On the way to international exchange

Eberswalde owes the establishment of the Neue Forstakademie (New Forest Academy) (2) to Bernhard Danckelmann. Born on 5 April 1831, in the forester's lodge in Obereimer/Arnsberg (Sauerland), the latter lived in Eberswalde until his death in 1901. Danckelmann studied at the "Advanced School of Forestry" in Eberswalde from 1850 to 1852 and was its director from 1866. As the old academy building could not meet the growing needs of the institute, Danckelmann commissioned a new building. The task of designing and constructing the new building were assigned to architect Cornelius and royal architect Düsterhaupt. The new academy building was constructed in the neo-Renaissance style between 1873 and 1876.

From 1878, in his capacity as a member of the State Economic Council, Danckelmann advised the Berlin Minister on fundamental issues concerning agriculture and forestry and drafted laws and ordinances. Thus he had a direct influence on the development of forestry in Germany. In 1880, Danckelmann received an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Law of the University of Bonn. In 1892 he founded the Internationaler Verband der Forstlichen Versuchsanstalten (International Association of Forestry Research Institutes), which later became today's International Union of Forestry Research Organizations (IUFRO), and was its president from 1894 to 1896.

This building was used as an Institute of Entomology (science of insects). Various specimens required for research and teaching were housed there. As early as 1912, an administrative wing (3) with a large auditorium had to be added to the building and only two decades later, these premises proved insufficient. Thus another building (4) was constructed in 1928/29 which reflects the architectural style of the 1930s (rough cast, natural stone surrounds, astragal/muntin windows, wrought-iron balustrades). Today, the building houses, inter alia, the university kindergarten.