Domäne Dahlem is an organic farm in an urban setting. The complex, which includes a huge country estate, a museum area and several business premises, is disappointing despite its coherent concept.
A Visit to Domäne Dahlem Is Optional.
When Greater Berlin was formed in 1920, many of the surrounding villages and towns were incorporated into the central city. With its increased area and population, the German capital also gained large rural and semi-rural areas. The small, prosperous village of Dahlem was incorporated into Berlin, further cementing the close relationship between the two cities that had existed for a century.
Dahlem, a former royal domain, had been earmarked in the previous century as a location for a first-class scientific and philosophical center. On the edge of the forest, the Prussian elite were to be educated to a very high level in academies and institutes. Accordingly, many of the Berlin dignitaries lived in Dahlem long before the city was unified, which can easily be seen from the large bourgeois buildings that still characterize the residential area today. But even after 1920, the rural spirit still dominated.
This idyllic and conservative image was destroyed by the student revolts of the 1960s. The anti-authoritarian concept took hold in West Berlin, which was cut off from the western world, and several citizens' initiatives were founded. One of these initiatives took over part of the Domäne Dahlem and founded an organic farm to reconcile city and countryside. In 2009, Domäne Dahlem became part of the German capital's State Museums Foundation and will house a museum about nutrition from 2015.
The Domäne Dahlem is not an ecomuseum.
The main courtyard of the domain is the starting point for tours and the preferred location for the occasional festivities organized throughout the year. The cultural calendar follows the seasonal dates: spring, harvest, Halloween and, above all, the Christmas market. For this occasion, the square is covered with stalls selling consumer goods and handicrafts. The focus is on regional products from the bio-industry. The attractions are limited in both quality and quantity. Nevertheless, the place is picturesque and charming.
Several buildings face each other. A beer garden and a canteen welcome consumers with drinks and traditional coffee and cake. Stables and several sheds are lined up next to each other, without the public having access to them. In a narrow alley, chickens quarrel and lounge in equally tiny enclosures. Just before that, an organic shop sells vegetables, fruit, bread and dairy products. Finally, two museums complete this constellation with exhibitions and interactive rooms for children.
The rest of the estate is a huge agricultural area that can be crossed on a marked circular route. Some areas are used for grazing, with cattle, sheep and horses scattered here and there. However, it is almost impossible to get close to them, even if they have actually gone out. The other areas are dedicated to agriculture. The site's administration offers the opportunity to harvest your own potatoes and pumpkins for a fee. However, there are not enough educational stations to make the walk an immersive and educational experience. A tour of the grounds takes only 30 minutes. In wet weather, the path becomes muddy and large puddles form.
A Relevant But Distorted Concept
Domäne Dahlem is hardly convincing in its current form. First of all, how can it be defined? It is neither a park, nor a zoo, nor an ecomuseum. Its institutionalization in 2009 has created new challenges in terms of maintenance and education. The administration has developed an excellent range of activities for school groups, but these have to be booked in advance. They are not available to ordinary visitors. On the other hand, the small museum is a pleasant discovery, especially for children. However, these efforts cannot fill the educational void of the vast outdoor area. The information on site is extremely limited and not very intuitive.
As a result, the Domäne Dahlem seems more like a place to meet. This is not a bad thing in itself: the restoration of social ties is a virtuous approach. However, the high restaurant prices effectively exclude the less affluent sections of the population. This biological and local culture quickly proves discriminatory between those who can consume and the others. In addition, free admission to events is being replaced by a charge, which significantly increases the cost of a family outing. All this leads to a sense of unease and a unique lack of socio-cultural diversity.
The Domäne Dahlem is no longer the civic and democratic initiative of the 1970s. Its professionalization went hand in hand with an optimization of consumer locations that, under ecological auspices, reproduce the inequalities that the original project sought to combat. Therefore, it is better to consider the place for what it does best: a place to meet in a rural setting that can be reached by subway directly from the city center. But why not go to the Jagdschloss in Grunewald, the Südegelände nature park in Schöneberg or the former Tempelhof airport in this case?
Reasons to Visit
A very good underground connection
A nice walk in nice weather
The museum area for people of all ages.
Reasons to Skip
Elite prices for gastronomy
The lack of a didactic outdoor tour
A rather limited visualization
Comments