{"id":14822,"date":"2014-06-20T12:04:36","date_gmt":"2014-06-20T11:04:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/?p=14822"},"modified":"2016-07-12T12:46:52","modified_gmt":"2016-07-12T11:46:52","slug":"berlin-tempelhof-airport-an-abandoned-international-airport-in-the-centre-of-berlin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-an-abandoned-international-airport-in-the-centre-of-berlin\/","title":{"rendered":"Berlin Tempelhof Airport &#8211; an abandoned international airport in the centre of Berlin"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-01.jpg\" alt=\"Berlin Tempelhof Airport - an abandoned international airline in the centre of Berlin\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Once the third-busiest airport in Europe, the former Berlin Tempelhof Airport lay abandoned for several years after its closure in 2008 before being turned into a fabulous\u00a0public park. <!--more--><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-02.jpg\" alt=\"Berlin Tempelhof Airport - an abandoned international airline in the centre of Berlin\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s not the first time that the area has been used as a park: the Tempelhofer Feld was originally a parade ground, used by Prussian forces, and later by unified German forces, from 1720 right up to the start of World War I.<\/p>\n<p>Once the military had buggered off on\u00a0weekends and public holidays, locals would arrive en masse, clutching baskets full of food, booze, deckchairs and\u00a0umbrellas and enjoy picnics on the large flat expanse of land.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-03.jpg\" alt=\"Berlin Tempelhof Airport - an abandoned international airline in the centre of Berlin\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The area has a long association with flight: in 1909, Frenchman Armand Zipfel made the first flight demonstration in Tempelhof, with Orville Wright taking to the air later that same year from the same place.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"14835\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-an-abandoned-international-airport-in-the-centre-of-berlin\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-22\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-22.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"620,299\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Berlin Tempelhof Airport &amp;#8211; an abandoned international airline in the centre of Berlin\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-22.jpg\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-14835\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-22.jpg\" alt=\"Berlin Tempelhof Airport - an abandoned international airline in the centre of Berlin\" width=\"620\" height=\"299\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-22.jpg 620w, https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-22-300x144.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>An airport was built on the site in the 1920s, with its central\u00a0location helping it become one of the world&#8217;s busiest airports, with\u00a0up to 52 foreign and 40 domestic flights arriving and departing during 1938\u20131939.<\/p>\n<p>Above is a photo of a Ju F 13 light aircraft being used for Lufthansa sightseeing flights\u00a0in\u00a01935, complete with Nazi insignia. [<a href=\"http:\/\/www.tempelhoferfreiheit.de\/en\/about-tempelhofer-freiheit\/history\/aviation-history\/air-traffic-hub-tempelhof\/picture-gallery\/\" target=\"_blank\">&#8212;<\/a>]<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"14830\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-an-abandoned-international-airport-in-the-centre-of-berlin\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-20\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-20.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"620,365\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Berlin Tempelhof Airport &amp;#8211; an abandoned international airline in the centre of Berlin\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-20.jpg\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-14830\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-20.jpg\" alt=\"Berlin Tempelhof Airport - an abandoned international airline in the centre of Berlin\" width=\"620\" height=\"365\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-20.jpg 620w, https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-20-300x176.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Conceived by the leaders of the Third Reich as an architectural testament to the boundless ambition of German supremacy, a\u00a0striking new terminal &#8211;\u00a0described by British architect Sir Norman Foster as &#8220;the mother of all airports&#8221; &#8211;\u00a0was built between 1936 and 1941.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"735\" height=\"414\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PyIXixXwies?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-GB&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p>Above can be seen archive 1938 footage of the airport. Check out the posh lady getting off covered in furs!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"14831\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-an-abandoned-international-airport-in-the-centre-of-berlin\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-19\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-19.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"620,395\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Berlin Tempelhof Airport &amp;#8211; an abandoned international airline in the centre of Berlin\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-19.jpg\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-14831\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-19.jpg\" alt=\"Berlin Tempelhof Airport - an abandoned international airline in the centre of Berlin\" width=\"620\" height=\"395\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-19.jpg 620w, https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-19-300x191.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The building complex was designed to resemble an eagle in flight with semicircular hangars forming the bird&#8217;s spread wings.<\/p>\n<p>The mile-long long hangar roof was planned to support stadium seating \u00a0for more than 80,000 spectators to view air and ground demonstrations.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Other parts of the airport that were never finished were the stairs up to the roof, a planned waterfall, large-scale office buildings that were to surround the western side of the circular plaza, and the control tower.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-09.jpg\" alt=\"Berlin Tempelhof Airport - an abandoned international airline in the centre of Berlin\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Such was its scale, Tempelhof Airport\u2019s main building was once among the top 20 largest buildings on earth. Despite its immense size, it also hosted the world\u2019s smallest duty-free shop!