Inner Ring Road, Berlin
Encyclopedia
The Inner Ring Road of Berlin (German: Berliner Innenstadtring) ist a route of major roads around the historic center of Berlin encompassing the boroughs Mitte, Pankow and Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg. The ring road is named Inner because of the (incomplete) ring road motorway named the City Ring Road
as well as the larger Berlin Orbital
.
The ring road runs from Berlin Main Station
clockwise along Invalidenstraße
, Caroline-Michaelis-Straße, Julie-Wolfthorn-Straße, Bernauer Straße
, Eberswalder Straße, Danziger Straße, Petersburger Straße, Warschauer Straße
, Am Oberbaum (Oberbaumbrücke
), Oberbaumstraße, Skalitzer Straße, Gitschiner Straße, Hallesches Ufer und Reichpietschufer (westbound) / Waterloo-Ufer, Tempelhofer Ufer, Schöneberger Ufer (eastbound) and finally back to the main station via the Tiergarten tunnel.
In the southern and eastern part the route is identical with the historic customs city wall that was begirding the Old Berlin until 1861. The city wall had roads along its length so that after the wall was torn down it opened spaces similar to a boulevard
. In the western part there had been the Entlastungsstraße road cut through the Great Tiergarten
park to avoid the places around the Brandenburg Gate
and the Reichstag
by about a mile. In the northern part the route takes advantage of one of the Hobrecht-Plan
ring roads which runs considerably more outside of the Old Berlin limits so that there is no historic connection from Invalidenstraße to Bernauer Straße. The open space at Bernauer Straße is a consequence of the Berlin Wall
which led to old buildings along the street to be torn down.
Rebuilding the Invalidenstraße into a major road is the only thing left to close the Inner Ring Road. It was supposed to be finished in 2002 when the new main station had opened but it was blocked by court decision. It was left until end of december 2010 that finally all trials were dismissed and the court approved the plan which will rebuild the street into four lanes plus tram rail tracks and bicycle lanes. The senator announced that construction will start in spring of 2011 but one can not expect the new road to open before the mid of 2013.
Bundesautobahn 100
is an Autobahn in Germany. The A 100 encloses the city centre of the German capital Berlin, running from the Wedding district of the Berlin-Mitte borough in a southwestern bow through Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf and Tempelhof-Schöneberg to Neukölln...
as well as the larger Berlin Orbital
Bundesautobahn 10
runs in Brandenburg and is an orbital motorway around Berlin and is therefore called the Berliner Ring. It should not be confused with the Berliner Stadtring ....
.
The ring road runs from Berlin Main Station
Berlin 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...
clockwise along Invalidenstraße
Invalidenstraße
The Invalidenstraße is a street in Berlin, Germany. It runs east to west for through the districts of Mitte and Moabit. The street originally connected three important railway stations in the northern city centre: the Stettiner Bahnhof , the Hamburger Bahnhof and the Lehrter Bahnhof, the...
, Caroline-Michaelis-Straße, Julie-Wolfthorn-Straße, Bernauer Straße
Bernauer Straße
Bernauer Straße is a street of Berlin situated between the localities of Gesundbrunnen and Mitte, today both belonging to the Mitte borough. It runs from the Mauerpark at the corner of Prenzlauer Berg to the Nordbahnhof...
, Eberswalder Straße, Danziger Straße, Petersburger Straße, Warschauer Straße
Warschauer Straße
Warschauer Straße is a street in the Friedrichshain locality of central Berlin, the capital of Germany. It links the Oberbaumbrücke, a landmark double deck bridge across the River Spree, with Frankfurter Tor....
, Am Oberbaum (Oberbaumbrücke
Oberbaumbrücke
The 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....
), Oberbaumstraße, Skalitzer Straße, Gitschiner Straße, Hallesches Ufer und Reichpietschufer (westbound) / Waterloo-Ufer, Tempelhofer Ufer, Schöneberger Ufer (eastbound) and finally back to the main station via the Tiergarten tunnel.
In the southern and eastern part the route is identical with the historic customs city wall that was begirding the Old Berlin until 1861. The city wall had roads along its length so that after the wall was torn down it opened spaces similar to a boulevard
Boulevard
A Boulevard is type of road, usually a wide, multi-lane arterial thoroughfare, divided with a median down the centre, and roadways along each side designed as slow travel and parking lanes and for bicycle and pedestrian usage, often with an above-average quality of landscaping and scenery...
. In the western part there had been the Entlastungsstraße road cut through the Great Tiergarten
Großer Tiergarten
The Großer Tiergarten, simply known as Tiergarten, is an urban public park of Germany located in the middle of Berlin, completely in the homonymous locality...
park to avoid the places around the 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...
and the Reichstag
Reichstag (building)
The Reichstag building is a historical edifice in Berlin, Germany, constructed to house the Reichstag, parliament of the German Empire. It was opened in 1894 and housed the Reichstag until 1933, when it was severely damaged in a fire. During the Nazi era, the few meetings of members of the...
by about a mile. In the northern part the route takes advantage of one of the Hobrecht-Plan
Hobrecht-Plan
The Hobrecht-Plan is the binding land-use plan for Berlin in the 19. century. It is named after its main editor James Hobrecht who was serving for the royal-prussian urban planning police . The finalized plan "Bebauungsplan der Umgebungen Berlins" was resolved in 1862 intended for a time frame of...
ring roads which runs considerably more outside of the Old Berlin limits so that there is no historic connection from Invalidenstraße to Bernauer Straße. The open space at Bernauer Straße is a consequence 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...
which led to old buildings along the street to be torn down.
Rebuilding the Invalidenstraße into a major road is the only thing left to close the Inner Ring Road. It was supposed to be finished in 2002 when the new main station had opened but it was blocked by court decision. It was left until end of december 2010 that finally all trials were dismissed and the court approved the plan which will rebuild the street into four lanes plus tram rail tracks and bicycle lanes. The senator announced that construction will start in spring of 2011 but one can not expect the new road to open before the mid of 2013.