Charlottenburg
Encyclopedia
Charlottenburg is a locality of Berlin
within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf
, named after Queen consort Sophia Charlotte
(1668–1705). It is best known for Charlottenburg Palace
, the largest surviving royal palace
in Berlin, and the adjacent museums.
Charlottenburg was an independent city to the west of Berlin until 1920 when it was incorporated into "Groß-Berlin
" (Greater Berlin) and transformed into a borough. In the course of Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was merged with the former borough of Wilmersdorf
becoming a part of a new borough called Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf
. Later, in 2004, the new borough's districts were rearranged, dividing the former borough of Charlottenburg into the localities of Charlottenburg proper, Westend
and Charlottenburg-Nord
. In addition, Charlottenburg features a number of popular kiez
es.
Charlottenburg celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2005.
, west of the Tiergarten
park. Its historic core Alt Lietzow is situated near the river Spree
within the Berlin-Warsaw
glacial valley. The Straße des 17. Juni
(17 June Street), former Charlottenburger Chaussee, which runs eastwards through the Tiergarten park to Brandenburg Gate
, connects Charlottenburg with the historic centre of Berlin-Mitte. Adjacent in the south is the territory of Wilmersdorf
.
steads Lietzow and Casow (pr. caasow) and a further settlement called Glienicke
(pr. gleanicke). Although these names are of Slavic origin, the settlements are likely to have had a mixed Slavic and German population.
Lietzow (also called Lietze, Lutze, Lutzen, Lütze, Lützow, Lusze and Lucene) is first documented in 1239, and was in the area of the present day Alt-Lietzow Street behind the town hall. Casow laid opposite of Lietzow, on the other side of the Spree river. In 1315, Lietzow and Casow became the property of the Sankt Marien nunnery
in Spandau
. As a result, the Lietzow farmstead probably was expanded to a village. In the course of the Protestant Reformation
, Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg
, confiscated the estates and dissolved the nunnery in 1558.
While Lietzow has been populated continuously, Casow and Glienicke were abandoned. From old field names it is believed that Glienicke lay in the area of the present day streets Kantstraße, Fasanenstraße, Kurfürstendamm
and Uhlandstraße at the former Gliniker Lake (now dry, there's another Glienicke Lake in the Wannsee
locality).
The development of Lietzow is well documented. For more than four hundred years, members of the Berendt family were mayors and thus had to pay lower taxes. Ecclesiastically, Lietzow came under the pastor of Wilmersdorf
, who reached it from there by the so-called 'Priesterweg' (priest's way), on the line of the streets now called Leibnizstraße, Konstanzer Straße and Brandenburgische Straße.
In 1695, Sophia Charlotte of Hanover
received Lietzow from her husband, Elector Frederick III, in exchange for her estates in Caputh and Langerwisch, near Potsdam
. Frederick had a summer residence built there for Sophie Charlotte by the architect Johann Arnold Nering
between 1695 and 1699. After Frederick became Frederick I
, King in Prussia
, the palace was extended into a stately building with a cours d'honneur. This work was supervised by the Swedish master builder Johann Friedrich Eosander. Shortly after the death of Sophie Charlotte, the settlement facing the palace was called Charlottenburg - the palace itself Schloss Charlottenburg - and chartered as a town
on April 5, 1705. The king was the town's mayor until the historic village of Lietzow was incorporated into Charlottenburg in 1720.
Frederick's successor as king, Frederick William I of Prussia
, rarely stayed at the palace, which depressed the small town of Charlottenburg. Frederick William even tried to revoke the town's privileges. It was not until 1740, at the coronation of his successor Frederick II
, that the town's significance increased, as regular celebrations were held again at the palace. The eastern New Wing was built by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff
between 1740 and 1747 as Frederick the Great's residence. Later, Frederick II preferred the palace of Sanssouci
, which he had partly designed himself.
When Frederick II died in 1786, his nephew Frederick William II
succeeded him, and Charlottenburg became his favourite residence, as it was for his son and successor Frederick William III
. After the defeat of the Prussian army
at Jena
in 1806, Charlottenburg was occupied by the French
. Napoleon
occupied the palace, while his troops made camp
nearby. Charlottenburg became part of the new Prussian Province of Brandenburg
in 1815 after the Napoleonic Wars
.
. Its first true inn opened in the 1770s, in the street then called Berliner Straße (now Otto-Suhr-Allee), and many other inns and beer gardens were to follow, popular for weekend parties especially. Berliners seeking leisure and entertainment came by boat, by carriage and later by horse-drawn trams, above all to a large amusement park at the shore of the Spree river called Flora, that went into bankruptcy in 1904.
