Refurbishment of the Brocken radome
During the Cold War between NATO and the Warsaw Pact, both sides installed the most diverse facilities to monitor the opponent's military and secret service radio transmissions, in particular along the boundaries between the two military blocs.
One of these facilities in former East Germany was the Urian Station on the Brocken, the highest peak the Harz Mountains.
Following the break-up of the Warsaw Pact and the unification of East and West Germany, the Urian Station on the former FRG/GDR border was no longer required as a monitoring facility. However, the facility is regarded as an important monument to modern German history and so it was decided to retain it, in particular the GRP dome housing the surveillance antennas.
Halberstadt Building Department therefore placed an order for the restoration of the dome, whose single-layer shell had been originally produced in the 1980s at the Babelsberg Film Studios in East Germany. The severe weather conditions at this exposed site had left their scars – in particular massive hail damage – on the surface of the GRP.
Hahlbrock carried out the restoration work, sometimes working under very adverse weather conditions. Work on the dome – affectionately known as the Brocken Mosque – was completed in the autumn of 2004. The sober character of the former military facility has been retained. The dome is now a striking feature of the building, since converted into museum, a witness to the exciting history of East and West Germany.
|
Client |
Staatshochbauamt Halberstadt |
|---|---|
|
Year |
2004 |