Friedrichshain
Encyclopedia
Friedrichshain is a part of Berlin's
borough of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg
, and like Kreuzberg
across the river it has its own distinct character, with the result that the new double name is hardly ever used outside government administration. From its creation in 1920 until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a freestanding city borough. Formerly part of East Berlin
, it is an inner city
locality, adjacent to Mitte
, Prenzlauer Berg
, Kreuzberg
and Lichtenberg
.
Friedrichshain is named after the Volkspark Friedrichshain
, a vast green park located at the north border to Prenzlauer Berg. During the Nazi
era, the borough bore the name Horst-Wessel
-Stadt.
The largely working-class district was created in 1920 when Greater Berlin was established by referendum
, incorporating several surrounding settlements. Friedrichshain united the Frankfurter Vorstadt, already part of Berlin, and the villages of Boxhagen and Stralau. It took its name (meaning 'Frederick's Grove') from the Volkspark ('People's Park'), which was planned in 1840 to commemorate the centenary of Frederick the Great’s coronation. Much of the district was settled in the rapid industrialization of the 19th and early 20th centuries, led by growth in manufacturing and crafts. It owed much to the opening of the railway line between Berlin and Frankfurt (Oder)
in 1846 (which terminated near the site of today's Berlin Ostbahnhof
), and the opening of the first waterworks in 1865 at Stralauer Tor. In 1874 the Krankenhaus im Friedrichshain was opened, Berlin's first hospital beside the university clinic Charité
. In the early 1900s, the district's largest employer was the Knorr-Bremse
brake factory; the Knorrpromenade, one of Friedrichshain's most attractive streets, was built to house the management.
When the Nazis
came to power in 1933, the district was renamed Horst-Wessel-Stadt
after the street fighter and writer of the Nazi hymn whose slow death, after being shot by communists, in Friedrichshain hospital in 1930 was turned into a propaganda
event by Joseph Goebbels
.
During World War II Friedrichshain was one of the most badly damaged parts of Berlin, as Allied strategic bombers
specifically targeted its industries. As late as the nineties, some buildings still displayed bullet holes from the intense house to house fighting
during the Battle of Berlin
. After the war ended, the boundary between the US and Soviet occupation sectors ran between Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg
. This became a sealed border between East
and West Berlin
when the Berlin Wall
was built in 1961.
The Stalinallee (previously Große Frankfurter Straße) was built in Friedrichshain in the late 1940s and early 1950s as a prestige project; the architecture of its 'workers' palaces' is strongly reminiscent of the ostentatious Soviet-era Moscow boulevards
and is sometimes mockinlgy described as Zuckerbäckerstil ('wedding cake style'). It was in these construction works that the 1953 uprising
had its origins, when increased work quotas led to protests that would spread throughout East Germany
, and were only put down by armed Soviet intervention.
In the period of De-Stalinization
following the Soviet leader's death, the boulevard was renamed Karl-Marx-Allee
at one end and Frankfurter Allee
at the other. From this time onwards, Friedrichshain often featured on East Berlin's cultural map: in 1962 the Kosmos, East Germany's largest cinema was opened, followed in 1981 by the country's most ambitious swimming and sports complex, the Sport- und Erholungszentrum. Neither of these buildings serve their original function today.
following the fall of the Berlin Wall
in November 1989, the free elections in March 1990
and leading up to German reunification
the following October, Friedrichshain began to develop a reputation as a young, dynamic district, thanks in part to low rents and the many empty apartments that also attracted the attention of West Berlin squatters. On 14 November that year, Friedrichshain experienced violent clashes when hundreds of squatters were forcefully evicted from houses in Mainzer Straße by police acting on the orders of the Senate of the recently united city, an act which would trigger the fall of the governing coalition when the Green Party
withdrew in protest. In the following years further squatters were evicted under the hardline conservative
Senator for the Interior
, but others were able to formally take possession of the houses they lived in, and they remain a distinct (counter-)cultural influence in the district to this day.