<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-04.jpg\" alt=\"Berlin Tempelhof Airport - an abandoned international airline in the centre of Berlin\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The airport was used for building fighter planes during WW2 and it played a significant part at\u00a0the end of the war, with Western Allied and German signatories of the German Surrender in Berlin and their entourage landing at Tempelhof airport on\u00a08th May 1945.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"14832\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-an-abandoned-international-airport-in-the-centre-of-berlin\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-21\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-21.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"620,445\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Berlin Tempelhof Airport &amp;#8211; an abandoned international airline in the centre of Berlin\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-21.jpg\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-14832\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-21.jpg\" alt=\"Berlin Tempelhof Airport - an abandoned international airline in the centre of Berlin\" width=\"620\" height=\"445\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-21.jpg 620w, https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-21-300x215.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The airport was to play a major part during the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Berlin_Blockade\" target=\"_blank\">Berlin Airlift<\/a> (also known as the Berlin Blockade) of 1948, when Soviet forces halted all traffic by land and by water into and\u00a0out of the western-controlled sectors of Berlin.<\/p>\n<p>During the following\u00a0eleven months, the city&#8217;s 2\u00bd million residents were supplied by what has been described as one of the greatest feats in aviation history.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-05.jpg\" alt=\"Berlin Tempelhof Airport - an abandoned international airline in the centre of Berlin\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>In the 60s and 70s, Berlin\u00a0Tempelhof\u00a0became a major international port, with commercial traffic peaking in\u00a01971 at just above 5\u00bd million passengers.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-18.jpg\" alt=\"Berlin Tempelhof Airport - an abandoned international airline in the centre of Berlin\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The end was in sight however, when the authorities announced plans to\u00a0concentrate all\u00a0domestic and international air traffic in Berlin and Brandenburg at one airport: Berlin-Sch\u00f6nefeld International Airport.<\/p>\n<p>The last flights from Tempelhof Airport\u00a0took off in\u00a0November 2008.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-06.jpg\" alt=\"Berlin Tempelhof Airport - an abandoned international airline in the centre of Berlin\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Had it been in London, the site would now be packed full of luxury lifestyle flats occupying the &#8216;Airport Quarter&#8217; or something equally &#8216;exclusive&#8217; and hideous, but happily they do things differently in Berlin.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-07.jpg\" alt=\"Berlin Tempelhof Airport - an abandoned international airline in the centre of Berlin\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>After the airport closed in 2008, the city of Berlin reclaimed the entire 386-hectare open space &#8211; larger than\u00a0New York City\u2019s Central Park\u00a0&#8211; for public use.<\/p>\n<p>Visitors today can now enjoy a\u00a0six-kilometre cycling, skating and jogging trail, a 2.5-hectare BBQ area, a dog-walking field covering around four hectares\u00a0and\u00a0an urban gardening section.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-08.jpg\" alt=\"Berlin Tempelhof Airport - an abandoned international airline in the centre of Berlin\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The park is just <span style=\"color: #222222;\">2 miles from the Potsdamer Platz, close to the heart of Berlin city centre, and it <\/span>can be accessed via three entrances at Columbiadamm, Tempelhofer Damm and Oderstrasse, and it&#8217;s open from sunrise to sunset.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">There&#8217;s also <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tempelhoferfreiheit.de\/en\/visit\/tours\/building-tours\/\" target=\"_blank\">guided tours<\/a> available of the old airport terminal building (still the largest building in Europe by surface area).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-10.jpg\" alt=\"Berlin Tempelhof Airport - an abandoned international airline in the centre of Berlin\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Although housing developments are <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tempelhoferfreiheit.de\/en\/about-tempelhofer-freiheit\/planning-development\/construction\/\" target=\"_blank\">planned for the edges<\/a>, the Tempelhof fields will now be used as a park indefinitely.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s some more views of the park taken in June 2014. Sadly, we didn&#8217;t get time to take in a tour of the building, but we&#8217;ll be back!<\/p>\n<p>http:\/\/vimeo.com\/88765672<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-11.jpg\" alt=\"Berlin Tempelhof Airport - an abandoned international airline in the centre of Berlin\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-12.jpg\" alt=\"Berlin Tempelhof Airport - an abandoned international airline in the centre of Berlin\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"735\" height=\"414\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mescHrzqGs0?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-GB&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-13.jpg\" alt=\"Berlin Tempelhof Airport - an abandoned international airline in the centre of Berlin\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Stranded aircraft outside the terminal building.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-14.jpg\" alt=\"Berlin Tempelhof Airport - an abandoned international airline in the centre of Berlin\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-15.jpg\" alt=\"Berlin Tempelhof Airport - an abandoned international airline in the centre of Berlin\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Air traffic control radar dome tower at Tempelhof Airport.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-16.jpg\" alt=\"Berlin Tempelhof Airport - an abandoned international airline in the centre of Berlin\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Timeline of the airport (from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.berlin-airport.de\/en\/company\/about-us\/history\/tempelhof-airport\/\" target=\"_blank\">FBB website<\/a>):<\/p>\n<table style=\"color: #4b575f;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>2013<\/td>\n<td>Planting of the first trees for the development of the Tempelhof parkland.