Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg () is the second

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, formed in 2001 by merging the former

East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...

borough of

Friedrichshain Friedrichshain () is a quarter (''Ortsteil'') of the borough of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg in Berlin, Germany. From its creation in 1920 until 2001, it was a freestanding city borough. Formerly part of East Berlin, it is adjacent to Mitte, Prenz ...

and the former

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

borough of

Kreuzberg Kreuzberg () is a district of Berlin, Germany. It is part of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough located south of Mitte. During the Cold War era, it was one of the poorest areas of West Berlin, but since German reunification in 1990 it ha ...

. The historic

Oberbaum Bridge The Oberbaum Bridge (german: Oberbaumbrücke) is a double-deck bridge crossing Berlin's River Spree, considered one of the city's landmarks. It links Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg, former boroughs that were divided by the Berlin Wall, and has ...

, formerly a Berlin border crossing for pedestrians, links both districts across the river

Spree Spree may refer to: Geography * Spree (river), river in Germany Film and television * ''The Spree'', a 1998 American television film directed by Tommy Lee Wallace * ''Spree'' (film), a 2020 American film starring Joe Keery * "Spree" (''Numbers' ...

as the new borough's

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...

(as featured in the coat of arms). Berlin Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg

The

counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Hou ...

tradition especially of Kreuzberg has led to the borough being a stronghold for the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...

. While Kreuzberg is characterised by a high number of immigrants, the share of non-German citizens in Friedrichshain is much lower and the average age is higher. The merger between the distinct quarters is celebrated by an annual anarchic "vegetable fight" on the Oberbaumbrücke. Both parts have to deal with the consequences of

gentrification Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...

Subdivision

Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg is divided into 2 localities,

and

Politics

District council

The governing body of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg is the district council (''Bezirksverordnetenversammlung''). It has responsibility for passing laws and electing the city government, including the mayor. The most recent district council election was held on 26 September 2021, and the results were as follows: ! colspan=2, Party ! Lead candidate ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Alliance 90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (german: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, ), often simply referred to as the Greens ( ), is a Green politics, green List of political parties in Germany, political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 as the merger of The Greens ...

(Grüne) , align=left, Clara Hermmann , 48,254 , 34.6 , 1.9 , 22 , 2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, The Left (LINKE) , align=left, Oliver Nöll , 30,124 , 21.6 , 0.8 , 13 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

(SPD) , align=left, Andy Hehmke , 20,554 , 14.8 , 2.5 , 9 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) , align=left, Timur Husein , 10,898 , 7.8 , 0.1 , 5 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Free Democratic Party (FDP) , align=left, Marlene Heihsel , 6,561 , 4.7 , 1.5 , 3 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Die PARTEI (''Party for Labour, Rule of Law, Animal Protection, Promotion of Elites and Grassroots Democratic Initiative''), or Die PARTEI (''The PARTY''), is a German political party. It was founded in 2004 by the editors of the German satirical magazin ...

, align=left, Riza Cörtlen , 5,214 , 3.7 , 0.9 , 2 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (german: link=no, Alternative für Deutschland, AfD; ) is a right-wing populist * * * * * * * political party in Germany. AfD is known for its opposition to the European Union, as well as immigration to Germany. I ...

(AfD) , align=left, Frank Scheermesser , 4,333 , 3.1 , 3.1 , 1 , 2 , - , colspan=8 bgcolor=lightgrey, , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Tierschutzpartei , align=left, , 3,185 , 2.3 , New , 0 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Volt Germany Volt Germany (, mostly known by the abbreviated name Volt) is a social-liberal pro-European, eurofederalist political party in Germany. It is the German branch of Volt Europa, a political movement that operates on a European level. Italian Andr ...

, align=left, , 2,922 , 2.1 , New , 0 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Klimaliste Klimaliste ( en, Climate List) is the name of various microparties and voter groups in Germany that advocate climate protection measures to meet the 1.5 °C IPCC and Paris Agreement warming limit target. They see themselves as a grassroots mo ...

, align=left, , 2,329 , 1.7 , New , 0 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, dieBasis , align=left, , 2,267 , 1.6 , New , 0 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Bergpartei , align=left, , 989 , 0.7 , New , 0 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, The Humanists , align=left, , 528 , 0.4 , New , 0 , New , - , , align=left, We are Berlin , align=left, , 506 , 0.4 , New , 0 , New , - , , align=left, Open List Friedrichshain , align=left, , 321 , 0.2 , New , 0 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Ecological Democratic Party The Ecological Democratic Party (german: Ökologisch-Demokratische Partei, ÖDP) is a conservative and ecologist minor party in Germany. The ÖDP was founded in 1982. The strongest level of voting support for the ÖDP is in Bavaria, where in ...

, align=left, , 285 , 0.2 , 0.2 , 0 , ±0 , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 139,270 ! 99.3 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 951 ! 0.7 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 140,221 ! 100.0 ! ! 55 ! ±0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 198,561 ! 70.6 ! 8.5 ! ! , - , colspan=8, Source
Elections Berlin

District government

The district mayor (''Bezirksbürgermeister'') is elected by the Bezirksverordnetenversammlung, and positions in the district government (Bezirksamt) are apportioned based on party strength. Clara Herrmann of the Greens was elected mayor on 6 December 2021. Since the 2021 municipal elections, the composition of the district government is as follows:

Twin towns – sister cities

Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg is twinned with: *

Al-Malikiyah Al-Malikiyah ( ar, ٱلْمَالِكِيَّة, al-Mālikīyah; ku, دێرکا حەمکۆ, translit=Dêrika Hemko; ) also known as Derik, is a small Syrian city and the center of an administrative district belonging to Al-Hasakah Governorate. ...

, Syria (2017) *

Bergstraße (district) Bergstraße (; "Mountain Road") is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the south of Hesse, Germany. It is at the northern end of the Bergstraße route. Neighboring districts are Groß-Gerau, Darmstadt-Dieburg, Odenwaldkreis, Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, the urban ...

, Germany (1969) *

Ingelheim am Rhein Ingelheim (), officially Ingelheim am Rhein ( en, Ingelheim upon Rhine), is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in the Rhineland-Palatinate state of Germany. The town sprawls along the Rhine's west bank. It has been Mainz-Bingen's district seat ...

, Germany (1971) * Kadıköy (Istanbul), Turkey (1996) *

Kiryat Yam Kiryat Yam ( he, קִרְיַת יָם, lit. ''Sea Town'') is a city in the Haifa Bay district of Israel, north of Haifa. One of a group of Haifa suburbs known as the Krayot, it is located on the Mediterranean coast, between Kiryat Haim and the T ...

, Israel (1990) *

Limburg-Weilburg Limburg-Weilburg is a Kreis (district) in the west of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Lahn-Dill, Hochtaunuskreis, Rheingau-Taunus, Rhein-Lahn, Westerwaldkreis. History *1867 the ''Oberlahnkreis'', capital Weilburg was created *1886 the d ...

, Germany (1980) * Oborishte (Sofia), Bulgaria (1999) *

Porta Westfalica Porta Westfalica () is a town in the district of Minden-Lübbecke, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The name "''Porta Westfalica''" is Latin and means "gate to Westphalia". Coming from the north, the gorge is the entry to the region of West ...

, Germany (1968) *

San Rafael del Sur San Rafael del Sur is a town and a municipality in the Managua department of Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to ...

, Nicaragua (1986) *

Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...

, Poland (1996) *

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

, Germany (1964)

References

External links

Official homepage Official homepage of Berlin
{{Authority control Districts of Berlin