Spandau Castle
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Spandau () is the westernmost of the 12
boroughs 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
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 ...
, 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 area.


Overview

Modern industries in Spandau include metalworking, and chemical and electrical factories.
BMW Motorrad BMW Motorrad is the motorcycle brand of BMW, part of its Corporate and Brand Development division. It has produced motorcycles since 1923, and achieved record sales for the fifth year in succession in 2015. With a total of 136,963 vehicles sold i ...
's Spandau factory made all BMW's motorcycles from 1969 until final assembly plants were added in Rayong, Thailand in 2000, and Manaus, Brazil in 2016. , Spandau's seat of government, was built in 1913. Other landmarks include the Renaissance-era Spandau Citadel, the 1848 St. Marien am Behnitz Catholic church designed by
August Soller Johann August Karl Soller (14 March 1805 – 6 November 1853) was a Prussian, and later, German architect.
, and Spandau arsenal. That arsenal's Spandau machine gun inspired the slang ''Spandau Ballet'' to describe dying soldiers on barbed wire during the
First World War 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 ...
, and later was applied to the appearance of Nazi war criminals at
Spandau Prison Spandau Prison was located in the borough of Spandau in West Berlin. It was originally a military prison, built in 1876, but became a proto-concentration camp under the Nazis. After the war, it held seven top Nazi leaders convicted in the Nurem ...
. In 1979, the English New Romantic band
Spandau Ballet Spandau Ballet () were an English new wave band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids, playing "European D ...
again re-purposed the term for its name.


History

The history of Spandau begins in the 7th century or 8th century, when the
Slav Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...
Heveller first settled in the area and later built a fortress there. It was conquered in 928 by the German King
Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the ...
, but returned to Slavic rule after the rebellion of 983. In 1156, the
Ascanian The House of Ascania (german: Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ''Schloss ...
Earl Albrecht von Ballenstedt ("Albrecht the Bear") took possession of the region. 1197 marked the first mention as ''Spandowe'' in a deed of
Otto II, Margrave of Brandenburg Otto II (after 1147 – July 4, 1205), called ''The Generous'' (german: der Freigiebige), was the third Margrave of Brandenburg from 1184 until his death. Life Otto II was born into the House of Ascania as the eldest son of Otto I and Judith ...
– thus forty years earlier than the Cölln part of
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
Berlin. Spandau was given city rights in 1232. During Ascanian rule the construction of Spandau Citadel began, which was completed between 1559 and 1594 by Joachim II of Brandenburg. In 1558 the village of
Gatow Gatow (), a district of south-western Berlin is located west of the ''Havelsee'' lake and has forested areas within its boundaries. It is within the borough of Spandau. On 31 December 2002, it had 5,532 inhabitants. History Gatow's existence was ...
became part of Spandau. In 1634, during the
Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...
, Spandau was surrendered to the Swedes. In 1806, after the
Battle of Jena and Auerstedt A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
, French troops under
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
took possession of the city and stayed there until 1807. In 1812, Napoleon returned, and the Citadel was besieged the following year by
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 and
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
n troops. From 1849 the poet and revolutionary
Gottfried Kinkel Johann Gottfried Kinkel (11 August 1815 – 13 November 1882) was a German poet also noted for his revolutionary activities and his escape from a Prussian prison in Spandau with the help of his friend Carl Schurz. Early life He was born at Ober ...
was an inmate of Spandau town prison, until he was freed by his friend Carl Schurz in the night of
6 November Events Pre-1600 * 447 – A powerful earthquake destroys large portions of the Walls of Constantinople, including 57 towers. * 963 – Synod of Rome: Emperor Otto I calls a council at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Pope John XII is d ...
1850 Events January–June * April ** Pope Pius IX returns from exile to Rome. ** Stephen Foster's parlor ballad "Ah! May the Red Rose Live Alway" is published in the United States. * April 4 – Los Angeles is incorporated as a city ...
. Before
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 ...
, Spandau was a seat of large government cannon
foundries A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...
, factories for making
gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). Th ...
and other munitions of war, making it a centre of the
arms industry The arms industry, also known as the arms trade, is a global industry classification, industry which manufacturing, manufactures and sells weapons and military technology. It consists of a commerce, commercial Private industry, industry involved ...
in the German Empire. It was also a garrison town with numerous barracks, home of the 5th Guard Infantry Brigade and the 5th Guard Foot Regiment of the German Army. In 1920, Spandau (whose name had been changed from ''Spandow'' in 1878) was incorporated into
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 ...
as a borough. After
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 ...
, it was part of the
British sector British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
of
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 ...
.
Spandau Prison Spandau Prison was located in the borough of Spandau in West Berlin. It was originally a military prison, built in 1876, but became a proto-concentration camp under the Nazis. After the war, it held seven top Nazi leaders convicted in the Nurem ...
, which had been rebuilt in 1876, was used to house
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
war criminals given custodial sentences at the
Nuremberg Trials The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II. Between 1939 and 1945, Nazi Germany invaded m ...
. After the death of Spandau Prison's last inmate, Rudolf Hess, in 1987, it was completely demolished by the Allied powers and later replaced by a
shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...
. Gatow airfield, in the south of the district, was used by the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
during the post-war Allied occupation, most notably during the
Berlin Airlift The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, roa ...
. Since 1995 the airfield has been the Gatow Museum of Military History.