From the 1860s on the wealthy Bourgeoisie of Berlin discovered Charlottenburg as a residential area, among the first were Gerson von Bleichröder
and Ernst Werner von Siemens
, who had a villa built in the Berliner Straße in 1862. At the same time industrial companies like Siemens & Halske
and Schering erected large factories in the north-east, at the border with the Moabit
district of Berlin. In 1877 Charlottenburg received town privileges
and until World War I
saw an enormous increase of population with 100,000 inhabitants as of 1893 and a population of 306,000 in 1920, being the second largest city within the Province of Brandenburg
, after Berlin.
The development was accompanied by an urban planning
of broad streets and sidewalks, parks and spacious residential buildings, especially around the southern Kurfürstendamm
area, which enabled large parts of Charlottenburg to preserve their affluent residential character. "The richest town of Prussia" established a Royal Technical College in 1879 (which later became the Berlin Institute of Technology), followed by the Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt
and the College of the Fine Arts
. A new town hall with a 88 m (288.7 ft) tall spire was erected on the occasion of its 200-year jubilee in 1905 and an opera house
opened in 1912. The history of Charlottenburg as a municipality in its own right ended with the Greater Berlin Act
of October 1, 1920, when the town became a part of Berlin. The Province of Brandenburg was administered in Charlottenburg from 1918 until the province's dissolution in 1946 after World War II
.
, followed by several theatres, cinemas, bars and restaurants, which made Charlottenburg the Berlin centre of leisure and nightlife. Artists like
Alfred Döblin
, Otto Dix
, Gottfried Benn
, Else Lasker-Schüler
, Bertolt Brecht
, Max Liebermann
, Stefan Zweig
and Friedrich Hollaender
socialized in the legendary Romanisches Café
at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church
. However the days of the Golden Twenties
came to an end with the rise of the Nazi Party. In World War II
the area around the Breitscheidplatz
was heavily damaged by air raids and the Battle of Berlin
.
Nevertheless after 1945 the Kurfürstendamm area quickly regained its importance, as with the partition of the city in the Cold War
it became the commercial centre of West-Berlin. It was therefore the site of protests and major demonstrations of the late 1960s German student movement
, that culminated on June 2, 1967 when student Benno Ohnesorg
was shot by a police officer during a demonstration against Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi at the Deutsche Oper
.
Before the reunification of Berlin, Charlottenburg was the center of West Berlin, with many high market bars and restaurants. After 1990 German reunification
Charlottenburg struggled with the rise of the Mitte
borough as Berlin's historic centre. The "City West" is still the main shopping area, offering several major hotels, theatres, bars and restaurants.
both located in the former Gardes du Corps barracks
at Charlottenburg Palace, built by Friedrich August Stüler
1859
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf
Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf
Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf is the fourth borough of Berlin, formed in the 2001 administrative reform by merging the former boroughs of Charlottenburg and Wilmersdorf.-Overview:Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf covers the western centre of the City of Berlin...
, named after Queen consort Sophia Charlotte
Sophia Charlotte of Hanover
Sophia Charlotte of Hanover was the Queen consort of Prussia as wife of Frederick I of Prussia. She was the daughter of Ernst August, Elector of Hanover, and Sophia of the Palatinate...
(1668–1705). It is best known for Charlottenburg Palace
Charlottenburg Palace
Charlottenburg Palace is the largest palace in Berlin, Germany, and the only royal residency in the city dating back to the time of the Hohenzollern family. It is located in the Charlottenburg district of the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf burough.The palace was built at the end of the 17th century...
, the largest surviving royal palace
Palace
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word itself is derived from the Latin name Palātium, for Palatine Hill, one of the seven hills in Rome. In many parts of Europe, the...
in Berlin, and the adjacent museums.
Charlottenburg was an independent city to the west of Berlin until 1920 when it was incorporated into "Groß-Berlin
Greater Berlin Act
The Greater Berlin Act , in full the Law Regarding the Reconstruction of the New Local Authority of Berlin , was a law passed by the Prussian government in 1920 that greatly expanded the size of the German capital of Berlin.-History:...
" (Greater Berlin) and transformed into a borough. In the course of Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was merged with the former borough of Wilmersdorf
Wilmersdorf
Wilmersdorf is an inner city locality of Berlin, formerly a borough by itself but since Berlin's 2001 administrative reform a part of the new borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf.-History:...
becoming a part of a new borough called Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf
Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf
Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf is the fourth borough of Berlin, formed in the 2001 administrative reform by merging the former boroughs of Charlottenburg and Wilmersdorf.-Overview:Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf covers the western centre of the City of Berlin...
