Before they were towers

Elektrokohle Lichtenberg was founded in 1872, under the name Siemens Gebr & Co.
During the First and Second World Wars Siemens & Co. was a major armament factory.
After the end of the war it transformed into a Soviet corporation (SAG) and was held in trust.
In 1954, it was handed over to the German Democratic Republic. The Volkseigene Betrieb (People’s enterprise) was now called VEB Elektrokohle Lichtenberg.

After reunification in 1993, a 200-meter high chimney, the third tallest technical building in the former East Berlin was removed using a special excavator. In 1996 the American UCAR took over the major coal production, the rest went in 1997 to the SGL Carbon Group.
By the end of 1997, major production in Lichtenberg stopped, the buildings were cleared and the chimneys blown up.