Greater Berlin Act
Encyclopedia
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
.
since 1815. On 1 April 1881, the city became Stadtkreis Berlin
, a city district separate from Brandenburg. The Greater Berlin Act was passed by the Prussian parliament
on 27 April 1920 and came into effect on 1 October of the same year. The region then termed Greater Berlin acquired territories from the Province of Brandenburg and consisted of the following:
The act increased the area of Berlin 13-fold from 66 km² (25.5 mi²) to 883 km² (341 mi²) and the population doubled from approximately 1.9 million to near 4 million, with almost 1.2 million of these new inhabitants coming from the 7 surrounding towns alone.
Greater Berlin was then sub-divided into 20 boroughs
(Verwaltungsbezirke):
Through this law, it became possible to implement integrated town planning across the whole of Greater Berlin. With this, the act was an important foundation for the rise of Berlin to a cultural centre of Europe in the 1920s
.
Apart from minor changes, the city boundary defined in the law is still the same as today, even though its character changed several times over the years. Originally a mere municipal boundary, it became a demarcation line between occupation zones
after 1945, a part of the Iron Curtain
after 1949 with the Berlin Wall
on some of its length between 1961 and 1990. Since the reunification of Germany it is the border between the German states of Berlin and Brandenburg
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
capital of Berlin
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...
.
History
Berlin had been part of the Province of BrandenburgProvince 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...
since 1815. On 1 April 1881, the city became Stadtkreis Berlin
History of Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany. Berlin is a young city by European standards, founded in the 12th century.-Early history:*98 AD: Tacitus described the territory of Germania. What is now Berlin, in ancient times was well outside the frontiers of the Roman Empire...
, a city district separate from Brandenburg. The Greater Berlin Act was passed by the Prussian parliament
Preußischer Landtag
Preußischer Landtag or Prussian Landtag was the Landtag of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was implemented in 1849 after the dissolution of the Prussian National Assembly, building on the tradition of the Prussian estates that had existed from the 14th century in various forms and states in Teutonic...
on 27 April 1920 and came into effect on 1 October of the same year. The region then termed Greater Berlin acquired territories from the Province of Brandenburg and consisted of the following:
- The city of Berlin (Alt-Berlin);
- 7 towns that surrounded Berlin: CharlottenburgCharlottenburgCharlottenburg is a locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, named after Queen consort Sophia Charlotte...
, KöpenickKöpenickKöpenick is a historic town and locality that is situated at the confluence of the rivers Dahme and Spree in the south-east of the German capital city of Berlin. It was formerly known as Copanic and then Cöpenick, only officially adopting the current spelling in 1931...
, LichtenbergLichtenbergLichtenberg is the eleventh borough of Berlin, Germany. In Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it absorbed the former borough of Hohenschönhausen.-Overview:...
, NeuköllnNeuköllnNeukölln is the eighth borough of Berlin, located in the southeastern part of the city and was part of the former American sector under the Four-Power occupation of the city...
, SchönebergSchönebergSchöneberg is a locality of Berlin, Germany. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a separate borough including the locality of Friedenau. Together with the former borough of Tempelhof it is now part of the new borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg....
, SpandauSpandauSpandau 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:...
and WilmersdorfWilmersdorfWilmersdorf 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:...
; - 59 rural communities and 27 estate districts from the surrounding districts of Niederbarnim, Osthavelland and Teltow;
- and the grounds of the Berliner StadtschlossBerliner StadtschlossThe Stadtschloss , was a royal palace in the centre of Berlin, capital of Germany. The palace bore features of the Baroque style, and its shape, finalized by the mid 18th century, is attributed to Andreas Schlüter, whose first design is likely to date from 1702, though the palace incorporated...
which curiously, until this point, formed an estate district in its own right.
The act increased the area of Berlin 13-fold from 66 km² (25.5 mi²) to 883 km² (341 mi²) and the population doubled from approximately 1.9 million to near 4 million, with almost 1.2 million of these new inhabitants coming from the 7 surrounding towns alone.
Greater Berlin was then sub-divided into 20 boroughs
Boroughs and localities of Berlin
Berlin is both a city and one of Germany’s federal states. It is made up of twelve boroughs , each with its own borough government, though all boroughs are subject to Berlin’s city and state government.-History:Each borough is made up of several officially recognized localities...
(Verwaltungsbezirke):
- from Alt-Berlin: MitteMitteMitte 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...
