Ludwig Schupmann

In 1882, electric street lighting was put into operation in the center of the city of Berlin (Potsdamer Platz and Leipziger Straße) for which the company Siemens & Halske supplied a total of 36 carbon arc lamps.

In November 1887, the city of Berlin announced a competition for the design of richly decorated arc lamp candelabras for the boulevard Unter den Linden, which was won by Ludwig Schupmann.

A total of 104 lamps with a light point height of 8 metres were built according to this design and installed in Berlin in 1888 (on Unter den Linden, Pariser Platz, Opernplatz and Kaiser-Wilhelm-Straße).

Before the 1936 Olympic Games, the Schupmann candelabras on the Unter den Linden-boulevard were replaced by so-called Biedermeier Lamps.

[1] The asteroid 5779 Schupmann is named in his honour.† Die Medial-Fernrohre - Eine neue Konstruktion für große astronomische Instrumente, Teubner-Verlag, 1899

Schupmann's drawing of the candelabra, now named after him.
Schupmann's drawing of the candelabra, now named after him.
Rathenow's Giant Telescope in the modern "Park of Optics" where it is located since 2009.
Rathenow's Giant Telescope in the modern "Park of Optics" where it is located since 2009.