Fotoeins Fotografie

location bifurcation, place vs. home

Posts tagged ‘Schoeneberg’

25T13 The science in the cemetery

E12, B07.

Many architects, engineers, medical doctors, and scientists made their homes and careers here in Berlin. Not only is evidence plain to see in buildings, memorial plaques, and sculptures, but by the final resting places of the renowned throughout the capital city.

In Schöneberg’s Alter St. Matthäus cemetery, I say “hello” to Kirchhoff, Kronecker, and Rubens; as well as Mitscherlich and the Brothers Grimm.

Leopold & Fanni Kronecker. In my training, I learned about the Kronecker delta function whose utility became more apparent in learning about mathematical physics: e.g., “how to write the identity matrix or tensor in a couple of terms.”
Gustav Robert Kirchhoff. I learned the Kirchhoff laws (or rules) of electrical circuits, and later, the Kirchhoff law of thermal radiation. He and Robert Bunsen created the spectroscope, and with the new spectroscopic examination of sunlight, discovered in 1861 the elements caesium and rubidium.
Heinrich & Marie Rubens. Thanks to Rubens’ measurements of infrared radiation, Max Planck was able to derive and write a new law of radiation, based on the discreteness (quantization) of energy. Ruben’s’ work extended the range to larger wavelengths (smaller frequencies) and helped set the new 20th-century “quantum mechanics” on solid experimental ground.
Eilhard Mitscherlich. I didn’t know about this until I searched his name. In 1819, the chemist studied various compounds with phosphorus and arsenic in the laboratory, and realized they crystallized similarly: thus began the study of crystallographic isomorphism.
Members of the Grimm family, including Brothers Grimm Jacob & Wilhelm. They collected fables and fairy tales of their time in the German language, many of which have been sanitized for popular consumption today.
The cemetery is free to enter, but opening times vary during the year; summer hours (May to August) are 8am to 8pm. The cemetery’s main entrance (shown here) is directly opposite the south entrance to S1 S-Bahn station Yorckstrasse.

I made all images above with an iPhone15 on 20 May 2025. This post composed within Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.

My Berlin: Schöneberg

Above/featured: Entrance to U-Bahnhof Rathaus Schöneberg.

It seems as universal as the common opinion about how cool and interesting Berlin is.

Both residents and visitors mention the same names in conversations throughout the city: Prenzlauer Berg, Mitte, Friedrichshain, Kreuzberg, Neukölln, and the hybrid “KreuzKölln”, even as Wedding and Lichtenberg begin weaving their way into the dialogue.

Of the neighbourhoods within the city’s Ring, what about Charlottenburg or Schöneberg? The answers often arrive as expected. Why would anyone visit there or live there? It’s boring! It’s too quiet! It’s dead! Lots of sniffy snobby dismissive exclamation points! That few choose the area is precisely why I’m in Schöneberg for three months at the tail end of my year-long around-the-world.

For many in Berlin, they’re living, working, and playing in areas where they’re close to the action and housing costs may on average be slightly cheaper. There’s something to be said about proximity and small “stumbling distances” after a night of drinking. For some, Schöneberg is too far, too expensive, too quiet, or all of the above. I don’t mind the 20-, 30-, or 45-minute travel times to places where friends eat, drink, or hang out.

It’s always a matter of choice for me to be in Schöneberg. There’s a comfortable stillness here that always sets me at ease, where I can tune out or turn down the noise, and find my calm. For a very special time, this area in Berlin, “der schöne Schöneberg,” is home.

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Alter St.-Matthäus-Kirchhof, Schöneberg, Berlin, Germany, fotoeins.com

My Berlin: literature & physics at Alter St. Matthäus cemetery

It’s a big thrill when travel merges with aspects of my childhood upbringing or aspects of my education. I’m fortunate to have had this experience in the German capital city of Berlin.

I had read that the Brüder Grimm (Grimm Brothers) were buried in Berlin Schöneberg. On a walk through the district, I arrived at the Alter St.-Matthäus-Kirchhof, or Old Saint Matthew Cemetery, near the Yorckstrasse train station.

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