Berlin

Time travel in a Berlin apartment

It was discovered in 1972: a magnificent Berlin home with interiors and furnishings completely unchanged for almost a century.

Originally purchased by wealthy industrialist Fritz Heyn, two of his daughters continued to reside in the Pankow apartment long after his death, leaving everything much as it always had been.

Today, the miraculously-preserved time capsule provides a fascinating glimpse of affluent middle-class lifestyles in the late 19th century.

Delicately painted ceilings are surrounded by elaborate plaster moulding, while intricate ceramic heating ovens are works of art in themselves.

The kitchen remains intact, and the ancient bathroom - something of a luxury in its day - still retains its tiled tub complete with steps providing easy access.

Now part of the Pankow Museum, the Heynstrasse apartment is one of Berlin's true hidden gems. Step inside, and step back in time.

Further facts

image credit: iwanowski.de

Another museum apartment in Prenzlauer Berg's Dunckerstraße depicts a far more modest turn-of-the-twentieth-century worker's flat (above).

Visit both for a fascinating insight into Berlin's domestic life as experienced by two, very different social groups.

See also:
A bathroom museum
Four hidden historic interiors
A 1920s silent cinema
A stereoscopic view of Old Berlin

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