Oldest preserved "Litfaßsäule" - Berlin, Germany - Advertising Columns on Waymarking.com

An advertising column (german: Litfaßsäule) is a billboard placed on the sidewalk of the street to which posters are stuck. It was invented by the Berlin printer Ernst Litfaß and first realized in 1854. The round column belongs to the field of outdoor advertising. A distinction is made between a general point (advertising column with several advertisers at the same time) and a full column (or whole position; advertising column with one advertiser).

The idea of setting up poster pillars came about to counteract the wildly rampant advertising at the time. Litfaß suggested to the chief of police in Berlin, Karl Ludwig von Hinkeldey, that they put up pillars everywhere in the city, on which people could hang their posters. After years of negotiations, Litfaß received the first approval for its "advertising pillars" on December 5, 1854. The city of Berlin gave him a monopoly on erecting his pillars, which was valid until 1865.

The approval was linked to the condition that the latest news was also published on the pillars. In 1855 the first 100 advertising pillars were erected in Berlin and named advertising pillars in honor of the inventor. In 1865 another 50 columns were erected. Both the authorities and the advertisers quickly recognized the advantages of the new advertising medium: the state could censor the content beforehand. Advertisers could rest assured that their posters would really be visible for the entire rental period without being covered over.

Construction

The basic shape was designed with a diameter of about 1.4 m (circumference 3.60-4.30 m) and a height of 2.60-3.60 m as a hollow round column, whereby the posters could be any size and nobody anything had to stick around the corner or read. They were mostly made of sheet iron, later concrete and artificial stone were also used, with a wide base and a round hood, the edge of which was sometimes decorated. Instead of a hood, the column can also be closed with a straight plate on which further advertising material can then be placed.

Since the 1990s there have been pillars that open inward, called pillar. Terminals or telephones are installed in the interior. This street furniture continues the tradition of function as a direct service. In addition, versions are increasingly being used in which the actual advertising medium rotates around its own axis under a plexiglass and is illuminated. These are mainly used at traffic light crossings to attract even more attention, which in turn limits the awareness of road users.

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Advertisement: LITFASSS-PLATZ Kind of advertisement: History Kind of column?: concrete column Address: Berlin,

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Date Logged Log User Rating   12/26/2020 ludy64 visited it