Lichterfelde () is a locality in the

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, 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 ...

of Steglitz-Zehlendorf in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, Germany. Until 2001 it was part of the former borough of Steglitz, along with Steglitz and Lankwitz. Lichterfelde is home to institutions like the Berlin Botanical Garden and Museum, the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND), the German Federal Archives and the Charité university hospital's ''Benjamin Franklin Campus''. Many embassies and landmark-protected buildings are located in the affluent mansion settlement in Lichterfelde West.

History

The

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n village ' was founded in the 13th century by Flemish settlers. It witnessed considerable growth in the 19th century when the two "villa colonies" of and were founded: elegant settlements for wealthy Berliners consisting completely of

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...

s or

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...

s. These settlements and the historical villages of , Lichterfelde and Giesensdorf were united in 1880 under the name ' (Greater Lichterfelde). Berlin Hauptkadettenanstalt 1900

Lichterfelde was chosen as the seat of the Prussian Main Military academy, the , in 1882, and the district became the home to many famous families from the

German nobility The German nobility () and Royal family, royalty were status groups of the Estates of the realm, medieval society in Central Europe, which enjoyed certain Privilege (law), privileges relative to other people under the laws and customs in the Ger ...

due to their connections with the Prussian Army. The world's first commercially successful electrified

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

line, the Gross-Lichterfelde tramway, opened between the railway station and the in 1881. In 1920 Lichterfelde became part of Greater Berlin. Between 1920 and 1933, the former military academy in Lichterfelde was used by the Berlin Police. From 1933 to 1945, the grounds of the military academy were the home of the . During this same period, the anti-Nazi Kreisau Circle resistance group surrounding Count Peter Yorck von Wartenburg and Helmuth James Graf von Moltke held their secret meetings inside Wartenburg's apartment on ', Lichterfelde-West, during the

Third Reich Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

. Generaloberst Ludwig Beck had his house on ' in Lichterfelde-Ost. In 1942–1945, Lichterfelde was the location of a subcamp of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. There were seven known escape attempts, five successful. From 1945 to 1994 the was in use as "Andrews Barracks" by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

's Berlin Brigade. Today it belongs to the German Federal Archives, headquartered in

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

. Two other kasernes "Roosevelt Barracks" in (former seat of the Prussian Army's Guards Rifles Battalion) and " McNair Barracks", a former manufacturing plant on were nearby. While Lichterfelde-Ost was in parts badly damaged during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Lichterfelde West is still largely intact and today one of the prime residential areas of Berlin. The Lichterfelde locality also houses the Berlin-Dahlem Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum and the ''Campus

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

'', built in 1968 and today part of the

university hospital A teaching hospital or university hospital is a hospital or medical center that provides medical education and training to future and current health professionals. Teaching hospitals are almost always affiliated with one or more universities a ...

Quarters of Lichterfelde

Lichterfelde West

Lichterfelde West was developed as a settlement of mansions and is one of the wealthiest residential areas of Berlin. It is home to the Berlin Botanical Garden and embassies. The Teltow Canal geographically separates it from the eastern parts of Lichterfelde. Its 19th-century commercial area is centered around the Lichterfelde West railway station, which also serves nearby Free University of Berlin in neighboring Dahlem. Most of the commercial and residential buildings in Lichterfelde West are protected landmarks.

Lichterfelde Ost

Lichterfelde Ost, like Lichterfelde West, was also developed as a settlement of mansions, yet many of the estates were damaged in World War II. The Lichterfelde Ost railway station serves as a hub for regional rail and commuter rail and is surrounded by a large commercial area.

Lichterfelde Süd

Lichterfelde Süd was developed in the 1960s and 1970s and is large made up of suburban housing estates, being a significant architectural deviation from the older mansion settlements. The Otto Lilienthal Memorial Park with the artificial conical hill, from which he started many of his flight attempts, is located in Lichterfelde Süd.

Sights

* Otto Lilienthal monument - the memorial plaque which is located in Schütte-Lanz-Straße 25, Berlin-Lichterfelde, was built in memory of Otto Lilienthal - a German pioneer of human aviation who became known as the Glider King. He was the first person to make successful gliding flights. * Berlin Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum *Lichterfelde Manor - historic manor house of the former village Lichterfelde * Lichterfelde West - a villa colony from the 19th century *Lichterfelde village church - Church from the 14th century * McNair Barracks - former US Army installation in Lichterfelde, today a residential building File:Gedenktafel Schütte-Lanz-Str 25 (Lichf) Otto Lilienthal.JPG, Gedenktafel Schütte-Lanz-Str 25 (Lichf) Otto Lilienthal File:2006-07-07 Botanischer Garten Italienischer Garten.jpg, Berlin Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum File:B-Lichterfelde Hindenburgdamm Gutshaus.jpg, Lichterfelde Manor (Gutshaus Lichterfelde) File:Gedenktafel Wismarer Str 26 (Lichf) KZ Aussenlager Lichterfelde.JPG, Memorial plaque, KZ Aussenlager Lichterfelde, Wismarer Straße 26 File:Berlin-Zehlendorf Telefunken-Werk Goerzallee.JPG, Telefunken Headquarters, later McNair Barracks File:Lichterfelde Bahnhof Lichterfelde-West.JPG, Berlin-Lichterfelde West station File:Lichterfelde Baseler Straße 2-4 West-Bazar.JPG, West Bazar File:Wikipedia for Peace 2017 Photo Tour, 2017 (DSC06504).jpg, Embassy of Ethiopia

Important people

Sons and daughters of the district

* Maximilian Beyer, Catholic pastor * Hasso von Boehmer, Lieutenant Colonel in the General Staff, murdered resistance fighter on 20 July 1944 * Bully Buhlan, singer * Fler, rapper * Peter Fox, musician * Götz George, actor * Peter Huchel, writer * Rolf Johannesson, Rear Admiral of the German Navy * Max Kaus, painter and graphic artist * Julius Posener, architectural historian * Samra, rapper * Nils Seethaler, Anthropologist * Gerd Tellenbach, historian * Bettina Wegner, songwriter and poet

Celebrities at the Lichterfelde park cemetery

The following personalities were buried in the Parkfriedhof Lichterfelde among many others:

References

External links

* * Picture of the ancient Coat of Arms of Lichterfelde
Life in Andrews Barracks in 1969
{{Authority control Populated places established in the 1300s Localities of Berlin *