\u201cThis place has been with me my whole life. I used to fly from here as a child and later I\u2019ve been here a lot when it opened as a park.\u201d Anna says.<\/p>\n
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The former airport<\/strong> has a history of over a hundred years. After it\u2019s closedown in 2008 it opened in 2010 as a park, later renamed as Tempelhofer feld or Tempelhof field. During the second World War it was used as a concentration camp for political refugees. During the Berlin blockade supply aircraft landed at the airport. In 2014 planning started to turn parts of the former airport into housing, but Berliners didn\u2019t like that. \u00a0A referendum was held and around 64 percent of people wanted to keep the park as it is. After this the law of preservation of Tempelhofer Feld came into force. It protects the field keeping the central area untouched while in the outer meadow\u2019s development can be made.<\/p>\n A new study by opinion research institute YouGov makes it clear that Berliners are now, eight years later, more open to partly doing something with the field. In the representative survey a clear majority spoke out in favour of partial development of Tempelhofer Feld.<\/p>\n[aesop_image img=”https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2022\/04\/DSC00543a-scaled.jpg” panorama=”off” align=”center” lightbox=”on” captionsrc=”custom” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n\n For Berliner Philip it doesn\u2019t really matter, but he would be open to development.<\/p>\n \u201cI could see more recreational stuff for children here. And of course, the people living near the field don\u2019t want apartments to be built, but it\u2019s so big it might not hurt to make parts of it into housing as it is really needed in Berlin.\u201d<\/p>\n Philip is in the field with his family to fly kites.<\/p>\n \u201cWe live in Mitte so it\u2019s quite far away. We usually come here maybe once a month with the children\u201d Philip tells me, while he tries to unwind the kite. \u00a0His son runs around with a small airplane.<\/p>\n[aesop_image img=”https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2022\/04\/tempelhof-scaled.jpg” panorama=”off” align=”center” lightbox=”on” captionsrc=”custom” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n\n\n Not only humans<\/strong> gather in the park; there are also several dog parks where dogs of all sizes play together. Out of one of the parks comes Mitzi with her owner. Mitzi seems excited to have played with her friends. What does Mitzi think of the Tempelhofer feld?<\/p>\n \u201cWau wau wuff wuff\u201d Mitzi answers and jumps on my white shoes. She seems to like the field.<\/p>\n[aesop_image img=”https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2022\/04\/DSC00630-scaled.jpg” panorama=”off” align=”center” lightbox=”on” captionsrc=”custom” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n\n Where during the<\/strong> evening people gather to drink and talk people garden in the mornings. The Community Garden Schillerkiez is popular for both visitors and actual garden enthusiasts. One of them is Jessie.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m from the countryside originally and moved to Berlin during corona and really missed having my own garden, so I really love having my own little garden again.\u201d Jessie tells with a smile. She has been lucky to get her own plot of land at the garden. Jessie and her friend Sue have come to plant herbs and salad.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m just helping.\u201d Sue says.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t really plant anything very fancy like a pumpkin or\u2026 a melon. There are so many people that come here, so it\u2019s not worth it.\u201d says Jessie.<\/p>\n[aesop_gallery id=”6205″ revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n\n By 8 pm<\/strong> it\u2019s already dark but that doesn\u2019t scare away people. Instead, techno beats start roaring over the field and a disco light is turned on. Against the sunset silhouettes of dancing people make it look like a proper rave. I look around, this really is a park for all ages. Families, friends, dog owners, hobbyists, and party people.<\/p>\n[aesop_image img=”https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2022\/04\/ddd-scaled.jpg” panorama=”off” align=”center” lightbox=”on” captionsrc=”custom” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n[aesop_image img=”https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2022\/04\/DSC00563-scaled.jpg” panorama=”off” align=”center” lightbox=”on” captionsrc=”custom” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n\n Suddenly a man with a big light appears.<\/p>\n \u201cThe park is closing soon.\u201d he tells me and continues to walk over to another group of people to repeat the statement.<\/p>\n At 8:30 pm the field closes. It is to protect the field and make it safe for Berliners. Slowly people start walking to the entrance. The evening is over.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A big green field full of different people. The Tempelhofer feld, situated in the districts of Neuk\u00f6lln and Tempelhof, is over 355 hectares. During this almost sunny Wednesday day in April Berliners from all over the city have gathered in the former airport field. Some are meeting with friends, having a picnic, and drinking a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2135,"featured_media":5910,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-acls","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n