Weinhaus Rheingold

The Weinhaus Rheingold in Berlin, Germany, was a large restaurant of the Aschinger concern, in which up to 4,000 guests could be served simultaneously. The building near the Potsdamer Platz was severely damaged in World War II during Allied air raids and the ruins were demolished in the early 1950s. The steel frame building, constructed from 1905 to 1907 according to plans by architect Bruno Schmitz, was intended as a concert hall with attached assembly rooms and wine restaurant to mark the Aschinger company's entry into upscale gastronomy. To avoid additional traffic at the already overloaded Potsdamer Platz, however, the use was building police restricted to pure gastronomic operations. Even the difficult construction work, associated with groundwater lowering and elaborate securing of neighboring houses, aroused the interest of the daily press. The contemporary architectural press reported almost enthusiastically about the completed new building in 1907. Particular attention was paid to the monumental facade on Bellevuestraße with reliefs by sculptor Franz Metzner – often rated as equivalent to Alfred Messel's facade of the nearby Wertheim department store at Leipziger Platz. The luxurious interior of the fourteen halls, partly rather exotic, partly inspired by the Middle Ages, created a different atmosphere in each room and was intended to immerse visitors in various worlds. Economically, the prestige building was a failure for Aschinger. After decades of lacking profitability, the concern finally sold the Weinhaus, which had already been closed due to the war, in 1943 to the Deutsche Reichspost. In the same year, the complex suffered severe damage during the air raids on Berlin. The ruins, classified as rebuildable, were nevertheless demolished in the early 1950s. The site of the former Weinhaus Rheingold is now largely occupied by the Bahntower, the rerouted Potsdamer Straße and the Kollhoff-Tower after the redevelopment of Potsdamer Platz.