. Later, in 2004, the new borough's districts were rearranged, dividing the former borough of Charlottenburg into the localities of Charlottenburg proper, Westend
Westend (Berlin)
Westend is a locality of the Berlin borough Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf situated on the Spandauer Berg, the northern peak of the Teltow plateau between the river valleys of Spree and Havel...
and Charlottenburg-Nord
Charlottenburg-Nord
Charlottenburg-Nord is a neighborhood in the northern part of the district Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, Berlin, Germany. As of 2008 its population was of 17,327...
. In addition, Charlottenburg features a number of popular kiez
Kiez
Kiez is a German word that refers to a city neighbourhood, a relatively small community within a larger town. The word is mainly used in Berlin and northern Germany.-Original Meaning and Etymology:...
es.
Charlottenburg celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2005.
Geography
Charlottenburg is located in Berlin's inner cityInner city
The inner city is the central area of a major city or metropolis. In the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland, the term is often applied to the lower-income residential districts in the city centre and nearby areas...
, west of the Tiergarten
Tiergarten
Tiergarten is a locality within the borough of Mitte, in central Berlin . Notable for the great and homonymous urban park, before German reunification, it was a part of West Berlin...
park. Its historic core Alt Lietzow is situated near the river Spree
Spree
The Spree is a river that flows through the Saxony, Brandenburg and Berlin states of Germany, and in the Ústí nad Labem region of the Czech Republic...
within the Berlin-Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
glacial valley. The Straße des 17. Juni
Straße des 17. Juni
The Straße des 17. Juni is a street in central Berlin, the capital of Germany. It is the western continuation of the Unter den Linden. It runs east-west through the Tiergarten, a large forest park to the west of the city centre. At the eastern end is the Brandenburg Gate and at the western end is...
(17 June Street), former Charlottenburger Chaussee, which runs eastwards through the Tiergarten park to Brandenburg Gate
Brandenburg Gate
The Brandenburg Gate is a former city gate and one of the most well-known landmarks of Berlin and Germany. It is located west of the city centre at the junction of Unter den Linden and Ebertstraße, immediately west of the Pariser Platz. It is the only remaining gate of a series through which...
, connects Charlottenburg with the historic centre of Berlin-Mitte. Adjacent in the south is the territory of Wilmersdorf
Wilmersdorf
Wilmersdorf is an inner city locality of Berlin, formerly a borough by itself but since Berlin's 2001 administrative reform a part of the new borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf.-History:...
.
Early settlements
On the land occupied by Charlottenburg there were three settlements in the late Middle Ages: the farmFarm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
steads Lietzow and Casow (pr. caasow) and a further settlement called Glienicke
Glienicke
Glienicke may refer to:* Glienicke Bridge* Glienicke Palace ,* Glienicke/Nordbahn, to the north of Berlin* Glienicker Lake, part of lake Wannsee in BerlinGlienicke may also refer to:...
(pr. gleanicke). Although these names are of Slavic origin, the settlements are likely to have had a mixed Slavic and German population.
Lietzow (also called Lietze, Lutze, Lutzen, Lütze, Lützow, Lusze and Lucene) is first documented in 1239, and was in the area of the present day Alt-Lietzow Street behind the town hall. Casow laid opposite of Lietzow, on the other side of the Spree river. In 1315, Lietzow and Casow became the property of the Sankt Marien nunnery
Abbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
in Spandau
Spandau
Spandau is the fifth of the twelve boroughs of Berlin. It is the fourth largest and westernmost borough, situated at the confluence of the Havel and Spree rivers and along the western bank of the Havel, but the least populated.-Overview:...
. As a result, the Lietzow farmstead probably was expanded to a village. In the course of the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
, Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg
Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg
Joachim II Hector was a Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg . A member of the House of Hohenzollern, Joachim II was the son of Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg, and his wife Elizabeth of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden...
, confiscated the estates and dissolved the nunnery in 1558.
While Lietzow has been populated continuously, Casow and Glienicke were abandoned. From old field names it is believed that Glienicke lay in the area of the present day streets Kantstraße, Fasanenstraße, Kurfürstendamm
Kurfürstendamm
The Kurfürstendamm, known locally as the Ku'damm, is one of the most famous avenues in Berlin. The street takes its name from the former Kurfürsten of Brandenburg. This very broad, long boulevard can be considered the Champs-Élysées of Berlin — full of shops, houses, hotels and restaurants...
and Uhlandstraße at the former Gliniker Lake (now dry, there's another Glienicke Lake in the Wannsee
Wannsee
Wannsee is a locality in the southwestern Berlin borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Germany. It is the westernmost locality of Berlin. In the quarter there are two lakes, the larger Großer Wannsee and the Kleiner Wannsee , are located on the river Havel and are separated only by the Wannsee bridge...
locality).
