Berlin Pissoirs: The final effluence

We conclude our exhibit of traditional Berlin urinals with this gorgeous image of a facility that still survives at Rüdesheimer Platz. Constructed in a pleasantly rustic environment,  we find exemplified here the classic design envisioned and created by Stadtbaurat Carl Theodor Rospatt in 1878. By 1920 Berlin was adorned with no less than 142 of these cast-iron beauties. Spread out like a chain of cancerous pearls from one end of the city to the other, and driven only by the force of gravity, they were capable of servicing the beer discharge from as many as seven different urinators simultaneously.

thanks: flickruser sludgegulper

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Pissoir en hiver

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thanks: unknown flickruser

Pissoirs of Berlin: A palatial amplitude at Schlesisches Tor

Forsaking the octagonal shape of the classical Berlin pissoir—the so-called Café Achteck which we have discussed in an earlier post—we now come to an alternate model that combines elegance with magnificent proportions, constructed to accommodate if necessary an entire football team of happy urinators. It is built of the same charming cucumber-green cast-iron plates as the traditional Berlin model, now reimagined in a rectangular configuration.

The particular example of engineering excellence you see above has an especially delightful acoustic feature. Due to its location near Schlesisches Tor ("Silesian Gate"), you can relieve yourself to a thunderous accompaniment as the U-3 overhead hurtles into the train station just a few more meters down the line. 

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thanks: unknown flickr user

Pissoirs of Berlin: at Westhafen and Siemens Strasse she stands in snow-capped splendor

thanks: flickr user renov

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Pissoirs of Berlin

It is the sign of a truly civilized nation that facilities for urination should be made widely available and without any charge to the public, to benefit especially its beer-swilling male members. Wilhelmine Germany truly excelled in this regard, and there still exist some outstanding examples in the city of Berlin, though there are few left that are yet operational.

The only deficiency is that they stank horribly, which explains the open gratings towards the top of cast iron walls and in the lantern on the roof. They also weren’t lighted electrically, since the same openings let in sufficient light to do your business. This was generally absent in the evening, so you were then left standing there to drain the lizard in almost total darkness.

The particularly elegant and well-preserved example shown above is located at the Gendarmenmarkt; it featured two overhead gas lights at the entrance. It belongs to a common species of urinal humorously referred to in German as the Cafe Achteck, or "Cafe Octagon."

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cc photo from Flickr user damiandude -- clicking embiggens