By Oliver Ohmann
The famous “Green Week” under the radio tower has been around since 1926. It now lasts ten days. For the head gardener of the exhibition center, on the other hand, it is green week 365 days a year.
Christiane Deking and ten colleagues ensure that the green areas between the exhibition halls look attractive from January to December. The 58-year-old horticultural engineer has been on site since 1991.
Meeting point summer garden. “The large oval was laid out in 1932 and was originally almost completely planted as a terraced garden,” explains Deking. “The area was then redesigned during the Nazi era so that it could also be used for events.”
Aerial photograph around 1926. Next to the radio tower is the old radio hall (made of wood), and the two car halls in the picture above Photo: Olaf Selchow
The chief gardener takes the BZ to the Japanese Garden, which trade fair visitors often overlook. It was originally laid out as a baroque garden in the 1920s, then became a Japanese garden in the early 1940s. You can see a pond (with koi), boulders and ginkgo trees.
The Japanese Garden at the exhibition center is a real oasis. You can relax from the hustle and bustle of the trade fair Photo: Olaf Selchow
“This oasis gets a lot of animal visitors,” reveals Deking. “We’ve had wild boar and raccoons, kestrels, house martins and of course foxes.”
In total, no fewer than 730 trees grow directly under the radio tower. The summer garden alone is lined with 115 Italian columnar poplars.
The summer garden laid out in 1932 in the summer of 2023. The lawn in the oval has suffered somewhat from the heat Photo: Olaf Selchow
The exhibition center recently had reason to celebrate. The first exhibition company was founded exactly 100 years ago. On July 21, 1923 by seven Berlin industrialists in the Maassen department store at Oranienplatz 2.
Inauguration of the radio tower in 1926. In the background the exhibition hall where the first radio exhibition took place in 1924 Photo: Olaf Selchow
The oldest surviving building on the exhibition grounds is the radio tower, which opened in 1926. After renovation work, the viewing platform should be accessible again in September, promises Messe Berlin.
Christiane Deking also has radio tower plans. She would like to garden his immediate surroundings according to old plans.