Niederschönhausen (, literally "Lower Schönhausen") is a
locality
Locality may refer to:
* Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England
* Locality (linguistics)
* Locality (settlement)
* Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...
(''Ortsteil'') within the borough (''Bezirk'') of
Pankow
Pankow () is the most populous and the second-largest borough by area of Berlin. In Berlin's 2001 administrative reform, it was merged with the former boroughs of Prenzlauer Berg and Weißensee; the resulting borough retained the name Pankow. ...
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 constitue ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. It is also known as "Pankow-Schönhausen" to differ it from
Hohenschönhausen
Hohenschönhausen () was a borough of Berlin, that existed from 1985 until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform. It comprised the localities of Alt-Hohenschönhausen (the core of the borough), Neu-Hohenschönhausen, Malchow, Wartenberg and F ...
in Berlin-
Lichtenberg
Lichtenberg () is the eleventh borough of Berlin, Germany. In Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it absorbed the former borough of Hohenschönhausen.
Overview
The district contains the Tierpark Berlin in Friedrichsfelde, the larger of Berlin ...
. From 1949 until 1960
Schönhausen Palace
Schönhausen Palace (german: Schloss Schönhausen) is a Baroque palace at Niederschönhausen, in the borough of Pankow, Berlin, Germany. It is surrounded by gardens through which the Panke river runs. The palace is maintained by the Prussian Pal ...
and the adjacent
Majakowskiring
The Majakowskiring (named after Vladimir Mayakovsky) is an ellipse-shaped street in the Pankow district of Berlin, Germany, in the Niederschönhausen locality. It was famous as the residence of many senior figures in the government of the German D ...
quarter were the residence of several members of the
East German
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
government, commonly referred to as ''Pankow'' by the
West German
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
media.
Geography
Overview
Located north of the Berlin city centre, Niederschönhausen borders with the localities of
Wilhelmsruh
Wilhelmsruh () is a German locality (''Ortsteil'') within the borough (''Bezirk'') of Pankow, Berlin. It is the city's smallest locality, after Halensee and Hansaviertel.
History
In the locality, originally part of Rosenthal, it was built a co ...
,
Rosenthal in the north,
Französisch Buchholz
Französisch Buchholz (), also known simply as Buchholz, is a German locality (''Ortsteil'') within the Berlin borough (''Bezirk'') of Pankow.
History
First mentioned in 1242 as ''Buckholtz'' in a document, it became the property of Frederick Wi ...
in the east,
Pankow
Pankow () is the most populous and the second-largest borough by area of Berlin. In Berlin's 2001 administrative reform, it was merged with the former boroughs of Prenzlauer Berg and Weißensee; the resulting borough retained the name Pankow. ...
in the south and the
Reinickendorf
Reinickendorf () is the twelfth borough of Berlin. It encompasses the northwest of the city area, including the Berlin Tegel Airport, Lake Tegel, spacious settlements of detached houses as well as housing estates like Märkisches Viertel.
Subdi ...
locality (in the
homonymous borough) along the
Berlin Northern Railway
The Berlin Northern Railway (german: Berliner Nordbahn) is a 223-kilometre-long main line route, that runs from Berlin via Neustrelitz and Neubrandenburg to Stralsund on the Baltic Sea coast. Nowadays, long-distance and regional traffic on the ...
line in the west. The locality comprises several green areas, as the
Schönholzer Heide, the
Brosepark, the
Schlosspark Pankow, the
Bürgerpark and the cemetery
Friedhof Pankow III.
Subdivision
Niederschönhausen is divided into 3 zones (''Ortslagen''):
*
Majakowskiring
The Majakowskiring (named after Vladimir Mayakovsky) is an ellipse-shaped street in the Pankow district of Berlin, Germany, in the Niederschönhausen locality. It was famous as the residence of many senior figures in the government of the German D ...
*
Nordend
*
Schönholz
Transport
The locality is served by the
tramway line M1 and by the
bus lines 107, 150, 155 and 250. The ''
S-Bahn
The S-Bahn is the name of hybrid urban- suburban rail systems serving a metropolitan region in German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit systems, while smaller ones often resemble co ...