The development of Lietzow is well documented. For more than four hundred years, members of the Berendt family were mayors and thus had to pay lower taxes. Ecclesiastically, Lietzow came under the pastor of Wilmersdorf
Wilmersdorf
Wilmersdorf is an inner city locality of Berlin, formerly a borough by itself but since Berlin's 2001 administrative reform a part of the new borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf.-History:...
, who reached it from there by the so-called 'Priesterweg' (priest's way), on the line of the streets now called Leibnizstraße, Konstanzer Straße and Brandenburgische Straße.
Charlottenburg palace
In 1695, Sophia Charlotte of Hanover
Sophia Charlotte of Hanover
Sophia Charlotte of Hanover was the Queen consort of Prussia as wife of Frederick I of Prussia. She was the daughter of Ernst August, Elector of Hanover, and Sophia of the Palatinate...
received Lietzow from her husband, Elector Frederick III, in exchange for her estates in Caputh and Langerwisch, near Potsdam
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
. Frederick had a summer residence built there for Sophie Charlotte by the architect Johann Arnold Nering
Johann Arnold Nering
Johann Arnold Nering or Nehring was a German architect active in the Electorate of Brandenburg.-Life:...
between 1695 and 1699. After Frederick became Frederick I
Frederick I of Prussia
Frederick I , of the Hohenzollern dynasty, was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia in personal union . The latter function he upgraded to royalty, becoming the first King in Prussia . From 1707 he was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
, King in Prussia
King in Prussia
King in Prussia was a title used by the Electors of Brandenburg from 1701 to 1772. Subsequently they used the title King of Prussia....
, the palace was extended into a stately building with a cours d'honneur. This work was supervised by the Swedish master builder Johann Friedrich Eosander. Shortly after the death of Sophie Charlotte, the settlement facing the palace was called Charlottenburg - the palace itself Schloss Charlottenburg - and chartered as a town
German town law
German town law or German municipal concerns concerns town privileges used by many cities, towns, and villages throughout Central and Eastern Europe during the Middle Ages.- Town law in Germany :...
on April 5, 1705. The king was the town's mayor until the historic village of Lietzow was incorporated into Charlottenburg in 1720.
Frederick's successor as king, Frederick William I of Prussia
Frederick William I of Prussia
Frederick William I of the House of Hohenzollern, was the King in Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg from 1713 until his death...
, rarely stayed at the palace, which depressed the small town of Charlottenburg. Frederick William even tried to revoke the town's privileges. It was not until 1740, at the coronation of his successor Frederick II
Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
, that the town's significance increased, as regular celebrations were held again at the palace. The eastern New Wing was built by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff
Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff
Hans Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff was a painter and architect in Prussia.Knobelsdorff was born in Kuckädel, now in Krosno Odrzańskie County. A soldier in the service of Prussia, he resigned his commission in 1729 as captain so that he could pursue his interest in architecture...
between 1740 and 1747 as Frederick the Great's residence. Later, Frederick II preferred the palace of Sanssouci
Sanssouci
Sanssouci is the name of the former summer palace of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, in Potsdam, near Berlin. It is often counted among the German rivals of Versailles. While Sanssouci is in the more intimate Rococo style and is far smaller than its French Baroque counterpart, it too is...
, which he had partly designed himself.
When Frederick II died in 1786, his nephew Frederick William II
Frederick William II of Prussia
Frederick William II was the King of Prussia, reigning from 1786 until his death. He was in personal union the Prince-Elector of Brandenburg and the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel.-Early life:...
succeeded him, and Charlottenburg became his favourite residence, as it was for his son and successor Frederick William III
Frederick William III of Prussia
Frederick William III was king of Prussia from 1797 to 1840. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel .-Early life:...
. After the defeat of the Prussian army
Prussian Army
The Royal Prussian Army was the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power.The Prussian Army had its roots in the meager mercenary forces of Brandenburg during the Thirty Years' War...
at Jena
Battle of Jena-Auerstedt
The twin battles of Jena and Auerstedt were fought on 14 October 1806 on the plateau west of the river Saale in today's Germany, between the forces of Napoleon I of France and Frederick William III of Prussia...
in 1806, Charlottenburg was occupied by the French
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
. Napoleon
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
occupied the palace, while his troops made camp
Military camp
A military camp or bivouac is a semi-permanent facility for the lodging of an army. Camps are erected when a military force travels away from a major installation or fort during training or operations, and often have the form of large campsites. In the Roman era the military camp had highly...
nearby. Charlottenburg became part of the new Prussian Province of Brandenburg
Province of Brandenburg
The Province of Brandenburg was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946.-History:The first people who are known to have inhabited Brandenburg were the Suevi. They were succeeded by the Slavonians, whom Henry II conquered and converted to Christianity in...
in 1815 after the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
.
