Oberschoeneweide, located directly on the banks of the river Spree emerged as a European industrial centre during the German period of Gruenderzeit (promoterism). It is due to AEG (Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft – German producer of electrical equipment) and its founder, Emil Rathenau that in Oberschoeneweide the at that time largest international location for the nascent electrical technology had been developed.
In 1897, it was here where Germany’s first three-phase electric power station – Kraftwerk Oberspree – had been built by AEG. Almost at the same time, the Kabelwerk Oberspree – KWO (cable-manufacturing plant) started operations. Technical innovations and the demand for new products were cumulating. Within a short period of time, AEG had various halls and multi-storeyed factories erected, which facilitated diverse lines of production.
From 1920 onwards, the production of high-voltage- and power distribution plants began. In 1921, AEG acquired the premises at Wilhelminenhofstrasse 83-85, which had previously been used by the Deutsche NILES Werke AG (German manufacturer of high precision machine tools). Here, AEG established the transformer factory AEG-TRO. This factory supplied to power plants and power companies all over the world.
After the war, the production was resumed under different proprietors. With the end of the GDR came also the collapse of this industry sector, and the factory had to be closed in the year 1995.
Today the premises of the former AEG-TRO are owned by the Toruro GmbH & Co.KG. In the middle of 2007, several European investors joined forces and acquired the property. The purchase had been a conscious decision for this location.
The terrain counting round 23,000 square metres located between the river Spree and Wilhelminenhofstrasse features an ensemble of buildings that had been erected between 1898 and 1941. Famous architects as Paul Tropp, Ernst Ziesel, Walter Klingenberg and Werner Issel marked this place with their structural designs. Buildings as for instance the large transformer hall (Building 7) and the power station (Building 70) are groundbreaking architectural solutions. Here industrial architecture between historicism and modernity is indeed tangible. Today, the entire property is listed under monument protection.
