlin - 17 June, 2016

    […] feeling of discontent turned to outright revolt when construction workers from the Stalinallee (now Karl-Marx-Allee) marched to the House of the Ministries to protest against a 10% increase in performance quotas and […]

  4. GDR Architecture Models - MODERN EAST by Zupagrafika - Berlin Love - 25 October, 2017

    […] imposing facade of sandstone and glass overhangs the pavement along the broad boulevard of the Karl-Marx-Allee. The cinema hosted countless film premieres of state-produced DEFA films before East German party […]

  5. Sunday Documentary: Gaming Beyond the Iron Curtain: East Germany - 26 November, 2017

    […] good proportion of the footage used in the documentary was shot in the Computerspielemuseum on Karl-Marx-Allee, which I have neglected to visit; after watching Gaming Beyond the Iron Curtain: East Germany, […]

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