Recreational and residential area
In the late 18th century, Charlottenburg's development did not depend only on the crown. The town became a recreational area for the expanding city of BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. Its first true inn opened in the 1770s, in the street then called Berliner Straße (now Otto-Suhr-Allee), and many other inns and beer gardens were to follow, popular for weekend parties especially. Berliners seeking leisure and entertainment came by boat, by carriage and later by horse-drawn trams, above all to a large amusement park at the shore of the Spree river called Flora, that went into bankruptcy in 1904.
From the 1860s on the wealthy Bourgeoisie of Berlin discovered Charlottenburg as a residential area, among the first were Gerson von Bleichröder
Gerson von Bleichröder
Gerson von Bleichröder was a Jewish German banker.Bleichröder was born in Berlin. He was the eldest son of Samuel Bleichröder, who founded the banking firm of S. Bleichröder in 1803 in Berlin...
and Ernst Werner von Siemens
Ernst Werner von Siemens
Ernst Werner Siemens, von Siemens since 1888, was a German inventor and industrialist. Siemens' name has been adopted as the SI unit of electrical conductance, the siemens...
, who had a villa built in the Berliner Straße in 1862. At the same time industrial companies like Siemens & Halske
Siemens & Halske
Siemens & Halske AG was a German electrical engineering company that later became part of Siemens AG.It was founded on 12 October 1847 as Telegraphen-Bauanstalt von Siemens & Halske by Ernst Werner von Siemens and Johann Georg Halske...
and Schering erected large factories in the north-east, at the border with the Moabit
Moabit
Moabit is an inner city locality of Berlin. Since Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it belongs to the newly regrouped governmental borough of Mitte. Previously, from 1920 to 2001, it belonged to the borough of Tiergarten. Moabit's borders are defined by three watercourses, the Spree, the...
district of Berlin. In 1877 Charlottenburg received town privileges
Town privileges
Town privileges or city rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium.Judicially, a town was distinguished from the surrounding land by means of a charter from the ruling monarch that defined its privileges and laws. Common privileges were related to trading...
and until World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
saw an enormous increase of population with 100,000 inhabitants as of 1893 and a population of 306,000 in 1920, being the second largest city within the Province of Brandenburg
Province of Brandenburg
The Province of Brandenburg was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946.-History:The first people who are known to have inhabited Brandenburg were the Suevi. They were succeeded by the Slavonians, whom Henry II conquered and converted to Christianity in...
, after Berlin.
The development was accompanied by an urban planning
Urban planning
Urban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
of broad streets and sidewalks, parks and spacious residential buildings, especially around the southern Kurfürstendamm
Kurfürstendamm
The Kurfürstendamm, known locally as the Ku'damm, is one of the most famous avenues in Berlin. The street takes its name from the former Kurfürsten of Brandenburg. This very broad, long boulevard can be considered the Champs-Élysées of Berlin — full of shops, houses, hotels and restaurants...
area, which enabled large parts of Charlottenburg to preserve their affluent residential character. "The richest town of Prussia" established a Royal Technical College in 1879 (which later became the Berlin Institute of Technology), followed by the Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt
Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt
The Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt is based in Braunschweig and Berlin. It is the national institute for natural and engineering sciences and the highest technical authority for metrology and physical safety engineering in Germany....
and the College of the Fine Arts
Berlin University of the Arts
The Universität der Künste Berlin, UdK is a public art school in Berlin, Germany, one of the four universities in the city...
. A new town hall with a 88 m (288.7 ft) tall spire was erected on the occasion of its 200-year jubilee in 1905 and an opera house
Deutsche Oper Berlin
The Deutsche Oper Berlin is an opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin, Germany. The resident building is also home to the Berlin State Ballet.-History:...
opened in 1912. The history of Charlottenburg as a municipality in its own right ended with the Greater Berlin Act
Greater Berlin Act
The Greater Berlin Act , in full the Law Regarding the Reconstruction of the New Local Authority of Berlin , was a law passed by the Prussian government in 1920 that greatly expanded the size of the German capital of Berlin.-History:...
of October 1, 1920, when the town became a part of Berlin. The Province of Brandenburg was administered in Charlottenburg from 1918 until the province's dissolution in 1946 after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Borough of Berlin
In the 1920s the area around the Kurfürstendamm evolved into the "New West" of Berlin, a development that had already started around 1900 with the opening of the Theater des Westens, the Café des Westens and the Kaufhaus des WestensKaufhaus des Westens
The Kaufhaus des Westens is a department store in Berlin. With over 60,000 square metres of selling space and more than 380,000 articles available, it is the second largest department store in Europe; trumped only by Harrods in London...
