Centennial Hall
Max Berg's 1913 reinforced-concrete dome, a landmark of modern engineering and UNESCO site.
The Centennial Hall was built between 1911 and 1913 to designs by the city architect Max Berg, for an exhibition marking the centenary of the uprising against Napoleon. Its reinforced-concrete dome spans 65 metres and rises 42 metres above the floor, the widest concrete dome anywhere at the time and more than twice the span of the Pantheon. Four apses open off a central rotunda, and tiers of ribbed concrete ribs step upward to a lantern of glass.
The hall was conceived as a multi-purpose space for congresses, exhibitions, concerts and sport, a role it still fills. It stands within an exhibition precinct that also includes Hans Poelzig's Four Domes Pavilion, a pergola and a modern multimedia fountain. UNESCO added the building to the World Heritage List in 2006 as a pioneering work of reinforced-concrete architecture. A visitor centre beneath the hall presents its history and construction through models and archival material.
Highlights
- A 65-metre reinforced-concrete dome, the widest in the world in 1913
- UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2006
- Visitor centre explaining Max Berg's engineering
- Surrounding exhibition grounds, pergola and multimedia fountain
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