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Berlin Festival of Lights 2012

The 8th annual Berlin Festival of Lights is took place 10 – 21 October 2012.  During the festival, a number of Berlin’s most famous landmarks and some lesser known buildings were transformed with light installations, laser animations and video projections.

I started my tour of the Festival of Lights locations on Saturday in the Gendarmenmarkt, which I chose as there are 3 buildings taking part in close proximity.

Deutscher Dom (German Cathedral)

One of a pair of similar, though not identical, churches on the Gendarmenmarkt, the Deutscher Dom (German Cathedral) is on the southern side of the square.

The Deutscher Dom (German Cathedral) lit up during the Berlin Festival of Lights

Konzerthaus Berlin (Berlin Concert House)

Nestled between the two churches on the Gendarmenmarkt is Konzerthaus Berlin (Berlin Concert House).

A video projection on the Konzerthaus Berlin (Berlin Concert House) during the Berlin Festival of Lights

Französischer Dom (French Cathedral)

The Französischer Dom (French Cathedral) certainly looked very different from when I climbed it in January.

Französischer Dom (French Cathedral) lit up in many colours during the Berlin Festival of Lights

It wasn’t just the fronts of some buildings that were lit up.  This statue lit up in orange on the side of the Französischer Dom caught my eye.

A statue on the Französischer Dom (French Cathedral) lit orange during the Berlin Festival of Lights

The Fernsehturm (TV Tower)

The Fernsehturm has to be one of my favourite buildings in Berlin.  Dominating the city skyline, at 368m it is visible from almost everywhere.  The views from it are also spectacular and I was fortunate enough to watch the sunset from the Fernsehturm recently.

Fernsehturm (TV Tower) and in the foreground a boat streaks past on the Spree during the Berlin Festival of Lights

A bus streak past the Rotes Rathaus (Red City Hall) and the Fernsehturm (TV Tower) lit up during the Berlin Festival of Lights

On Sunday, I was lucky enough to be invited by my friends Bine and Gilly (of Gilly’s Playground) to take a tour of a number of West Berlin Festival of Lights locations.  After an excellent Lasagne, we headed off in the car with Bine driving.

This allowed me to see some installations beyond the centre of Berlin that I wouldn’t otherwise have got to.

Siemens AG had lit up a number of buildings in the Siemensstadt.

Siemens AG Turbinenfabrik

A light projection on the Siemens AG Turbinenfabrik during the Berlin Festival of Lights

Siemens Technopark

A light instillation in the Siemens AG clock tower at Technopark during the Berlin Festival of Lights

Siemens AG Siemensdamm 50

A light projection on the Siemens AG building at Siemensdamm 50 during the Berlin Festival of Lights

Siemens AG Nonnendammallee 101

A light projection on the Siemens AG building at Nonnendammallee 101 during the Berlin Festival of Lights

RBB Fernsehsendezentrum (RBB TV Broadcasting Centre)

The roof terrace of the RBB Fernsehsendezentrum (RBB TV Broadcasting Centre) was transformed by its light installation.

The roof terrace of the RBB (Rundfunk Berlin Brandenburg) building lit up during the Berlin Festival of Lights

Funkturm

The Funkturm was West Berlin’s TV Tower and whilst dwarfed by its counterpart in the East is still an impressive building, especially when it’s lit up against the night sky.

A bus streaks past the Funkturm (West Berlin TV Tower) and Messe Berlin lit up during the Berlin Festival of Lights

Funkturm (West Berlin TV Tower) lit up during the Berlin Festival of Lights

Elefantentor am Zoologischer Garten (The Elephant Gate at Berlin Zoo)

The larger of Berlin’s two zoos, the Zoologischer Garten is said to be the most visited zoo in Europe.  It is located within The Tiergarten, which is certainly worth a visit in its own right.

Elefantentor am Zoologischer Garten (The Elephant Gate at Berlin Zoo) lit up during the Berlin Festival of Lights

The Siegessäule (Victory Column)

Known by Berliners as Gold Else, the Siegessäule (Victory Column) towers over the Tiergarten and affords spectacular views of Berlin, as you can see from my post here.

The Sigessäule (Victory Column) lit up during the Berlin Festival of Lights

Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral)

The light projections at the Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral) are sponsored by Urlaubsland Österreich (Tourist Country Austria) and had what I originally assumed was a ‘Winter’ theme.

When I first went here on Saturday there was a silent disco taking place on the Lustgarten so the area was incredibly crowded with people so I went back on Monday for some clearer shots.

The Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral) with a snowflakes projection by Urlaubsland Österreich (Tourist Country Austria) during the Berlin Festival of Lights

The Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral) with a wintry projection by Urlaubsland Österreich (Tourist Country Austria) during the Berlin Festival of Lights

The Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral) with a Christmas Tree projection by Urlaubsland Österreich (Tourist Country Austria) during the Berlin Festival of Lights

Brandenburger Tor (The Brandenburg Gate)

Brandenburger Tor (The Brandenburg Gate) is probably Berlin’s most internationally recognised landmark and a symbol for the city.

A video projection spectacularly transforms the gate into a busy apartment building.

Brandenburger Tor (The Brandenburg Gate) made to look like apartments during the Berlin Festival of Lights

But a more simple light projection is also effective.

Brandenburger Tor (The Brandenburg Gate) lit up in many colours during the Berlin Festival of Lights

With light shows at 68 locations during the Berlin Festival of Lights 2012, I still have more to see and recommend that anyone in Berlin between now and 21 October 2012 finds time to take in the lights.

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6 Responses to Berlin Festival of Lights 2012

  1. asf73 16 October, 2012 at 13:09 #

    This would be great to photograph… Good stuff.

  2. notmsparker 16 October, 2012 at 14:47 #

    Thanks so much for those! They are great, your pictures. Since I don´t think I will manage to go and see more one or two things this year (if it all), your photos will do a splendid job comforting me. Well done!

  3. robschofieldphotography 16 October, 2012 at 15:12 #

    Lovely shots

  4. anelim 14 November, 2012 at 15:27 #

    beautiful, now I’m sorry I missed it (I only moved to Berlin 2 months ago and I didn’t know about the festival of lights!)

    • andBerlin 17 November, 2012 at 14:32 #

      It certainly was beautiful so I’m sorry to hear that you missed it. You may want to check out some other Berlin blogs and websites to keep you in the know about events – I’d recommend uberlin, Slow Travel Berlin and SugarHigh that all give listings.

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    […] or mornings, but it is still sad to realise you have missed something really interesting. This post on a new blog I found today has brought to my attention one such event: the 8th annual Berlin […]

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