Alongside the neighboring districts of Mitte
, Prenzlauer Berg
, and Kreuzberg
, Friedrichshain is now considered one of Berlin's most fashionable areas, and is home to numerous design and media companies including MTV Central Europe. It is known for its many bars, clubs, pubs, and cafes, concentrated in the vicinity of Simon-Dach-Straße and Boxhagener Platz. There were numerous squats
in Friedrichshain, particularly in Rigaer Straße. In contrast to the more gentrified and expensive districts of Prenzlauer Berg and Mitte, Friedrichshain has a slightly run-down atmosphere, and its lower rents following German reunification
attracted students and artists. Nowadays numerous restoration works are under way and Friedrichshain is developing at a fast pace becoming more and more gentrified
itself.
At the opposite end of the district, the Volkspark Friedrichshain is a large park serving the densely populated areas of Friedrichshain, and Prenzlauer Berg on the other side. Its distinctive features include the Märchenbrunnen (Fairytale Fountain) and two green and pleasant "mountains" consisting purely of rubble and the ruins of two World War II Flak tower
s.
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...
borough of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg
Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg
Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg is the second borough of Berlin, formed in 2001 by merging the former East Berlin borough of Friedrichshain and the former West Berlin borough of Kreuzberg...
, and like Kreuzberg
Kreuzberg
Kreuzberg, a part of the combined Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough located south of Mitte since 2001, is one of the best-known areas of Berlin...
across the river it has its own distinct character, with the result that the new double name is hardly ever used outside government administration. From its creation in 1920 until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a freestanding city borough. Formerly part of East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
, it is an inner city
Inner 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...
locality, adjacent to 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...
, Prenzlauer Berg
Prenzlauer Berg
Prenzlauer Berg is a locality of Berlin, in the borough of Pankow.Until 2001, Prenzlauer Berg was a borough of Berlin; in that year it was included in the borough of Pankow....
, Kreuzberg
Kreuzberg
Kreuzberg, a part of the combined Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough located south of Mitte since 2001, is one of the best-known areas of Berlin...
and Lichtenberg
Lichtenberg
Lichtenberg is the eleventh borough of Berlin, Germany. In Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it absorbed the former borough of Hohenschönhausen.-Overview:...
.
Friedrichshain is named after the Volkspark Friedrichshain
Volkspark Friedrichshain
Volkspark Friedrichshain is a large urban park on the border of the Berlin neighborhoods of Friedrichshain and Prenzlauer Berg. The oldest public park in Berlin, at 52 hectares, it is also the third-largest, after Tempelhofer Park and the Tiergarten .-History:The park was originally conceived by...
, a vast green park located at the north border to Prenzlauer Berg. During the Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
era, the borough bore the name Horst-Wessel
Horst Wessel
Horst Ludwig Wessel was a German Nazi activist who was made a posthumous hero of the Nazi movement following his violent death in 1930...
-Stadt.
Subdivision
Friedrichshain counts 3 zones (Ortslagen):- Boxhagen
- Oberbaum-City
- Stralau
History
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
, incorporating several surrounding settlements. Friedrichshain united the Frankfurter Vorstadt, already part of Berlin, and the villages of Boxhagen and Stralau. It took its name (meaning 'Frederick's Grove') from the Volkspark ('People's Park'), which was planned in 1840 to commemorate the centenary of Frederick the Great’s coronation. Much of the district was settled in the rapid industrialization of the 19th and early 20th centuries, led by growth in manufacturing and crafts. It owed much to the opening of the railway line between Berlin and Frankfurt (Oder)
Frankfurt (Oder)
Frankfurt is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, located on the Oder River, on the German-Polish border directly opposite the town of Słubice which was a part of Frankfurt until 1945. At the end of the 1980s it reached a population peak with more than 87,000 inhabitants...
in 1846 (which terminated near the site of today's Berlin Ostbahnhof
Berlin Ostbahnhof
Berlin Ostbahnhof is a mainline railway station in Berlin, Germany. It is in Friedrichshain, now part of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district, and has undergone several name changes in its history. It was known as Berlin Hauptbahnhof from 1987 to 1998, a name now applied to Berlin's new central station...
