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 constitu ...

, 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 Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as West Berlin. From 13 August 1961 u ...

borough of Friedrichshain 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 h ...

. The historic Oberbaum Bridge, 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''. H ...

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 f ...

. 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 affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the ...

Subdivision

Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg is divided into 2 localities, Friedrichshain 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 political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 as the merger of The Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (for ...

(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 , 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. ...

(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 , align=left, , 2,922 , 2.1 , New , 0 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Klimaliste , 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 , 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), 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, 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 ...

, 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 W ...

, 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 t ...

, 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