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Friedrichshain

Coordinates:52°30′57″N13°27′15″E/ 52.51583°N 13.45417°E/52.51583; 13.45417
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Boxhagener Platz" redirects here. For the 2010 German comedy film, seeBoxhagener Platz (film).
"Berlin-Friedrichshain" redirects here. For the electoral district, seeBerlin-Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg – Prenzlauer Berg East.

Friedrichshain
QuarterofBerlin
Oberbaumbrücke
Oberbaumbrücke
Coat of arms of Friedrichshain
Coat of arms
Location of Friedrichshain in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg and Berlin
Friedrichshain is located in Germany
Friedrichshain
Friedrichshain
Friedrichshain is located in Berlin
Friedrichshain
Friedrichshain
Coordinates:52°30′57″N13°27′15″E/ 52.51583°N 13.45417°E/52.51583; 13.45417
CountryGermany
StateBerlin
CityBerlin
BoroughFriedrichshain-Kreuzberg
Founded1920
Subdivisions3 zones
Area
• Total9.78 km2(3.78 sq mi)
Elevation
52 m (171 ft)
Population
(2023-12-31)[1]
• Total141,238
• Density14,000/km2(37,000/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00(CET)
• Summer (DST)UTC+02:00(CEST)
Postal codes
10243, 10245, 10247, 10249
Vehicle registrationB

Friedrichshain(German pronunciation:[ˈfʁiːdʁɪçsˌhaɪn]ⓘ) is a quarter (Ortsteil) of the borough ofFriedrichshain-KreuzberginBerlin,Germany. From its creation in 1920 until 2001, it was a freestandingcity borough.Formerly part ofEast Berlin,it is adjacent toMitte,Prenzlauer Berg,KreuzbergandLichtenberg.

Friedrichshain is named after theVolkspark Friedrichshain,a vast green park at the northern border with Prenzlauer Berg. In theNaziera, the borough was calledHorst-Wessel-Stadt.Friedrichshain is one of the trendy districts of Berlin and has experiencedgentrification.

Geography

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Friedrichshain is defined by the following roads and places, starting clock-wise in the west: Lichtenberger Straße, Mollstraße, Otto-Braun-Straße, Am Friedrichshain, Virchowstraße, Margarete-Sommer-Straße, Danziger Straße, Landsberger Allee, Hausburgstraße, Thaerstraße, Eldenaer Straße, S-Bahn-Trasse, Kynaststraße, Stralauer Halbinsel, Spree.

History

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Karl-Marx-Allee, the broad boulevard that bisects Friedrichshain, seen from TV tower

The largely working-class district was created in 1920 whenGreater Berlinwas established byreferendum,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 theVolkspark('People's Park'), which was planned in 1840 to commemorate the centenary ofFrederick the Great's coronation. Much of the district was settled in the rapidindustrializationof 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 andFrankfurt (Oder)in 1846 (which terminated near the site of today'sBerlin Ostbahnhof), and the opening of the first waterworks in 1865 at Stralauer Tor. In 1874 theKrankenhaus im Friedrichshainwas opened, Berlin's first hospital beside the university clinicCharité.In the early 1900s, the district's largest employer was theKnorr-Bremsebrake factory; the Knorrpromenade, one of Friedrichshain's most attractive streets, was built to house the management. The street network of Friedrichhain was originally specified in theHobrecht-Planand the area was part of what came to be known architecturally as theWilhelmine Ring.

When theNaziscame to power in 1933, the district was renamedHorst-Wessel-Stadtafter the Nazi activist and writer of theNazi hymnwhose slow death, after being shot by communists, in Friedrichshain hospital in 1930 was turned into apropagandaevent byJoseph Goebbels.

During World War II Friedrichshain was one of the most badly damaged parts of Berlin, as Alliedstrategic bombersspecifically targeted its industries. As late as the nineties, some buildings still displayed bullet holes from the intensehouse to house fightingduring theBattle of Berlin.After the war ended, the boundary between the US andSovietoccupation sectorsran between Friedrichshain andKreuzberg,with Friedrichshain in the east and Kreuzberg in the west. This became a sealed border betweenEastandWest Berlinwhen theBerlin Wallwas built in 1961.

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 ostentatiousSoviet-era Moscow boulevardsand is sometimes mockingly described asZuckerbäckerstil('wedding cake style'). The1953 uprisinghad its origins in these construction projects, as increased work quotas led to protests that soon spread throughoutEast Germany,and were only put down by armed Soviet intervention.

In the period ofDe-Stalinizationfollowing the Soviet leader's death, the boulevard was renamedKarl-Marx-Alleeat one end andFrankfurter Alleeat the other. From this time onwards, Friedrichshain often featured on East Berlin's cultural map: in 1962 theKosmos,East Germany's largest cinema, was opened, followed in 1981 by the country's most ambitious swimming and sports complex, theSport- und Erholungszentrum.Neither of these buildings serve their original function today.

