Schwerbelastungskörper

The Schwerbelastungskörper (German: "heavy load-exerting body") is a large concrete cylinder located at the intersection of Dudenstraße, General-Pape-Straße, and Loewenhardtdamm in the northwestern part of the borough of Tempelhof in Berlin, Germany.

It was built by Adolf Hitler's chief architect Albert Speer to determine the feasibility of constructing large buildings on the area's marshy, sandy ground.

It was one component of a plan to redesign the center of Berlin as an imposing, monumental capital reflecting the spirit of Nazi Germany as envisioned by Hitler.

[2] The Schwerbelastungskörper was built by Dyckerhoff & Widmann AG in 1941 at a cost of 400,000 Reichsmark[3] (adjusted for purchasing power in today's currency around 1.69 million euros).

[2] The reconstruction of Berlin was initiated alongside the idea that this rebuilding would create and represent an eternal marking of Hitler's legacy and power.

This unrealized dome designed by Hitler and Speer was intended to be an assembly hall standing at 290 m (950 ft) high and holding over 180,000 people.

[6] The purpose of this hall was to create a permanent structure acting as the capital of the Third Reich, and the centerpiece of Germania that eternalized Hitler's strength, power, and influence.

[1] Removal of the cylinder was considered after the war, but because of its mass as well as nearby train tracks and apartment buildings, the structure could not be safely demolished with explosives.