The man who jumped off hills - Otto Lilienthal's Fliegerberg

Lurking in the leafy surburbia of Berlin Lichterfelde is another artificial hill. It's not World War II rubble this time though, neither is it Germany's answer to Silbury Hill.


The Fliegerberg

This is in fact Otto Lilienthal's 'Fliegerberg', which he had built for him in 1894, to assist in his pioneering experiments with gliders. Lilienthal's flights are significant because they were probably the first to be repeatable (as opposed to one-off flukes), thanks to Lilienthal's methodical approach.


The view from the Fliegerberg

The hill is 15m high, which might not sound like a lot until you actually get up there and ask yourself whether you'd fancy jumping off.

Sadly, on August 9th 1896, Otto Lilienthal's glider crashed during a flight from the Gollenberg near Stölln. He died the next day from his injuries, aged 48.


The memorial on the Fliegerberg

The Fliegerberg was turned into a monument to Lilienthal in 1932, the memorial designed by the architect Fritz Freymüller.

Location

The Fliegerberg
Schütte-Lanz-Straße
Berlin 12209
S-Bahn: 
Osdorfer Straße (S25)

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As @bmiregional are off to Hannover today, I thought they might like a picture of the surrounding countryside: http://t.co/j4BzW1mgFg
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