), and the opening of the first waterworks in 1865 at Stralauer Tor. In 1874 the Krankenhaus im Friedrichshain was opened, Berlin's first hospital beside the university clinic Charité
Charité
The Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin is the medical school for both the Humboldt University and the Free University of Berlin. After the merger with their fourth campus in 2003, the Charité is one of the largest university hospitals in Europe....
. In the early 1900s, the district's largest employer was the Knorr-Bremse
Knorr-Bremse
Knorr-Bremse is a manufacturer of braking systems for rail and commercial vehicles that has operated in the field for over 100 years. The company also produces door systems for rail vehicles and torsional dampers. In 2009, the Group's workforce of over 14,000 achieved worldwide sales of EUR 2.761...
brake factory; the Knorrpromenade, one of Friedrichshain's most attractive streets, was built to house the management.
When the Nazis
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
came to power in 1933, the district was renamed Horst-Wessel-Stadt
Horst Wessel
Horst Ludwig Wessel was a German Nazi activist who was made a posthumous hero of the Nazi movement following his violent death in 1930...
after the street fighter and writer of the Nazi hymn whose slow death, after being shot by communists, in Friedrichshain hospital in 1930 was turned into a propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
event by Joseph Goebbels
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
.
During World War II Friedrichshain was one of the most badly damaged parts of Berlin, as Allied strategic bombers
Strategic bombing during World War II
Strategic bombing during World War II is a term which refers to all aerial bombardment of a strategic nature between 1939 and 1945 involving any nations engaged in World War II...
specifically targeted its industries. As late as the nineties, some buildings still displayed bullet holes from the intense house to house fighting
Urban warfare
Urban warfare is combat conducted in urban areas such as towns and cities. Urban combat is very different from combat in the open at both the operational and tactical level...
during 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....
. After the war ended, the boundary between the US and Soviet occupation sectors ran between Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg
Kreuzberg
Kreuzberg, a part of the combined Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough located south of Mitte since 2001, is one of the best-known areas of Berlin...
. This became a sealed border between East
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
and West Berlin
West Berlin
West 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...
when the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
was built in 1961.
The Stalinallee (previously Große Frankfurter Straße) was built in Friedrichshain in the late 1940s and early 1950s as a prestige project; the architecture of its 'workers' palaces' is strongly reminiscent of the ostentatious Soviet-era Moscow boulevards
Stalinist architecture
Stalinist architecture , also referred to as Stalinist Gothic, or Socialist Classicism, is a term given to architecture of the Soviet Union between 1933, when Boris Iofan's draft for Palace of the Soviets was officially approved, and 1955, when Nikita Khrushchev condemned "excesses" of the past...
and is sometimes mockinlgy described as Zuckerbäckerstil ('wedding cake style'). It was in these construction works that the 1953 uprising
Uprising of 1953 in East Germany
The Uprising of 1953 in East Germany started with a strike by East Berlin construction workers on June 16. It turned into a widespread anti-Stalinist uprising against the German Democratic Republic government the next day....
had its origins, when increased work quotas led to protests that would spread throughout East Germany
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
, and were only put down by armed Soviet intervention.
In the period of De-Stalinization
De-Stalinization
De-Stalinization refers to the process of eliminating the cult of personality, Stalinist political system and the Gulag labour-camp system created by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. Stalin was succeeded by a collective leadership after his death in March 1953...
following the Soviet leader's death, the boulevard was renamed Karl-Marx-Allee
Karl-Marx-Allee
The Karl-Marx-Allee is a monumental socialist boulevard built by the GDR between 1952 and 1960 in Berlin Friedrichshain and Mitte. Today the boulevard is named after Karl Marx....
at one end and Frankfurter Allee
Frankfurter Allee
The Frankfurter Allee is one of the oldest roads of Berlin, the capital city of Germany. It extends the Karl-Marx-Allee from Frankfurter Tor in the direction of the city of Frankfurt . It is part of Bundesstraße 1 and has a length of ....
at the other. From this time onwards, Friedrichshain often featured on East Berlin's cultural map: in 1962 the Kosmos, East Germany's largest cinema was opened, followed in 1981 by the country's most ambitious swimming and sports complex, the Sport- und Erholungszentrum. Neither of these buildings serve their original function today.