, followed by several theatres, cinemas, bars and restaurants, which made Charlottenburg the Berlin centre of leisure and nightlife. Artists like
Alfred Döblin
Alfred Döblin
Alfred Döblin was a German expressionist novelist, best known for the novel Berlin Alexanderplatz .- 1878–1918:...
, Otto Dix
Otto Dix
Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix was a German painter and printmaker, noted for his ruthless and harshly realistic depictions of Weimar society and the brutality of war. Along with George Grosz, he is widely considered one of the most important artists of the Neue Sachlichkeit.-Early life and...
, Gottfried Benn
Gottfried Benn
Gottfried Benn was a German essayist, novelist, and expressionist poet. A doctor of medicine, he became an early admirer, and later a critic, of the National Socialist revolution...
, Else Lasker-Schüler
Else Lasker-Schüler
Else Lasker-Schüler was a Jewish German poet and playwright famous for her bohemian lifestyle in Berlin. She was one of the few women affiliated with the Expressionist movement. Lasker-Schüler fled Nazi Germany and lived out the rest of her life in Jerusalem.-Biography:Schüler was born in...
, Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
, Max Liebermann
Max Liebermann
Max Liebermann was a German-Jewish painter and printmaker best known for his etching and lithography.-Biography:...
, Stefan Zweig
Stefan Zweig
Stefan Zweig was an Austrian novelist, playwright, journalist and biographer. At the height of his literary career, in the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the most famous writers in the world.- Biography :...
and Friedrich Hollaender
Friedrich Hollaender
Friedrich Hollaender was a German film composer.He was born in London, where his father, operetta composer Victor Hollaender, worked at the Barnum & Bailey Circus...
socialized in the legendary Romanisches Café
Romanisches Café
The Romanisches Café was a café-bar in Berlin well known as a meeting place for artists. It was located on the Kurfürstendamm in the Charlottenburg district...
at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church
Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church
The Protestant Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church is located in Berlin on the Kurfürstendamm in the centre of the Breitscheidplatz. The original church on the site was built in the 1890s. It was badly damaged in a bombing raid in 1943...
. However the days of the Golden Twenties
1920s Berlin
The Golden Twenties in Berlin was a vibrant period in the history of Berlin, German history, and European history in general.-Weimar culture:...
came to an end with the rise of the Nazi Party. In World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the area around the Breitscheidplatz
Breitscheidplatz
Breitscheidplatz is a major public square in the inner city of Berlin, Germany. Together with the Kurfürstendamm boulevard it marks the centre of former West Berlin.-Geography:...
was heavily damaged by air raids and the Battle of Berlin
Battle of Berlin
The Battle of Berlin, designated the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, was the final major offensive of the European Theatre of World War II....
.
Nevertheless after 1945 the Kurfürstendamm area quickly regained its importance, as with the partition of the city in the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
it became the commercial centre of West-Berlin. It was therefore the site of protests and major demonstrations of the late 1960s German student movement
German student movement
The German student movement was a protest movement that took place during the late 1960s in West Germany. It was largely a reaction against the perceived authoritarianism and hypocrisy of the German government and other Western governments, and the poor living conditions of students...
, that culminated on June 2, 1967 when student Benno Ohnesorg
Benno Ohnesorg
Benno Ohnesorg was a German university student killed by a policeman during a demonstration in West Berlin.- Death :On June 2, 1967, Ohnesorg participated in a protest held near the Deutsche Oper, aimed against the state visit of the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was attending a...
was shot by a police officer during a demonstration against Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi at the Deutsche Oper
Deutsche Oper Berlin
The Deutsche Oper Berlin is an opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin, Germany. The resident building is also home to the Berlin State Ballet.-History:...
.
Before the reunification of Berlin, Charlottenburg was the center of West Berlin, with many high market bars and restaurants. After 1990 German reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
Charlottenburg struggled with the rise of the Mitte
Mitte
Mitte is the first and most central borough of Berlin. It was created in Berlin's 2001 administrative reform by the merger of the former districts of Mitte proper, Tiergarten and Wedding; the resulting borough retained the name Mitte. It is one of the two boroughs which comprises former West and...
borough as Berlin's historic centre. The "City West" is still the main shopping area, offering several major hotels, theatres, bars and restaurants.
