By Oliver Ohmann
How do authors actually manage to keep writing exciting Berlin books? The question goes to Arnt Cobbers. The 56-year-old has just done it again.
“Da kiekste!” is the name of his paperback, in which he gives no fewer than 333 reasons why Berlin is unique. “Actually, I had over 500 on the list,” says Cobbers, who has been writing books for 25 years. He has just taken over Jaron Verlag, for which he has worked as an author from the start.
Two world stars, one street: Marlene Dietrich (right) and Hildgard Knef both grew up on Leberstrasse in Schöneberg (reason no. 9) Photo: Ullstein picture
How did the new declaration of love for Berlin come about? “The plan for this is already ten years old, but Corona now offered enough time to complete the manuscript.”
There are some well-known good reasons (advertising pillars, zoo, Teufelsberg), but also not so well-known ones.
Condoms were already around in ancient Egypt. But only Julius Fromm fabricated them in Berlin from rubber and without seams (reason 226) Photo: manufacturer
The tuba, for example, was invented in Berlin in 1835, ice skating star Rittberger jumped the first Rittberger here, and the planet Neptune was sighted for the first time through a Berlin telescope.
You really squeak! Reason number 94 is particularly beautiful: the newspaper city. Mention is also made of “the first German tabloid that was only available from street vendors” – namely the BZ
Beethoven manuscripts in the Stabi. The original score of his famous 5th and 9th symphonies (Grund 85) can be found in the vault of the State Library. Photo: picture alliance / Mary Evans Pi
Anyone who has read this book will love Berlin even more. And if you don’t like Berlin, you’ll turn green with envy because Berlin is so unique.
The clock has been in the Siemens house since 1918. It used to be the largest tower clock in Europe. Diameter of the dial: seven meters! (Reason 167) Photo: Picture Alliance
The most beautiful primeval bird is a Berliner. Twelve fossilized Archeopteryx’ are known worldwide. But everyone agrees, the best preserved one hangs in the Natural History Museum (reason 122) Photo: Museum of Natural History
Berlin is so big that there is actually space for three golf courses in the capital. Namely in Wannsee (photo), in Gatow and in Pankow in the outskirts of Malchow (reason 142) Photo: picture alliance/dpa
Big jump! In 1910 Werner Rittberger jumped the first Rittberger in the Berlin Ice Palace. Back then it was simple, today you can even see it fourfold (reason 275) Photo: picture alliance/dpa/TASS