WISTA

The WISTA Science and Technology Park in Berlin-Adlershof was founded in 1991 after the dissolution of the Academy of Sciences of the German Democratic Republic at the same place. Today it covers an area of 4.2 square kilometres (1.6 sq mi) making it the largest science park in Germany.

The existence of technology centers at Adlershof dates back well into the late 19th and early 20th centuries - the Berlin–Görlitz railway had reached the Berlin suburb of Adlershof in 1867 and the population increased from 743 in 1875 to 5591 in 1895 following the industrialization in the area. The decision to build the Teltow Canal (1900 - 1906) furthered the development of businesses in the area between the old town (in the north) and the canal (in the south). In 1909 the Johannisthal Air Field opened in the west of the area and a number of institutions settled in Adlershof, including the German Research Institute for Aviation (today German Aerospace Center). During the wars the area was used as a technology development center for aviation and radio telecommunications - for some time the large 36 meter radio telescope was an icon of the area.

After the total destruction of Berlin 1945 the new Eastern Government decided to move the German Academy of Sciences to Adlershof. In 1950 to 1952 the media centers of the Deutscher Fernsehfunk television broadcaster were built in Adlershof. The aviation field was closed down (as air transport had been moved to Berlin-Schönefeld Airport a few miles away) and the guards regiment Feliks Dzierzynski (12,000 soldiers) occupied the military buildings.

After the German reunification almost all institutions at Adlershof were closed down during 1990/1991. The infrastructure was old and not up to date with the technology level of West Germany however the available area had the best premises to build a modern one. Berlin did found the Redevelopment Company Adlershof Ltd (Entwicklungsgesellschaft Adlershof mbH - EGA) in 1991 and it was renamed to WISTA Management Ltd (WISTA-Management GmbH) in 1994 as the plans for a new science and technology park took shape. Since then, it helps developing the cluster partly like a business incubator, with network management, communication and marketing, acceleration of special fields of technology and acquisition of projects, investments and companies.

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