'' crosses Niederschönhausen at the borders between Schönholz and Reinickendorf and serves it at
Schönholz station (lines
S1,
S25 and
S85).
History
A settlement called ''Schonenhusen inferior'' or ''Nydderen Schonhusen'' was, like many others 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 o ...
, first mentioned in the 1375 doomsday book (''Landbuch'') of Emperor
Charles IV. The
linear village
Linearity is the property of a mathematical relationship ('' function'') that can be graphically represented as a straight line. Linearity is closely related to '' proportionality''. Examples in physics include rectilinear motion, the linear ...
was probably founded about 1230 by German colonists in the course of the medieval ''
Ostsiedlung
(, literally "East-settling") is the term for the Early Medieval and High Medieval migration-period when ethnic Germans moved into the territories in the eastern part of Francia, East Francia, and the Holy Roman Empire (that Germans had al ...
'' migration. The estates were purchased by the Elector
Frederick III ("
King in Prussia
King ''in'' Prussia (German: ''König in Preußen'') was a title used by the Prussian kings (also in personal union Electors of Brandenburg) from 1701 to 1772. Subsequently, they used the title King ''of'' Prussia (''König von Preußen'').
Th ...
" as Frederick I from 1701), who had the local manor house rebuilt in a
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
style as a
Hohenzollern residence. In 1740 the new king
Frederick the Great
Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...
left Schönhausen Castle (''Schloß Schönhausen'') to his consort
Elisabeth Christine who lived here until her death in 1797.
The residential area that arose after nearby Berlin had become the German capital is characterised by mansions and dwelling houses, developed primarily around the year 1910 on the former estates of Schönhausen Palace.
[Infos about the ''Schloß Schönhausen'']
This short-lived municipality of the former
Niederbarnim
Barnim () is a district in Brandenburg, Germany. It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise) Poland, the district of Märkisch-Oderland, the city state of Berlin and the districts of Oberhavel and Uckermark.
History
The name "Barnim" emerge ...
district merged into Berlin with the "
Greater Berlin Act" in 1920.
Part of
East Berlin
East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...
during the "
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
", Schönhausen Palace from 1949 served as the seat of East German President
Wilhelm Pieck
Friedrich Wilhelm Reinhold Pieck (; 3 January 1876 – 7 September 1960) was a German communist politician who served as the chairman of the Socialist Unity Party from 1946 to 1950 and as president of the German Democratic Republic from 1949 to ...
and later as a guest house of the East German government.
Johannes R. Becher and several East German government officials resided in the secluded Majakowskiring quarter, until they moved to
Wandlitz
Wandlitz is a municipality in the district of Barnim, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated 25 km north of Berlin, and 15 km east of Oranienburg. The municipality was established in 2004 by merger of the nine villages ''Basdorf'', ' ...
in 1960. From 1961 to 1989 the western boundary of Niederschönhausen with
Reinickendorf
Reinickendorf () is the twelfth borough of Berlin. It encompasses the northwest of the city area, including the Berlin Tegel Airport, Lake Tegel, spacious settlements of detached houses as well as housing estates like Märkisches Viertel.
Subdi ...
(in
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 ...
) was part of the
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...
.
In June 1990 Schönhausen Palace was a site of the
Two Plus Four talks that paved the way for
German reunification
German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...
. Today the adjacent premises house the German
Federal Academy for Security Policy
The Federal Academy for Security Policy (german: Bundesakademie für Sicherheitspolitik, BAKS) is the Federal Republic of Germany’s interministerial institution for advanced studies, education and training in security policy
Security policy is ...
. The palace has been restored in its original Baroque condition and since 2009 is open to the public.
Photogallery
File:Max-Delbrück-Gymnasium, Berlin, Ostseite (2009).jpg, Max-Delbrück-Gymnasium
File:Schützenhaus Niederschönhausen (2004).jpg, A Club house in the Schönholzer Heide
File:Berlin Schlosspark Niederschönhausen.jpg, The Schlosspark
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Niederschonhausen
Localities of Berlin
*