Telecommunications

“Telegraphen-Bau-Anstalt” — that sounds more like a stuffy government office than the hippest startup of its time. But in 1847, the “Telegraphen-Bau-Anstalt von Siemens & Halske” was exactly that kind of startup, producing equipment for the new possibilities in communications and driving technological advancement. Berlin quickly became the center of this forward-looking industry: the electrical industry. Siemens, AEG, Telefunken — these were the illustrious names of the companies, and Berlin was their hub until World War II.

The exhibition “Elektropolis Berlin” tells the story of telecommunications and its impact on Berlin’s electrical industry. As recently as the early 19th century, mounted messengers and stagecoaches were responsible for the rapid transmission of messages. In 1833, the first optical telegraph line in the German states — running from Berlin via Cologne to Koblenz — ushered in the age of communication. Visitors to the exhibition can trace Berlin’s rapid rise to become the capital of Germany through six areas: telegraphy, telephony, radio, broadcasting, audio technology, and television. By 1930, 50 percent of the German broadcasting industry and 70 percent of the German electrical industry were based in Berlin.

The exhibition uses a timeline and a map of Berlin to illustrate how rapidly this development took place and how tightly knit the network of locations in Berlin significant to communications and media technology is. “Elektropolis Berlin” also shows how these technological developments transformed people’s everyday lives and urban society as a whole. Before World War II, Berlin was not only an industrial hub but, as a major metropolis and cosmopolitan city, also a testing ground for modern technologies. Many of the exhibits in the exhibition are related to Berlin, such as Manfred von Ardenne’s first electronic television from 1931. In addition, there is background information on key events, such as the official launch of radio in Germany on October 29, 1923, from a radio station at Potsdamer Platz.

Significant original artifacts from Berlin’s eventful history — such as the RIAS radio station and the SFB black-and-white television studio — are brought to life through historical visual and audio documents.

The interactive radio studio “Radio Gleisdreieck” invites visitors to get involved and try things out. Here, you can produce your radio shows and host them live. You will also learn fascinating facts about how radio as a medium has evolved over time. This is an entertaining way to discover how technological innovations and changes in our lives are interconnected. Communications and media technology has made — and continues to make — life more diverse and exciting for people in “Elektropolis Berlin.”