Rote Insel (literally, ''Red Island'') is the name colloquially given to a

neighborhood 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 area, ...

in the

Schöneberg Schöneberg () is a locality of Berlin, Germany. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a separate borough including the locality of Friedenau. Together with the former borough of Tempelhof it is now part of the new borough of Tempelh ...

district of the

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 **Ger ...

capital,

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 ...

. As such, the ''Island'' is part of Berlin's 7th administrative

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 Ag ...

Tempelhof-Schöneberg Tempelhof-Schöneberg () is the seventh borough of Berlin, formed in 2001 by merging the former boroughs of Tempelhof and Schöneberg. Situated in the south of the city it shares borders with the boroughs of Mitte and Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg in t ...

Overview

On the Berlin city map, the

is located within a distinctive triangle bordered by railway lines in the southwestern corner of the

city center 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 ...

. The large trenches dug to accommodate the tracks for trains and light-rail make crossing one of the many bridges that span the tracks, and that form the area into an "island", the only ways to access this part of Schöneberg. Its comparative isolation from the adjoining parts of Berlin is why the area is considered insular. Its peculiar history is indicative of the sharp contrasts with which modern

German history The Germani tribes i.e. Germanic tribes are now considered to be related to the Jastorf culture before expanding and interacting with the other peoples. The concept of a region for Germanic tribes is traced to time of Julius Caesar, a Roman gen ...

since 1871 abounds. Up until the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, roughly half of the Island's territory was marked by its extensive use by 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 em ...

n army, whereas the other half was a distinctively working-class residential district, dominated by voters of left-wing parties (hence the "red"). As the Island survived the allied air raids 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 opposin ...

virtually intact, it has managed to maintain much of its distinctive flavor. The neighborhood is populated by residents from varied ethnic backgrounds, with an unobtrusive Bohème charm, but lacking the mannerisms typical of the "hipper" quarters of post-

reunification A political union is a type of political entity which is composed of, or created from, smaller polities, or the process which achieves this. These smaller polities are usually called federated states and federal territories in a federal governm ...

Berlin. The best known person from the neighborhood is

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

, who was born in ''Leberstrasse 65'' (then called ''Sedanstrasse'') on December 27, 1901. The actress and singer

Hildegard Knef Hildegard Frieda Albertine Knef (; 28 December 19251 February 2002) was a German actress, voice actress, singer, and writer. She was billed in some English-language films as Hildegard Neff or Hildegarde Neff. Early years Hildegard Knef was born ...

, lived in the same street where Dietrich was born, in Leberstrasse 33. Both women are very much a part of the local folklore of the island.

Alfred Lion Alfred Lion (born Alfred Löw; April 21, 1908 – February 2, 1987), was an American record executive who co-founded the jazz record label Blue Note in 1939. Lion retired in 1967, having sold the company, after producing recordings by leading music ...

, the co-founder of the American

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical co ...

jazz record label, was also born in the neighborhood. Gasometer Berlin Schöneberg 2011.jpg , Landmark and industrial monument: a

gasometer A gas holder or gasholder, also known as a gasometer, is a large container in which natural gas or town gas is stored near atmospheric pressure at ambient temperatures. The volume of the container follows the quantity of stored gas, with pressu ...

Gotenstraße7.JPG , Birthplace of Alfred Lion Marlene Dietrich Birth House Panorama 2012-07-28 small.tiff , Birthplace of Marlene Dietrich Berlin_Cheruskerpark-design_plan-2.svg , Extension of the "Cherusker Park" at the south end of Rote Insel.

External links

Map of the Rote Insel in 1932
{{coord, 52, 29, 02, N, 13, 21, 44, E, region:DE-BE_type:city(13000), display=title Zones of Berlin Tempelhof-Schöneberg