Schöneberg Gasometer

The skeletons of abandoned gasworks, a throwback to the days when gas was pumped to homes and businesses from massive, above-ground storage tanks, can be found in countless European cities. Few, however, are as integrated into the urban landscape as the Schöneberg gas storage and supply tank in Berlin, better known as the Gasometer.

Completed in 1910, the structure survived both world wars and the Cold War that followed, and was only decommissioned in 1995. In addition to the still-existent steel cylinder, it also consisted of a huge, flexible enclosure that could be raised and lowered telescopically to adjust to the volume of gas within. This rising-and-falling apparatus could be seen for miles around, and served as an easy visual indicator of how full the tank was— hence the building’s nickname.