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Weekend Tips: What to Do This Weekend in Berlin
September 25 to 27, 2026: Events, festivals, exhibitions and more things to do for your perfect weekend in Berlin. more
Georgia Krawiec – MONUMENT TO
Three camera obscura installations project history
Camera obscura
© georgia Krawiec
This project focuses on three historic buildings on the citadel grounds: the former laboratory building (now the Gerd Steinmöller Artists’ House), the former Toxicology Institute on the Brandenburg Bastion, and the gas testing facility near the Italian Courtyards. All of them played an important role during the Nazi era in connection with the Wehrmacht’s Army Gas Protection Laboratories, which were located here.
The artist Georgia Krawiec (born 1972 in Kędzierzyn, Poland) developed three optical devices—so-called camera obscurae—that allude to the dark history of these buildings. Despite intensive historical research, many questions regarding the use of these buildings remain unanswered—due to a lack of sufficient historical reappraisal, willing eyewitnesses, and accessible files and archives.
Looking into a camera obscura, visitors see something surprising: the image of the toxic architectural monument appears upside down. Visitors are encouraged to look more closely, to consider art alongside history and history alongside art, but also to reflect on the past, rethink it, and reimagine these monuments.
The largest camera obscura focuses on the Künstlerhaus. The artist has a special connection to this building, as she has found her studio—a creative home—here. During the Nazi era, it housed the centerpiece of the Army Gas Protection Laboratories: the Institute for the Synthesis and Analysis of Chemical Weapons.
By deliberately placing the camera obscuras on the grounds of the citadel, visitors are invited to set out in search of other projections of historically burdened architectural monuments and to experience art at the intersection of history, architecture, and their own perspective.Translated with DeepL
The artist Georgia Krawiec (born 1972 in Kędzierzyn, Poland) developed three optical devices—so-called camera obscurae—that allude to the dark history of these buildings. Despite intensive historical research, many questions regarding the use of these buildings remain unanswered—due to a lack of sufficient historical reappraisal, willing eyewitnesses, and accessible files and archives.
Looking into a camera obscura, visitors see something surprising: the image of the toxic architectural monument appears upside down. Visitors are encouraged to look more closely, to consider art alongside history and history alongside art, but also to reflect on the past, rethink it, and reimagine these monuments.
The largest camera obscura focuses on the Künstlerhaus. The artist has a special connection to this building, as she has found her studio—a creative home—here. During the Nazi era, it housed the centerpiece of the Army Gas Protection Laboratories: the Institute for the Synthesis and Analysis of Chemical Weapons.
By deliberately placing the camera obscuras on the grounds of the citadel, visitors are invited to set out in search of other projections of historically burdened architectural monuments and to experience art at the intersection of history, architecture, and their own perspective.Translated with DeepL
Runtime: from September 2026
Price info: Almost every 1st Sunday of the month is Citadel Sunday and admission is free.
Price: €4.50
Reduced price: €2.50
Reduced price info: Pupils - children aged 6-14 - students - trainees - people who receive transfer benefits (ALG II, social welfare, benefits under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act) - GdB 50, MdE on presentation of the relevant ID.
public guided tours of Spandau Citadel
every Saturday and Sunday at 2 pm
€4.50 per person plus Citadel ticket
(on the last Saturday of the month, the guided tour of the exhibition "Unveiled. Berlin and its monuments")
The following guided tours are canceled due to major events:
03. + 04.10.2026
Price: €4.50
Reduced price: €2.50
Reduced price info: Pupils - children aged 6-14 - students - trainees - people who receive transfer benefits (ALG II, social welfare, benefits under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act) - GdB 50, MdE on presentation of the relevant ID.
public guided tours of Spandau Citadel
every Saturday and Sunday at 2 pm
€4.50 per person plus Citadel ticket
(on the last Saturday of the month, the guided tour of the exhibition "Unveiled. Berlin and its monuments")
The following guided tours are canceled due to major events:
03. + 04.10.2026
Takes place here:
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