They used to be a distinctive feature of Berlin’s cityscape, and it always was an event when these lanterns – some of which were installed in four rows along streets in Charlottenburg and Zehlendorf – flared up at dusk. Berlin’s gas lanterns, of which no fewer than 22,000 were in use at one point, have been removed over the past decade despite protests and replaced by much colder electric lanterns. The most famous among the old lanterns, the Bamag U7 top-mounted light that has been in use since 1951, can now be given a refuge in your home. It will repay you not only with its pleasant visual appearance, but with an additional light that comes from the top opening of the shade, which was originally intended only for heat dissipation.
