Charité-Bettenhochhaus, Medical high-rise building in Berlin-Mitte, Germany
The Charité-Bettenhochhaus is a 21-storey, 82-metre hospital high-rise at Luisenstraße 64 in Berlin-Mitte, its broad facade divided into narrow vertical bays by dark mullions, with a green stripe on the left and a rust-brown panel on the right. White letters spelling "Charité" stand on the roof. Inside are 327 rooms with 892 beds and 14 medical departments.
The building was constructed between 1977 and 1982 in East Berlin to expand the city's medical infrastructure. Its architecture reflects the International Style of that era and remains a significant landmark in Berlin's healthcare development.
The name Bettenhochhaus, or bed high-rise, comes from the hospital beds it held alongside its medical wards. The building was opened on 14 June 1982 with a speech by Erich Honecker, and its size was meant to show East Berlin's strength near the nearby West Berlin border. Today visitors see the white "Charité" lettering on the roof.
The building is easily accessible from the Charité campus and has several entrances for visitors and patients. Information about departments and routes within the complex is available at the information desks on the ground floor.
The building is one of the tallest hospital structures in the world, rising 82 metres over 21 floors after renovation. Because the nearby border with West Berlin once ran close by, its oversized scale also served as a state showcase toward the western half of the city.
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