EP.2 TREFFPUNKT 8 UHR: BERLIN CLOCKS

In the 1920s elegant Berliners fell in love with a scent called "Treffpunkt 8 Uhr" (Rendezvous at 8PM). Made by a legendary local manufacture Schwarzlose - which still exists today - it stood for the Exciting and the Romantic but also for what Berlin seemed never to have enough of: time.

From 1787 when the first public clock appeared in Unter den Linden, clocks dictated the pace  of the city. Many appointments were scheduled under the chronometer. Later, the areas around public city clocks, the Normaluhren, became traditional meeting points for Berliners. So when in 1969 a new public clock was unveiled on the main East Berlin plaza, on Alexanderplatz, it became clear that the Weltzeituhr (World Clock) would be a witness to many a rendezvous in the years to come. As it has been until today.

Here's the story of two famous Berlin chronometers.