Lifestyle
In the course of the changesDie Wende
marks the complete process of the change from socialism and planned economy to market economy and capitalism in East Germany around the years 1989 and 1990. It encompasses several processes and events which later have become synonymous with the overall process...
following the fall of the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
in November 1989, the free elections in March 1990
East German general election, 1990
Legislative elections were held in the German Democratic Republic on 18 March 1990. It was the first—and as it turned out, only—free parliamentary election in East Germany, and the first truly free election held in that part of Germany since 1933...
and leading up to 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...
the following October, Friedrichshain began to develop a reputation as a young, dynamic district, thanks in part to low rents and the many empty apartments that also attracted the attention of West Berlin squatters. On 14 November that year, Friedrichshain experienced violent clashes when hundreds of squatters were forcefully evicted from houses in Mainzer Straße by police acting on the orders of the Senate of the recently united city, an act which would trigger the fall of the governing coalition when the Green Party
Alliance '90/The Greens
Alliance '90/The Greens is a green political party in Germany, formed from the merger of the German Green Party and Alliance 90 in 1993. Its leaders are Claudia Roth and Cem Özdemir...
withdrew in protest. In the following years further squatters were evicted under the hardline conservative
Christian Democratic Union (Germany)
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...
Senator for the Interior
Jörg Schönbohm
Jörg Schönbohm is a German politician and a retired Lieutenant General. He was the first commander of the Bundeswehr Eastern Command in 1990, which supervised the absorption of the East German National People's Army into the Federal German armed forces...
, but others were able to formally take possession of the houses they lived in, and they remain a distinct (counter-)cultural influence in the district to this day.
Alongside the neighboring districts of 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...
, Prenzlauer Berg
Prenzlauer Berg
Prenzlauer Berg is a locality of Berlin, in the borough of Pankow.Until 2001, Prenzlauer Berg was a borough of Berlin; in that year it was included in the borough of Pankow....
, and Kreuzberg
Kreuzberg
Kreuzberg, a part of the combined Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough located south of Mitte since 2001, is one of the best-known areas of Berlin...
, Friedrichshain is now considered one of Berlin's most fashionable areas, and is home to numerous design and media companies including MTV Central Europe. It is known for its many bars, clubs, pubs, and cafes, concentrated in the vicinity of Simon-Dach-Straße and Boxhagener Platz. There were numerous squats
Squatting
Squatting consists of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use....
in Friedrichshain, particularly in Rigaer Straße. In contrast to the more gentrified and expensive districts of Prenzlauer Berg and Mitte, Friedrichshain has a slightly run-down atmosphere, and its lower rents following 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...
attracted students and artists. Nowadays numerous restoration works are under way and Friedrichshain is developing at a fast pace becoming more and more gentrified
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
itself.
At the opposite end of the district, the Volkspark Friedrichshain is a large park serving the densely populated areas of Friedrichshain, and Prenzlauer Berg on the other side. Its distinctive features include the Märchenbrunnen (Fairytale Fountain) and two green and pleasant "mountains" consisting purely of rubble and the ruins of two World War II Flak tower
Flak tower
Flak towers were 8 complexes of large, above-ground, anti-aircraft gun blockhouse towers constructed in the cities of Berlin , Hamburg , and Vienna from 1940 onwards....
s.
Points of interest
- East Side GalleryEast Side GalleryThe East Side Gallery is an international memorial for freedom. It is a 1.3 km long section of the Berlin Wall located near the centre of Berlin on Mühlenstraße in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg.-Description:...