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>2013<\/td>\n<td>Planned opening of the &#8220;e-THF \u2013 Tempelhof Electromobility Competence Centre&#8221; as an information point for electromobility, including a showroom and driving experience track.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>2012<\/td>\n<td>Tempelhof Airport establishes itself as an international event location for trade fairs and conventions. Other parts of the building are renovated to improve energy efficiency and converted into a creative and start-up centre.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>2010<\/td>\n<td>Opening of the park \u201cTempelhofer Freiheit\u201d on the former airport premises; it is open from sunrise to sunset.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>2009<\/td>\n<td>Trade fairs are held for the first time in the buildings of the former airport.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>2008<\/td>\n<td>A referendum seals the permanent closure of the airport.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>1996<\/td>\n<td>Berlin, Brandenburg and the national government, the company shareholders, decide to build the Berlin Brandenburg International Airport (BBI) in Schoenefeld. At the same time, Tegel and Tempelhof will be closed.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>1993<\/td>\n<td>The US Air Force hands the airport over to the Berliner Flughafengesellschaft.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>1990<\/td>\n<td>After the fall of the Berlin Wall, operations start up again for domestic flights.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>1975<\/td>\n<td>Since the airport had reached the limits to its capacity in the 1960s, operations are suspended after construction of Tegel Airport.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>1961<\/td>\n<td>The airport serves as one of several Berlin settings for Billy Wilder\u2019s famous film \u201cOne, Two, Three\u201d.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>1951<\/td>\n<td>Tempelhof Airport is released for civil air and freight traffic by the American occupation forces.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>1948<\/td>\n<td>During the Berlin blockade from June 1948 to May 1949, Tempelhof Airport becomes the take-off and landing site for the \u201craisin bombers\u201d which assures the provision of vital supplies for the people in West Berlin and drops sweets, sometimes borne by handmade parachutes, to the delight of the children. A memorial designed by Eduard Ludwig still stands today, reminding us of the three air corridors and bearing the names of the 76 pilots who were killed in accidents during the Airlift.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>1945<\/td>\n<td>The forced labourers are freed by the Red Army. In July, the Red Army hands the airport over to US forces. After undergoing extensive repairs, the airport, now called \u201cTempelhof Central Airport\u201d (TCA), commences operations again.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>1939<\/td>\n<td>The construction site of the planned new airport becomes one of the world\u2019s largest assembly buildings for bomber planes. The work is later done by forced labourers brought in from countries occupied by Germany.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>1936<\/td>\n<td>The construction of an airport designed to handle six million passengers begins; the scale is in line with the megalomaniac project of a \u201cWorld Capital Germania\u201d. However, this airport is never completed.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>1934<\/td>\n<td>At the instigation of the National Socialists, planning begins for a \u201clarge airport\u201d, and the architect Ernst Sagebiel is awarded the contract for its design.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>1934<\/td>\n<td>The expansion of the airport begins; Tempelhof becomes the most modern airport of the time, featuring separate functional levels for passenger and post\/freight traffic.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>1926<\/td>\n<td>The first scheduled flights to D\u00fcbendorf (Switzerland) and Munich take off.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>1924<\/td>\n<td>The Berliner Flughafen-Gesellschaft mbH is founded. The expansion of the airport also begins in 1924. It is the only airport in the world with a direct connection by underground (U6, underground station Paradestrasse).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>1923<\/td>\n<td>Air traffic operation begins.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>1922<\/td>\n<td>A new central airport is planned for construction on Tempelhofer Feld, although the area was originally marked for the construction of a trade fair area. But a small airport with two wooden buildings, each of them with an area of 1,000 square metres, is built instead.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>1909<\/td>\n<td>Orville Wright, who together with his brother Wilbur was the first person to fly a steered motorised aircraft, organises an air show lasting several weeks at Tempelhofer Feld, a former parade ground. In September 1909, he succeeds in staying in the air for one hour and sets a new world record for altitude of 160 metres.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-17.jpg\" alt=\"Berlin Tempelhof Airport - an abandoned international airline in the centre of Berlin\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>More info and sources:<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.tempelhoferfreiheit.de\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\">Official website<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.tempelhoferfreiheit.de\/en\/about-tempelhofer-freiheit\/history\/national-socialism\/architecture\/\" target=\"_blank\">Architecture of Tempelhof Airport<br \/>\n<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Berlin_Tempelhof_Airport\" target=\"_blank\">Wikipedia entry<\/a><br \/>\nArchive photos \u00a9 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.visitberlin.de\/en\/spot\/tempelhofer-park\" target=\"_blank\">Wikipedia<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Once the third-busiest airport in Europe, the former Berlin Tempelhof Airport lay abandoned for several years after its closure in 2008 before being turned into a fabulous\u00a0public park.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14857,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[17,193],"tags":[894,890,891,428,895,896],"class_list":["post-14822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-photos","category-places","tag-airport","tag-berlin","tag-germany","tag-park","tag-tempelhof-airport","tag-tempelhof-flughafen"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/berlin-tempelhof-airport-01.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pQI7P-3R4","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14822"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14822\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17225,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14822\/revisions\/17225"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}