Neighbourhood sights in Berlin
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Köpenick Altstadt
Many of the cobblestone streets in Köpenick’s Altstadt still follow their original, medieval layout. To walk there from the Köpenick S-Bahn station, follow Borgmannstrasse two blocks south to Mandrellaplatz, site of the imposing Amtsgericht (municipal court). It houses a small memorial exhibit (admission free; 10am-6pm Thu) for the victims of a brutal Nazi crackdown against local communists between 21 and 26 June 1933. Around 90 people were killed, most of them in the court prison itself, during what went down in history as Köpenicker Blutwoche (Bloody Week). The entrance is via the courtyard at Puchanstrasse 12. The victims were raised to martyr status in the GDR’s day a…
reviewed
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Majakowskiring
In GDR days, at least until the 1960s, this oval ring road, southwest of Schloss Niederschönhausen, was home to a who’s who of the apparatchik elite. Walter Ulbricht (Wall builder and SED secretary from 1950 to 1971) lived at No 28 next to the first GDR president Wilhelm Pieck. Erich Honecker later moved into No 58. Their neighbours were state-approved scientists and creative folk. Nicknamed the Städtchen (little town), the enclave was completely sealed off from the public, lest anyone saw the lavish 1920s villas (seized from industrialists after WWII) and overall luxury in which their rulers wallowed while denying almost everyone else basic amenities such as a car or…
reviewed
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Rixdorf
The contrast between the cacophonic bustle of Karl-Marx-Strasse and the quiet streets of Rixdorf, a tiny historic village centred on Richardplatz, seems almost surreal given that they’re only steps apart. Weavers from Bohemia first settled here in the early 18th century and some of the original buildings still survive, including a blacksmithRichardplatz 24), now a women’s centre, and a farmhaus (Richardplatz 3A). Even these structures are mere saplings, though, compared to the Bethlehemskirche (Richardplatz 22), which has origins in the 15th century.
reviewed
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Kolk
Separated from the Altstadt by the busy Strasse am Juliusturm, the Kolk quarter exudes medieval village flair with its romantic narrow lanes, crooked, half-timbered houses and 78m-long section of town wall. A must-see jewel is the church of St Marien am Behnitz (Behnitz 9). A top-to-bottom makeover of the 1848 church saw the return of the hand-painted murals, decorative stucco and stained-glass windows that had been destroyed during a botched 1960s restoration job. Try catching a concert here – the acoustics are tremendous.
reviewed
