The Siemensstadt Settlement (german: Großsiedlung Siemensstadt; also known as ''Ring Settlement'' or ''Ringsiedlung'') is a nonprofit residential community in the

Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf () is the fourth borough of Berlin, formed in an administrative reform with effect from 1 January 2001, by merging the former boroughs of Charlottenburg and Wilmersdorf. Overview Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf covers the w ...

district of Berlin. It is one of the six

Modernist Housing Estates Berlin Modernism Housing Estates (german: Siedlungen der Berliner Moderne) is a World Heritage Site designated in 2008, comprising six separate subsidized housing estates in Berlin. Dating mainly from the years of the Weimar Republic (1919–193 ...

in Berlin recognized in July 2008 by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

as a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

because of their outstanding modernist architecture and contribution to the progressive housing reform movement during the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...

Geography

Despite its name, the larger part of the estate is situated within the locality (''Ortsteil'') of

Charlottenburg-Nord Charlottenburg-Nord (, literally "Charlottenburg North") is a locality (''Ortsteil'') in the northern part of the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf borough of Berlin, Germany. It is chiefly composed of after-war housing estates, allotment gardens and com ...

, only the smaller westernmost part belongs to Siemensstadt in the district of

Spandau Spandau () is the westernmost of the 12 boroughs () of Berlin, situated at the confluence of the Havel and Spree rivers and extending along the western bank of the Havel. It is the smallest borough by population, but the fourth largest by land ...

History

It was built between 1929 and 1931, under the overall master plan of German architect Hans Scharoun. Six prominent Weimar-era architects took part: Hans Scharoun,

Fred Forbát Alfréd "Fred" Forbát (also: Alfréd Forbat, Alfred Füchsl, in the German and Scandinavian literature mostly Fred Forbát )) (March 31, 1897 in Pécs (Hungary) – May 22, 1972 in Vällingby (Sweden)) was a Hungarian architect, urban planner, ...

Otto Bartning Otto Bartning (12 April 1883 in Karlsruhe – 20 February 1959 in Darmstadt) was a Modernist German architect, architectural theorist and teacher. In his early career he developed plans with Walter Gropius for the establishment of the Bauhaus. H ...

, Walter Gropius, Paul Rudolph Henning, and Hugo Häring. The nickname ''Ringsiedlung'' came from the association of some of these architects with Der Ring collective. The open spaces were designed by the German modernist landscape architect

Leberecht Migge Leberecht Migge (March 30, 1881 in Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland) – May 30, 1935 in Worpswede) was a German landscape architect, regional planner and polemical writer, best known for the incorporation of social gardening principles in the ''Siedlu ...

. Unlike the other significant public housing projects of the time, which were produced under government cooperative Gehag sponsorship, the Siemensstadt was constructed by a private housing cooperative as worker housing for Siemens' nearby electrical factory, which employed 60,000 workers. The shape of the settlement marked a turning point in urban thinking, the point at which Berlin's city planner Martin Wagner abandoned a low-rise, garden city-style project with individual gardens, in favor of much denser multi-story apartment blocks.

Special offers

Distributed within the whole settlement are information columns that give short, concise information on the architects and his buildings (currently in German language only).

Images

Image:Berlin_GS_Siemensstadt_Panzerkreuzer.jpg, "Panzerkreuzer (armoured ship)" by Hans Scharoun Image:Berlin_GS_Siemensstadt_Langer_Jammer.jpg, „Langer Jammer (Long Misery)“
by

Image:Berlin_GS_Siemensstadt_Ostabschluss.jpg, Postwar eastern termination (1956)
by Hans Scharoun

References

External links