Lichterfelde () is a locality in the

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 A ...

of Steglitz-Zehlendorf in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, 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 Lichterfelde West is part of Lichterfelde in the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough of Berlin. It is known for its historic mansions, tree-lined streets and green squares. Next to Dahlem and Grunewald, Lichterfelde West is one of the German capital's ...

History

The

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

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: two 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. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...

s or mansions. The settlements and the historical villages of ' and ' were united in 1880 under the name ' (Greater Lichterfelde). Berlin Hauptkadettenanstalt 1900

Lichterfelde was chosen as the seat of the Prussian Main

Military academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...

, the Preußische Hauptkadettenanstalt, in 1882, and the district became the home to many famous families from the

German nobility The German nobility (german: deutscher Adel) and royalty were status groups of the medieval society in Central Europe, which enjoyed certain privileges relative to other people under the laws and customs in the German-speaking area, until the b ...

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

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

line, the

Gross-Lichterfelde tramway The Gross Lichterfelde Tramway was one of the world's first electric tramways ( Miller's line was electrified in 1875). It was built by the Siemens & Halske company in Lichterfelde, a suburb of Berlin, and went in service on 16 May 1881. Ove ...

, opened between the railway station and the ' in 1881. In 1920 became part of

Greater Berlin The Greater Berlin Act (german: Groß-Berlin-Gesetz), officially Law Regarding the Creation of the New Municipality of Berlin (german: Gesetz über die Bildung einer neuen Stadtgemeinde Berlin), was a law passed by the Prussian state government i ...

. Between 1920 and 1933, the former military academy in 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 resistance group surrounding Count and held their secret meetings inside 's apartment on ', , during the

Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. had his house on ' in . From 1945 to 1994 the ' was in use as "Andrews Barracks" by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

Berlin Brigade The Berlin Brigade was a US Army brigade-sized garrison based in West Berlin during the Cold War. After the end of World War II, under the conditions of the Yalta and Potsdam agreements, the Allied forces occupied West Berlin. This occupat ...

. Today it belongs to the German Federal Archives ('), headquartered in . Two other

kaserne ''Kaserne'' is a loanword taken from the German word ' (plural: '), which means "barracks". It is the typical term used when naming the garrison location for American and Canadian forces stationed in Germany. American forces were also sometimes hou ...

s "Roosevelt Barracks" in (former seat of the Prussian Army's

Guards Rifles Battalion The Guards Rifles Battalion (German: ''Garde- Schützen-Bataillon''; French: ''Bataillon des Tirailleurs de la Garde''; nicknamed: ''Neuchâteller'' in High German; ''Neffschandeller'' in Berlin German dialect) was an infantry unit of the Prussi ...

) and " McNair Barracks", a former manufacturing plant on ' were nearby. While was in parts badly damaged during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, ''

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

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

'', built in 1968 and today part of the

university hospital A university hospital is an institution which combines the services of a hospital with the education of medical students and with medical research. These hospitals are typically affiliated with a medical school or university. The following i ...

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 The Teltow Canal, also known as the in German, is a canal to the south of Berlin, the capital city of Germany. The canal lies in both the states of Berlin and Brandenburg, and at points forms the boundary between the two. It takes its name from ...

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 The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and t ...

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 Karl Wilhelm Otto Lilienthal (23 May 1848 – 10 August 1896) was a German pioneer of aviation who became known as the "flying man". He was the first person to make well-documented, repeated, successful flights with gliders, therefore making ...

Memorial Park with the artificial conical hill, from which he started many of his flight attempts, is located in Lichterfelde Süd.

Sights

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 A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

of the former village Lichterfelde *

- a villa colony from the 19th century *Lichterfelde village church - Church from the 14th century * McNair Barracks - former

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

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 Hasso von Boehmer (9 August 1904 – 5 March 1945) was a German lieutenant colonel on the General Staff and one of the 20 July Plotters. Hasso von Boehmer belonged to Infantry Regiment 9 (I.R. 9) from Potsdam, from which also came many of the o ...

, Lieutenant Colonel in the General Staff, murdered resistance fighter on July 20, 1944 * Bully Buhlan, singer *

Fler Patrick Losenský (born 3 April 1982), known professionally as Fler, is a German rapper and the CEO of Maskulin Music Group. Career 2000–2006: Beginnings Fler was first recognized in the rap scene through collaborations with Bushido. ...

, rapper * Peter Fox, musician *

Götz George Götz George (; 23 July 1938 – 19 June 2016) was a German actor, the son of actor couple Berta Drews and Heinrich George. His arguably best-known role is that of Duisburg detective Horst Schimanski in the TV crime series ''Tatort''. Early lif ...

, 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 Bettina Wegner (born 4 November 1947 in West-Berlin) is a German singer-songwriter. She is best known for her song "Sind so kleine Hände", written as "Kinder (Children)", also sung by Joan Baez, Dean Reed and others. Biography Wegner was born ...

, 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 *