Rixdorf

Neukölln


Weavers from Bohemia first settled in quiet Rixdorf, a tiny historic village centred on Richardplatz, in the early 18th century. Some of the original buildings still survive, including a blacksmith, a farmhouse and the 15th-century Bethlehemskirche, but in recent years the area has become increasingly hip and gentrified and now teems with cafes and creative spaces.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Neukölln attractions

1. Rixdorfer Schmiede

0.01 MILES

This old blacksmith shop was first mentioned in 1624, making it the oldest in Berlin. It’s still in use today by a company called Eisengold, which makes…

2. Bethlehemskirche

0.05 MILES

This little church has roots in the 15th century but owes its current country-style looks to a restoration in 1939–41. The austere interior has excellent…

3. Puppentheater-Museum Berlin

0.38 MILES

At this little museum, you’ll enter a fantasy world inhabited by adorable hand puppets, marionettes, shadow puppets, stick figures and all manner of dolls…

4. Körnerpark

0.4 MILES

This sunken neobaroque century-old garden comes with a secret: strolling past the flower beds and cascading fountain, you are actually standing in a…

5. Kindl Centre for Contemporary Art

0.74 MILES

The rambling 1920s Expressionst-style Kindl brewery provides an atmospheric backdrop for changing international contemporary art exhibits, which are…

6. Sowjetisches Ehrenmal Treptow

1.32 MILES

At the heart of Treptower Park, the gargantuan Soviet War Memorial (1949) looms above the graves of 5000 Soviet soldiers killed in the Battle of Berlin, a…

7. Grenzwachturm Schlesischer Busch

1.49 MILES

East German border guards, machine guns at the ready, used to keep an eye on the Berlin Wall and the infamous ‘death strip’ from this square concrete…

8. Archenhold Sternwarte

1.5 MILES

The star exhibit at Germany’s oldest astronomical observatory is the 21m-long refracting telescope (the world’s longest), built in 1896 by astronomer…