Geography

The district of Kladow is bordered by the District of Gatow

Gatow

Gatow, a district of south-western Berlin is located west of the Havelsee lake and has forested areas within its boundaries. It is within the borough of Spandau. On 31 December 2002, it had 5,532 inhabitants.-History:...

 to the north, by the Havel

Havel

The Havel is a river in north-eastern Germany, flowing through the German states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt. It is a right tributary of the Elbe river and in length...

 to the east and southeast and by the State of 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...

 (partly 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....

) to the west and south west. The neighbouring village of Sacrow and main part of Groß Glienicke

Groß Glienicke

Groß Glienicke is a village located both in Berlin and Potsdam, the capital of the German state of Brandenburg. As of 2003, the Brandenburg—and main—side, was an autonomous municipality. The Berlin side is part of Kladow in the Spandau district.-Overview:...

 are located in 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...

. With around 11,500 residents, Kladow has managed to keep its village character, even though it is a part of the German

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.

History

Kladow was first mentioned as Clodow in 1267, which makes it the oldest section of Spandau. Intensive settlement of what had previously been farming villages began in the early 19th century. At the border of Greater Berlin, Kladow was annexed into Spandau in 1920. Kladow has since 2003 contained part of the former airfield of RAF Gatow

RAF Gatow

Known for most of its operational life as Royal Air Force Station Gatow, or more commonly RAF Gatow, this former British Royal Air Force military airbase is in the district of Gatow in south-western Berlin, west of the Havel river, in the borough of Spandau...

, which was, along with Tempelhof

Tempelhof International Airport

Berlin Tempelhof Airport was an airport in Berlin, Germany, situated in the south-central borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg. The airport ceased operating in 2008 in the process of establishing Schönefeld as the sole commercial airport for Berlin....

 and Tegel, one of the three airports that made the Berlin Airlift possible.

Today, Kladow describes itself as a village in a city of millions. Buildings such as the Gut Neukladow (1800) and the Village Church (1818) date back to the 17th and 18th centuries, although there are also many new housing estates, such as the Finnenhaussiedlung erected in 1959/60. The newest housing estate in the area is the former Gatow Airport (most of which is again part of Kladow), known as the Landstadt for civil servants. Most of the building plots are still available due to a lack of demand. With the dedication of a new shopping center (The Cladow-Center), life has partially moved out from the village's center. Nevertheless, this area still offers a rich, long-established selection of stores and restaurants.

Transportation

Kladow is well connected to the rest of Berlin with the Berlin Metro system. It was connected by bus as early as 1924, and it is now possible to reach the city centre in around 45 minutes using the Express Bus Line (X34). In addition, the F10 ferry travels hourly between Kladow and 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...

.

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....

 is around 40 minutes away by bus, but by car it can take only 30 minutes to reach Brandenburg's capital.

Education

More than enough is provided in Kladow in terms of education: there is a grammar school, the Hans-Carossa-Gymnasium, as well as two primary schools named Grundschule am Ritterfeld and Mary-Poppins-Grundschule. They are complemented by an independent Waldorf school, the Eugen Kolisko School.

External links

Kladow official website Kladow page on www.berlin.de Kladower Chronicle Pictures of Kladow Eugen Kolisko School