Sights
Overview
Beside the palace, Charlottenburg is also home to:- the old and new Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial ChurchKaiser Wilhelm Memorial ChurchThe Protestant Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church is located in Berlin on the Kurfürstendamm in the centre of the Breitscheidplatz. The original church on the site was built in the 1890s. It was badly damaged in a bombing raid in 1943...
on the BreitscheidplatzBreitscheidplatzBreitscheidplatz is a major public square in the inner city of Berlin, Germany. Together with the Kurfürstendamm boulevard it marks the centre of former West Berlin.-Geography:...
, built in 1895 by Franz Schwechten and in 1961 by Egon EiermannEgon EiermannEgon Eiermann was one of Germany's most prominent architects in the second half of the 20th century....
, the former West BerlinWest BerlinWest Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
landmark - the Europa-CenterEuropa-CenterThe Europa-Center is a building complex on the Breitscheidplatz in Berlin, notable for its high-rise tower. During the 1960s it became one of the iconic sights of West Berlin, along with the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church...
, Berlin's first shopping mallShopping mallA shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
opened in 1965 - Bahnhof ZooBerlin Zoologischer Garten railway stationBerlin Zoologischer Garten station was the central transport facility in West Berlin during the division of the city, and thereafter for the western central area of Berlin until opening of the new Berlin Central Station on 28 May 2006...
, the main railway station in Berlin until the opening of Berlin HauptbahnhofBerlin Hauptbahnhof' , is the main railway station in Berlin, Germany. It began full operation two days after a ceremonial opening on 26 May 2006. It is located on the site of the historic Lehrter Bahnhof, and until it opened as a main line station, it was a stop on the Berlin S-Bahn suburban railway temporarily...
in 2006 - the adjacent Berlin Zoological Garden, opened in 1844, officially located on the territory of the neighbouring TiergartenTiergartenTiergarten is a locality within the borough of Mitte, in central Berlin . Notable for the great and homonymous urban park, before German reunification, it was a part of West Berlin...
locality - KurfürstendammKurfürstendammThe Kurfürstendamm, known locally as the Ku'damm, is one of the most famous avenues in Berlin. The street takes its name from the former Kurfürsten of Brandenburg. This very broad, long boulevard can be considered the Champs-Élysées of Berlin — full of shops, houses, hotels and restaurants...
avenue, first laid out about 1542, today together with the TauentzienstraßeTauentzienstraßeTauentzienstraße is a major shopping street in the western part of Berlin, Germany. It is approximately 500 metres long and lies between two important squares, Wittenbergplatz and Breitscheidplatz...
Berlin's main shoppingShoppingShopping is the examining of goods or services from retailers with the intent to purchase at that time. Shopping is an activity of selection and/or purchase. In some contexts it is considered a leisure activity as well as an economic one....
area - Technical University of BerlinTechnical University of BerlinThe Technische Universität Berlin is a research university located in Berlin, Germany. Translating the name into English is discouraged by the university, however paraphrasing as Berlin Institute of Technology is recommended by the university if necessary .The TU Berlin was founded...
with about 27,000 students, founded in 1879 - Berlin University of the ArtsBerlin University of the ArtsThe Universität der Künste Berlin, UdK is a public art school in Berlin, Germany, one of the four universities in the city...
with about 4,500 students - Charlottenburg town hall, built in 1905
- Luisenkirche on Gierkeplatz, built in 1823 by Karl Friedrich SchinkelKarl Friedrich SchinkelKarl Friedrich Schinkel was a Prussian architect, city planner, and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed both neoclassical and neogothic buildings.-Biography:Schinkel was born in Neuruppin, Margraviate of...
- the Amerika Haus on Hardenbergstraße, built in 1957 by the United States Information AgencyUnited States Information AgencyThe United States Information Agency , which existed from 1953 to 1999, was a United States agency devoted to "public diplomacy". In 1999, USIA's broadcasting functions were moved to the newly created Broadcasting Board of Governors, and its exchange and non-broadcasting information functions were...
- the Malteser-Hilfsdienst (Order of Malta) building at Alt-Lietzow str. 33
Theatres
- Deutsche Oper BerlinDeutsche Oper BerlinThe Deutsche Oper Berlin is an opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin, Germany. The resident building is also home to the Berlin State Ballet.-History:...
on Bismarckstraße, opened in 1912, one of the three Berlin opera houseOpera houseAn opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building...
s with reliefReliefRelief is a sculptural technique. The term relief is from the Latin verb levo, to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is thus to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane...
in memory of Benno Ohnesorg by Alfred HrdlickaAlfred HrdlickaAlfred Hrdlicka was an Austrian sculptor, draughtsman, painter and artist. His surname is sometimes written Hrdlička.After learning to be a dental technician from 1943 to 1945, Hrdlicka studied painting until 1952 at the Akademie der bildenden Künste under Albert Paris Gütersloh and Josef...
