The foundation stone for the construction of the new Berlin Palace as the Humboldt Forum was laid on June 12, 2013. A good two years later, the company F. X. Rauch began with the façade cladding in the Schlüterhof. We take stock of the progress on the occasion of the groundbreaking ceremony.
The Schlüterhof of the Berlin Palace in August 2016: work on the façade is in full swing. (Photo: Julia Wolpert)
The historical capital of the Berlin Palace serves as a model for the processing. (Photo: F. X. Rauch GmbH & Co. KG, Munich)
Worked by hand: A stonemason needs about four months to complete a workpiece. (Photo: F. X. Rauch GmbH & Co. KG, Munich)
Once it arrives in Berlin, the finished capital is moved to its intended location. (Photo: Julia Wolpert)
Once it has been moved, it is anchored to the column using a threaded rod. (Photo: Julia Wolpert)
In August 2016, the façade in the Schlüterhof has already been raised to the lower edge of the second floor. (Photo: Julia Wolpert)
In a year's time, the Schlüterhof should look like this computer simulation. (Photo: Förderverein Berliner Schloss, eldaco Berlin)
The Warthau sandstone capital weighs around four tons. Work on the façade of the Berlin Palace is in full swing and baroque décor is making its way into Europe’s largest cultural construction site. The new building will blend in well with the largely preserved ensemble of buildings in Berlin’s Mitte district. The major project will also create jobs – including for natural stone processing companies. Up to 700 people will be working on the construction site at any one time.
F. X. Rauch was able to secure a total of six contracts as part of the reconstruction of the Berlin Palace: the exterior façade facing the Schlossfreiheit (west façade), the rear façades and the courtyard portals I, V and VI in the Schlüterhof as well as the façade work on courtyard portal IV. Parallel to the contract, F. X. Rauch received an architectural plan from the client, which depicted the rough features of the façade using elevations, sections and detailed plans. “From this, we drew up a work and installation plan, which the client had to approve,” says Rauch.
Warthauer sandstone
The Munich-based company uses Warthauer sandstone almost exclusively for the natural stone work. The stone is quarried in a quarry in Wartowice (Warthau), Poland, around 300 kilometers from Berlin, which was leased specifically for the large-scale project. As there is no proper warehouse in Berlin, the delivered material has to be installed quickly. Close timing of deliveries and correspondingly smooth logistics are essential. The natural stone work includes window frames, cornice bands, columns, capitals and balustrades. Stone carvings such as coat of arms cartouches, reliefs and royal portraits are also painstakingly created by hand by stonemasons and stone sculptors.
When work on the façade began in February 2015, it was difficult to imagine that the concrete shell would become a reconstruction of the Berlin Palace. Now the baroque-style façade has already been raised up to the lower edge of the second floor. The inauguration ceremony is set to take place on September 14, 2019 – the 250th birthday of Alexander von Humboldt. In addition to art collections, museums and a library, the palace will also house a large event center for conferences, exhibitions, concerts and theater performances.
Find out more about the construction of the Berlin Palace in STEIN in October 2016.