PERENNIAL BERLINER GRÜN

Today in Berlin: March 27, 1915

A road through the woods at the Müggelsee lake and part of Forst Köpenick, Berlin.

On this day in 1915 - 110 years ago to the day - Fathers of the future Groß Berlin (Greater Berlin), in their endless wisdom and foresight, signed a historic document known as Dauerwaldvertrag (Perennial Forest Pact).

The Pact offered a steadfast guarantee for the 100 square kilometres of forests within and around Berlin to remain henceforth safe from sale, speculation or construction and to serve all Berliners for leisure.

The reason for it was the frightening pace at which Berlin’s “green lung” - the Grunewald Forest - was being peddled to the highest-bidding investors keen on building elegant mansion houses for well-heeled clients from the city centre. Large sections of the forest had vanished already - by 1910 some 2,000 ha were swallowed from three sides by the popular Villekolonien: Grunewald, Westend and Nikolasee. Luckily, the Zweckverband Groß-Berlin (set up to pave the way to establishing Greater Berlin) secured for the city of Berlin had some 3,000 ha of forests by buying them with municipal money. The problem was, those woods and forests were relatively far outside Berlin.