, 1971 (installed in 1990) - Theater des Westens musical theatreMusical theatreMusical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
on Kantstraße, built in 1896 - Renaissance-Theater on Hardenbergstraße, 1902, rebuilt in Art decoArt DecoArt deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
design by Oskar KaufmannOskar KaufmannOskar Kaufmann was an Hungarian-Jewish architect...
in 1927 - Schillertheater by Max LittmannMax LittmannMax Littmann was a German architect.Littmann was educated in the Gewerbeakademie Chemnitz and the Technische Hochschule Dresden...
, 1906 - Tribüne theatre, 1919
- Theater am Kurfürstendamm, 1921
Museums
- Museum BerggruenBerggruen MuseumThe Berggruen Museum is a collection of modern art classics in Berlin, which the collector and dealer Heinz Berggruen, in a "gesture of reconciliation", gave to his native city for a price well below its actual value. The most notable artists on display include Pablo Picasso, Alberto Giacometti,...
for classic modern artModern artModern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of... - Museum Scharf-GerstenbergScharf-Gerstenberg CollectionThe Scharf-Gerstenberg Collection is an art museum in Berlin. Its collection of paintings, graphics and sculptures, spanning the period from French Romanticism to Surrealism, is currently housed in former rooms of the Egyptian Museum in Charlottenburg on a ten-year loan...
for surrealist artSurrealismSurrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
both located in the former Gardes du Corps barracks
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
at Charlottenburg Palace, built by Friedrich August Stüler
Friedrich August Stüler
Friedrich August Stüler was an influential Prussian architect and builder. His masterwork is the Neues Museum in Berlin, as well as the dome of the triumphal arch of the main portal of the Berliner Stadtschloss.-Life:...
1859
- Museum für Vor- und FrühgeschichteMuseum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte (Berlin)The Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte , part of the Berlin State Museums, is one of major archaeological museums of Germany, and among the largest supra-regional collections of prehistoric finds in Europe...
(Museum for Pre- and Early HistoryPrehistoryPrehistory is the span of time before recorded history. Prehistory can refer to the period of human existence before the availability of those written records with which recorded history begins. More broadly, it refers to all the time preceding human existence and the invention of writing...
) - Museum of PhotographyMuseum of PhotographyThe Museum of Photography in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin, Germany, is one of the Berlin State Museums administered by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation....
and Helmut NewtonHelmut NewtonHelmut Newton, born Helmut Neustädter was a German-Australian photographer. He was a "prolific, widely imitated fashion photographer whose provocative, erotically charged black-and-white photos were a mainstay of Vogue and other publications."-Early life:Newton was born in Berlin, the son of Klara...
Foundation, next to Bahnhof Zoo - Bröhan MuseumBröhan MuseumThe Bröhan Museum is a museum of art and design in Berlin. It is devoted to Art Nouveau, Art Deco and functionalism, and occupies a late-classicist former barracks in Charlottenburg, opposite Charlottenburg Palace....
for Art NouveauArt NouveauArt Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
and Art DecoArt DecoArt deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and... - Literaturhaus Berlin and
- Käthe Kollwitz MuseumKäthe Kollwitz Museum (Berlin)The Käthe Kollwitz Museum in Berlin owns one of the largest collections of works by the German artist Käthe Kollwitz . Kollwitz lived and worked in Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg for over 50 years....
on Fasanenstraße - Gipsformerei (ReplicaReplicaA replica is a copy closely resembling the original concerning its shape and appearance. An inverted replica complements the original by filling its gaps. It can be a copy used for historical purposes, such as being placed in a museum. Sometimes the original never existed. For example, Difference...
workshop) of the Berlin State MuseumsBerlin State MuseumsThe Berlin State Museums, in German Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, are a group of museums in Berlin, Germany overseen by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation and funded by the German federal government in collaboration with Germany's federal states... - Beate Uhse Erotic MuseumBeate Uhse Erotic MuseumThe Beate Uhse Erotic Museum is a sex museum in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin, Germany.It was opened in 1996 near Berlin Zoologischer Garten railway station by Beate Uhse, the early stunt pilot and entrepreneur, who in 1962 started the world's first sex shop...