Twelve years after the symbolic laying of the foundation stone (2013) and eight years after moving in, the ‘time capsule’ of the new VLB building has now reached its final destination: on 5 December 2025, the stainless steel container sealed in 2013 was deposited in a specially designed wall niche in the basement.
The symbolic laying of the foundation stone for the new VLB building took place on the evening of 28 October 2013 as part of the 100th VLB October Conference – in the presence of Henner Bunde (State Secretary of the Berlin Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises), the then VLB President Dr Axel Th. Simon and numerous guests of the 100th VLB October Conference. VLB October Conference.
In keeping with tradition, a stainless steel time capsule was walled into a pedestal, filled with:
- a set of euro coins from 2013
- the October 2013 issue of Brauerei Forum
- the signed speech manuscripts from the ceremony
- a bottle of ‘Berliner Edel Grätzer Rauchbier’ – specially brewed in the VLB study brewery according to an old VLB recipe
As the start of the shell construction work was delayed by eight months due to a contract award lawsuit, the capsule was initially removed, stored and ‘forgotten’.
On 5 December 2025 – 12 years later – the time capsule finally arrived at its final destination – as a symbolic greeting to the future of the VLB and, in the best tradition of foundation stone rituals, also as a ‘protective symbol’ for the building.
Gerhard Andreas Schreiber, Dr Josef Fontaine, Michael Sack and Dr Björn Klotzbücher transfer the time capsule (from left to right)
The time capsule arrived at its final destination in the basement of the building on 5 December 2025.
The symbolic laying of the foundation stone for the new VLB building took place in the presence of State Secretary Henner Bunde and the VLB Administrative Board on the evening of 28 October 2013 as part of the 100th VLB October Conference.