Lifestyle

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Märchenbrunnen in Volkspark Friedrichshain
Simon-Dach-Straße is the "heart" of Friedrichshain and one of the liveliest places in East Berlin.

In the course of the changesfollowing the fall of theBerlin Wallin November 1989, thefree elections in March 1990and leading up toGerman reunificationthe 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 ofsquattersincluding many from former West Berlin. On 14 November that year, Friedrichshain experienced violent clashes when hundreds of squatters were forcefully evicted from houses inMainzer Straßeby police acting on the orders of theSenateof the recently united city, an act which would trigger the fall of the governing coalition when theGreen Partywithdrew in protest. In the following years further squatters were evicted under the hardlineconservativeSenator for the Interior,but others were able to buy the houses they lived in, and they remain a distinct counter-cultural influence in the district to this day. The fight against eviction remains a daily struggle for the last squats still standing: in October 2020, the anarco-queer-feminist squat Liebig34 on Liebigstrasse was evicted.[citation needed]

Alongside the neighbouring districts ofMitte,Prenzlauer Berg,andKreuzberg,Friedrichshain is now considered one of Berlin's most fashionable areas, and is home to numerous design and media companies. It is known for its many bars, clubs, pubs, and cafés, concentrated in the vicinity of Simon-Dach-Straße and Boxhagener Platz. There were numeroussquatsin Friedrichshain, with many in and around Rigaer Straße, Mainzer Straße and Scharnweberstraße. In contrast to the districts of Prenzlauer Berg and Mitte, which have experienced high levels of demographic change and rented accommodation is higher price, it is only since the late 1990s that Friedrichshain has undergone a similar trend. FollowingGerman reunification,the availability of comparatively cheap rented accommodation attracted students and artists. In the 2020s, numerous restoration works are under way and Friedrichshain is developing at a fast pace becoming more andmore gentrifieditself.[citation needed]

At the opposite end of the district, theVolkspark Friedrichshainis a large park serving the densely populated area of Prenzlauer Berg on the other side. Its distinctive features include theMärchenbrunnen(Fairytale Fountain) and two wooded "mountains" consisting purely of rubble and the ruins of two World War IIFlak towers.

The urban parkVolkspark Friedrichshainoffers opportunities for sport and recreation. The neighborhood is also home to many restaurants, several exhibition spaces, cinemas and the Berlin Kriminal Theatre, which specialises in crime stories.Frankfurter Alleefeatures various shopping facilities as well as the Ring-Center shopping mall.[2]

Points of interest

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  • Simon-Dach-Straße is a popular destination, with numerous bars.
    Simon-Dach-Straßeis a popular destination, with numerous bars.
  • Jugendstil house in the Simon-Dach-Straße
    Jugendstilhouse in the Simon-Dach-Straße
  • The Knorrpromenade
    The Knorrpromenade
  • The small cinema "Intimes," over 70 years old, on the corner of Boxhagener Straße
    The small cinema "Intimes," over 70 years old, on the corner of Boxhagener Straße
  • A popular flea market takes place every Sunday on Boxhagener Platz.
    A popular flea market takes place every Sunday on Boxhagener Platz.
  • Frankfurter Allee, looking west, with the Fernsehturm at Alexanderplatz in the background
    Frankfurter Allee,looking west, with theFernsehturmatAlexanderplatzin the background
  • The north tower at Frankfurter Tor
    The north tower at Frankfurter Tor
  • A closer look at a Frankfurt Allee façade, showing the neo-classical tilework
    A closer look at a Frankfurt Allee façade, showing the neo-classical tilework
  • Berlin Friedrichshain
    Berlin Friedrichshain
  • The Haus an der Weberwiese, the first high-rise apartment block in Berlin, built 1951
    The Haus an der Weberwiese, the first high-rise apartment block in Berlin, built 1951
  • The "Molecule man", a big art work at the Berlin river Spree
    The "Molecule man", a big art work at the Berlin riverSpree
  • The Osthafen (east harbour) at the Spree between Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg. In the background the Oberbaumbrücke and the Fernsehturm.
    The Osthafen (east harbour) at the Spree between Friedrichshain andKreuzberg.In the background theOberbaumbrückeand the Fernsehturm.
  • The Oberbaumbrücke and the waters of the Spree belong to Friedrichshain.
    TheOberbaumbrückeand the waters of the Spree belong to Friedrichshain.
  • The East Side Gallery is the longest remaining part of the Berlin Wall.
    TheEast Side Galleryis the longest remaining part of theBerlin Wall.
  • A squat on Kreuziger Straße, one of many such buildings in the district
    A squat onKreuziger Straße,one of many such buildings in the district

People

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See also

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References

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  1. ^"Einwohnerinnen und Einwohner im Land Berlin am 31. Dezember 2023".Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg.February 2024.
  2. ^"Accentro en".accentro.co.uk.Retrieved1 April2016.
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