, a part of the Berlin WallBerlin WallThe Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
that was turned into an international outdoor gallery - Karl-Marx-AlleeKarl-Marx-AlleeThe Karl-Marx-Allee is a monumental socialist boulevard built by the GDR between 1952 and 1960 in Berlin Friedrichshain and Mitte. Today the boulevard is named after Karl Marx....
, a boulevard lined with buildings in the StalinistStalinist architectureStalinist architecture , also referred to as Stalinist Gothic, or Socialist Classicism, is a term given to architecture of the Soviet Union between 1933, when Boris Iofan's draft for Palace of the Soviets was officially approved, and 1955, when Nikita Khrushchev condemned "excesses" of the past...
style, originally called Stalinallee - Frankfurter Tor, two landmark towers on Karl-Marx-Allee, which resemble the church domes on GendarmenmarktGendarmenmarktThe Gendarmenmarkt is a square in Berlin, and the site of the Konzerthaus and the French and German Cathedrals. The centre of the Gendarmenmarkt is crowned by a statue of Germany's poet Friedrich Schiller. The square was created by Johann Arnold Nering at the end of the seventeenth century as the...
- OberbaumbrückeOberbaumbrückeThe Oberbaum Bridge is a double-deck bridge crossing Berlin's River Spree, considered one of the city landmarks. It links Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg, former boroughs that were divided by the Berlin Wall, and has become an important symbol of Berlin’s unity....
, a road and rail bridge connecting Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain built in North German brick - Fairytale Fountain in Volkspark FriedrichshainVolkspark FriedrichshainVolkspark Friedrichshain is a large urban park on the border of the Berlin neighborhoods of Friedrichshain and Prenzlauer Berg. The oldest public park in Berlin, at 52 hectares, it is also the third-largest, after Tempelhofer Park and the Tiergarten .-History:The park was originally conceived by...
- Simon-Dach-Straße, street with numerous pubs
- Boxhagener Platz, heart of the Friedrichshain KiezKiezKiez 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:...
or neighborhood - Straße der Pariser KommuneStraße der Pariser KommuneThe Straße der Pariser Kommune is a street in Berlin-Friedrichshain. It was known as Fruchtstraße until March 17, 1971, when it was renamed to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Paris Commune....
, a street beginning a block north of the Karl-Marx-Allee and extending to the banks of the Spree - Samariterviertel with the Samariterkirche (Church of the Good Samaritan)
- Berlin OstbahnhofBerlin OstbahnhofBerlin Ostbahnhof is a mainline railway station in Berlin, Germany. It is in Friedrichshain, now part of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district, and has undergone several name changes in its history. It was known as Berlin Hauptbahnhof from 1987 to 1998, a name now applied to Berlin's new central station...
- Volkspark FriedrichshainVolkspark FriedrichshainVolkspark Friedrichshain is a large urban park on the border of the Berlin neighborhoods of Friedrichshain and Prenzlauer Berg. The oldest public park in Berlin, at 52 hectares, it is also the third-largest, after Tempelhofer Park and the Tiergarten .-History:The park was originally conceived by...
, with its Memorial to Polish Soldiers and German Anti-FascistsMemorial to Polish Soldiers and German Anti-FascistsThe Memorial to Polish Soldiers and German Anti-Fascists is a war memorial in Berlin, dedicated in 1972. Built by the German Democratic Republic during the division of Germany, it is today the principal German monument to the Polish soldiers who died in World War II, as well as an important... - Skatehall Berlin, Revaler Strasse 99
See also
- Flakturm II - Friedrichshain
- Berlin Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg - Prenzlauer Berg East (electoral constituency)Berlin Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg - Prenzlauer Berg East (electoral constituency)thumb|right|300px|Location of constituency in BerlinBerlin Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg- - Prenzlauer Berg East is one of the 299 single member constituencies used for the German parliament, the Bundestag...
- List of streets and squares in Berlin-Friedrichshain