''Kiez'' () (also: ''Kietz'') is a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
word that refers to a
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
neighbourhood
A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural a ...
, a relatively small
community
A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, t ...
within a larger town. The word is mainly used in
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 ...
and northern Germany. Similar quarters are called ''Veedel'' in
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
and ''Grätzl'' in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
.
Original meaning and etymology
The word ''Kietz'' originated in the time of the
eastward expansion of German settlers in the Middle Ages into
West Slavic territories (''
Germania Slavica
''Germania Slavica'' is a historiographic term used since the 1950s to denote the landscape of the medieval language border (roughly east of the Elbe-Saale line) zone between Germans and Slavs in Central Europe on the one hand and a 20th-century s ...
''), when in many places both communities existed side by side. The word is possibly of
Slavic origin (compare
Slovak ''chyža'' 'hut, cottage', cf.
Kessinians) and referred to a Slavic settlement (typically of fishermen) near a German town. Some placenames are reminiscent of this meaning, for example
Küstrin-Kietz or the Kietz quarter of Berlin-
Köpenick
Köpenick () is a historic town and locality (''Ortsteil'') in Berlin, situated at the confluence of the rivers Dahme and Spree in the south-east of the German capital. It was formerly known as Copanic and then Cöpenick, only officially adopt ...
.
Medieval ''Kietz'' settlements were first documented in the 14th century. They were often located near a castle or a river crossing and initially inhabited by Slavic vassals ("
Wends
Wends ( ang, Winedas ; non, Vindar; german: Wenden , ; da, vendere; sv, vender; pl, Wendowie, cz, Wendové) is a historical name for Slavs living near Germanic settlement areas. It refers not to a homogeneous people, but to various people ...
"). They were prevalent in the
Margraviate of Brandenburg
The Margraviate of Brandenburg (german: link=no, Markgrafschaft Brandenburg) was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe.
Brandenburg developed out ...
as well as in
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg (; nds, label= Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schweri ...
and in the
Duchy of Pomerania
The Duchy of Pomerania (german: Herzogtum Pommern; pl, Księstwo Pomorskie; Latin: ''Ducatus Pomeraniae'') was a duchy in Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, ruled by dukes of the House of Pomerania (''Griffins''). The country ha ...
. For a long time ''Kietze'' formed a distinct community beside the neighbouring peasant villages, though evidence of a specific Slavic population becomes rare in the course of an increasing
Germanisation
Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, people and culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nationalism went hand in hand. In lin ...
. From the late 18th century onwards, the denotation ''Kietz'' was generally applied to fishermen's villages and remote settlements. In its transferred sense, the word became a (sometimes mocking) denotation for Berlin neighbourhoods.
Modern meaning
A "Kiez" is never originally defined by the municipality or government, but rather by the inhabitants, and therefore doesn't necessarily coincide with administrative divisions. In some cases, however, such definitions have been picked up in official documents, this including State legislation.
[For example {{dead link, date=December 2017 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes .]
In Berlin the term usually has a positive connotation, as inhabitants often identify with the "Kiez" they live in. There is a rising number of approximately 20 unofficial "Kiez"-areas in Berlin, most often in and around the
city centre
A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...
. A Berliner "Kiez" usually consists mainly of pre-war buildings and upholds its own commercial and cultural infrastructure. Outside Berlin, "Kiez" may be considered by some as somewhat slangy.
In
Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...
, ''der Kiez'' refers to the area around the
Reeperbahn in the
St. Pauli quarter, which is the city's
nightlife
Nightlife is a collective term for entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes pubs, bars, nightclubs, parties, live music, concerts, cabarets, theatre, ...
and
red-light district
A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light districts are partic ...
. It is the most well known "Kiez" in Germany and is sometimes mistakenly considered to be the first or original "Kiez". In other towns, such as
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
, red-light districts are sometimes referred to as the "Kiez" following Hamburg's example. Also in smaller cities, some districts may be referred to as a "Kiez", especially when there are vital scenes of culture, pubs and clubs – an example being the ''KTV'', a district of
Rostock
Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state ...
.
The more
standard German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
term for a neighborhood in the sense of "where one lives" is ''Viertel'' 'quarter'.
References
German words and phrases
Human habitats
Urban planning in Germany
Culture in Berlin
Culture in Hamburg
Hanover