F as in Fockeberg
The Fockeberg is a Schuttberg in the south of Leipzig, a pile of rubble left over after World War II. It is about 45 m high and offers a nice view over the near Auenwald and Leipzig´s city centre. The place was named after the merchant August Adolf Focke – he gave a lot of his money to charity and supported many charitable institutions in Leipzig.
The Fockeberg was made artificially and consists out of piled up debris. After World War II there were many places throughout the city where rubble from destroyed buildings was collected. One of these dumping grounds was opened up in a severely damaged forest in the south of Leipzig. Work started in November 1947 and was continued for 10 years. The dumping ground, that is now the base of the Fockeberg, was in use until the end of the 1950s.
During the early 1980s the city began to design the Fockeberg – vegetation was planted, a paved pathway was made, and benches were installed.
Today the Fockeberg is popular as a recreational place, for example for the New Year’s celebrations but also for picnics during the summer months. Throughout the year different sports events take place, amongst them the Fockeberglauf and the soapbox derby. Furthermore, the scenery is often used for filming, for example for “Tatort” and “In aller Freundschaft”.
The view from the Fockeberg over Leipzig.
pile (paɪl) – der Haufen, Stapel
rubble (ˈrʌbl̩) – Trümmer, Schutt
to offer (ˈɒfəʳ) – etw bieten, anbieten
merchant (ˈmɜ:tʃənt) – der Kaufmann, Händler
charitable institution (ˈtʃærɪtəbl̩ ˌɪn(t)stɪˈtju:ʃən) – karitative Einrichtung
artificial (ˌɑ:tɪˈfɪʃəl) – künstlich
debris (ˈdebri: ) – Trümmer, Bruchteile
dumping ground (ˈdʌmpɪŋ graʊnd) – die Müllhalde, Müllplatz
severely (səˈvɪəli) – schwer, heftig, stark
to damage (ˈdæmɪʤ) – etw beschädigen
to pave (peɪv) – etw pflastern, asphaltieren
pathway (ˈpɑːθweɪ) – der Fußweg, Weg
bench (bentʃ) – die Bank, hier: die Sitzgelegenheit
recreational (ˌrekriˈeɪʃənəl) – Freizeit- Erholungs-
New Year´s celebration (nju: jɪəʳ ˌseləˈbreɪʃən) – Silvesterfeier
soapbox derby (səʊpbɒks ˈdɑ:bi) – das Seifenkistenrennen