, 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...
, WeddingWedding (Berlin)Wedding is a locality in the borough of Mitte, Berlin, Germany and was a separate borough in the north-western inner city until it was fused with Tiergarten and Mitte in Berlin's 2001 administrative reform...
, Prenzlauer BergPrenzlauer BergPrenzlauer 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....
, KreuzbergKreuzbergKreuzberg, a part of the combined Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough located south of Mitte since 2001, is one of the best-known areas of Berlin...
and FriedrichshainFriedrichshainFriedrichshain 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...
; - one borough for each of the 7 previously-independent towns: CharlottenburgCharlottenburgCharlottenburg is a locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, named after Queen consort Sophia Charlotte...
, KöpenickKöpenickKöpenick is a historic town and locality that is situated at the confluence of the rivers Dahme and Spree in the south-east of the German capital city of Berlin. It was formerly known as Copanic and then Cöpenick, only officially adopting the current spelling in 1931...
, LichtenbergLichtenbergLichtenberg is the eleventh borough of Berlin, Germany. In Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it absorbed the former borough of Hohenschönhausen.-Overview:...
, NeuköllnNeuköllnNeukölln is the eighth borough of Berlin, located in the southeastern part of the city and was part of the former American sector under the Four-Power occupation of the city...
, SchönebergSchönebergSchöneberg is a locality of Berlin, Germany. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a separate borough including the locality of Friedenau. Together with the former borough of Tempelhof it is now part of the new borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg....
, SpandauSpandauSpandau 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:...
and WilmersdorfWilmersdorfWilmersdorf 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:...
; - 7 new boroughs created from the remaining added areas, each named after the largest village in the area at the time: PankowPankowPankow is the third borough of Berlin. In Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was merged with the former boroughs of Prenzlauer Berg and Weißensee; the resulting borough retained the name Pankow.- Overview :...
, ReinickendorfReinickendorfReinickendorf is the twelfth borough of Berlin. It encompasses the northwest of the city area, including the Berlin-Tegel Airport, Lake Tegel, spacious settlements of detached houses as well as housing estates like Märkisches Viertel.-Subdivision:...
, SteglitzSteglitzSteglitz is a locality of the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough in the south-west of Berlin, the capital of Germany. The locality also includes the neighbourhood of Südende.-History:...
, TempelhofTempelhofTempelhof is a locality of Berlin within the borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg. It is the location of the former Tempelhof Airport, one of the earliest commercial airports in the world. It is now deserted and shows as a blank spot on maps of Berlin. Attempts are being made to save the still-existing...
, TreptowTreptowTreptow is a former borough in the southeast of Berlin. It merged with Köpenick to form Treptow-Köpenick in 2001.-Geography:The district was composed by the localities of Alt-Treptow, Plänterwald, Baumschulenweg, Niederschöneweide, Johannisthal, Adlershof, Altglienicke and Bohnsdorf....
, WeißenseeBerlin-WeißenseeWeissensee is a locality in the borough of Pankow in Berlin, Germany, named for the small lake Weißer See within it. Before Berlin's 2001 administrative reform, Weissensee was a borough in its own right, consisting of the localities of Weissensee, Heinersdorf, Blankenburg, Karow and...
and ZehlendorfZehlendorf (Berlin)Zehlendorf is a locality within the borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf in Berlin. Before Berlin's 2001 administrative reform Zehlendorf was a borough in its own right, consisting of the locality of Zehlendorf as well as Wannsee, Nikolassee and Dahlem...
Through this law, it became possible to implement integrated town planning across the whole of Greater Berlin. With this, the act was an important foundation for the rise of Berlin to a cultural centre of Europe in the 1920s
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:...
.
Apart from minor changes, the city boundary defined in the law is still the same as today, even though its character changed several times over the years. Originally a mere municipal boundary, it became a demarcation line between occupation zones
Allied Occupation Zones in Germany
The Allied powers who defeated Nazi Germany in World War II divided the country west of the Oder-Neisse line into four occupation zones for administrative purposes during 1945–49. In the closing weeks of fighting in Europe, US forces had pushed beyond the previously agreed boundaries for the...
after 1945, a part of the Iron Curtain
Iron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
after 1949 with 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...
on some of its length between 1961 and 1990. Since the reunification of Germany it is the border between the German states of Berlin and Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
.
External links
- Verfassungen.de, text of the law