Geography

Outside Berlin, Spandau borders the districts () of
Oberhavel Oberhavel is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the northern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Its neighbouring districts are (clockwise from the north): Mecklenburg-Strelitz in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the districts of Uckermark and Barnim, the ''Bunde ...
to the north, and
Havelland Geographically, the Havelland is the region around which the River Havel flows in a U-shape between Oranienburg to the northeast and Rhinow to the northwest. The northern boundary of the Havelland is formed by the River Rhin and the Rhin Canal. ...
to the west, and the city of
Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream o ...
,
Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 sq ...
, to the southwest. Within Berlin, it borders the boroughs of Steglitz-Zehlendorf to the south,
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 ...
to the east, and
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 ...
to the northeast. Its land area of is the fourth-largest of the twelve boroughs.


Subdivisions

Spandau Borough is divided into nine quarters (): *
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 ...
* Haselhorst *
Siemensstadt Siemensstadt () is a locality (''Ortsteil'') of Berlin in the district (''Bezirk'') of Spandau. History The locality emerged when the company Siemens & Halske (S & H), one of the predecessors of today's Siemens, bought land in the area, ...
* Staaken *
Gatow Gatow (), a district of south-western Berlin is located west of the ''Havelsee'' lake and has forested areas within its boundaries. It is within the borough of Spandau. On 31 December 2002, it had 5,532 inhabitants. History Gatow's existence was ...
* Kladow * Hakenfelde * Falkenhagener Feld * Wilhelmstadt


Demographics

As of 2010, Spandau had a population of 223,962, the smallest of the twelve boroughs of Berlin. 62,000 of those were migrants or other non-ethnic Germans, comprising 27% of Spandau's population.


Politics


District council

The governing body of Spandau is the district council (''Bezirksverordnetenversammlung''). It has responsibility for passing laws and electing the city government, including the mayor. The most recent district council election was held on 26 September 2021, and the results were as follows: ! colspan=2, Party ! Lead candidate ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Social Democratic Party (SPD) , align=left, Carola Brückner , 31,250 , 27.7 , 5.5 , 17 , 3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) , align=left, Frank Bewig , 30,714 , 27.2 , 1.5 , 16 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) , align=left, Elmas Wieczorek-Hahn , 13,460 , 11.9 , 4.3 , 7 , 3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Alternative for Germany (AfD) , align=left, Andreas Otti , 11,516 , 10.2 , 5.8 , 6 , 3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Free Democratic Party (FDP) , align=left, Matthias Unger , 8,464 , 7.5 , 1.1 , 4 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, The Left (LINKE) , align=left, Lars Leschewitz , 6,104 , 5.4 , 0.2 , 3 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Tierschutzpartei , align=left, Aida Spiegeler Castañeda , 5,063 , 4.5 , New , 2 , New , - , colspan=8 bgcolor=lightgrey, , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,
Die PARTEI (''Party for Labour, Rule of Law, Animal Protection, Promotion of Elites and Grassroots Democratic Initiative''), or Die PARTEI (''The PARTY''), is a German political party. It was founded in 2004 by the editors of the German satirical magazi ...
, align=left, , 2,235 , 2.0 , 0.4 , 0 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, dieBasis , align=left, , 1,743 , 1.5 , New , 0 , New , - , , align=left, We are Berlin , align=left, , 1,222 , 1.1 , New , 0 , New , - , , align=left, Voter Initiative Social Spandau , align=left, , 677 , 0.6 , 0.8 , 0 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,
Ecological Democratic Party The Ecological Democratic Party (german: Ökologisch-Demokratische Partei, ÖDP) is a conservative and ecologist minor party in Germany. The ÖDP was founded in 1982. The strongest level of voting support for the ÖDP is in Bavaria, where in ...
, align=left, , 296 , 0.3 , New , 0 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,
Liberal Conservative Reformers The Liberal Conservative Reformers (german: Liberal-Konservative Reformer, LKR) is a centre-right to right-wing political party in Germany which was known from July 2015 to November 2016 as ALFA. The party was established in July 2015 as a spli ...
, align=left, , 138 , 0.1 , New , 0 , New , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 112,882 ! 98.6 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 1,577 ! 1.4 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 114,459 ! 100.0 ! ! 55 ! ±0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 177,874 ! 64.3 ! 5.0 ! ! , - , colspan=8, Source
Elections Berlin


District government

The district mayor (''Bezirksbürgermeister'') is elected by the Bezirksverordnetenversammlung, and positions in the district government (Bezirksamt) are apportioned based on party strength. Carola Brückner of the SPD was elected mayor on 4 November 2021. Since the 2021 municipal elections, the composition of the district government is as follows:


Sports

The Wasserfreunde Spandau 04 have traditionally been an immensely powerful
water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...
team. They have been the most successful ball sports team in Europe with 85 national and international titles.
Hagen Stamm Hagen Stamm (born 12 June 1960 in Berlin) is a former water polo player from Germany, considered to be one of Germany's best in the last twenty years, having won the bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, and two Eur ...
, longtime captain of the team, was German champion fourteen times in a row from 1979 to 1992, and winner of the German cup twelve times and won the European Cup in 1982, 1985, 1986 and 1989. He is currently the president of the association (as of 2020). The team's home games do not take place in the district, but in the Sportzentrum
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 Tempe ...
. For 2027, the team plans to move to the then newly constructed arena in Spandau. In 1939, LSV Spandau won the title of the first German basketball championship, which was won by a clear 47:16 victory over Bad Kreuznach. After 1945, the association was dissolved.


Notable people

* Bela B. (born 1962), musician * Hans Berndt (1913–1988), football player * Helmut Bonnet (1910–1944), athlete * Käthe Heinemann (1891–1975), pianist * Robert Hoyzer (born 1979), football referee * Käthe Itter (1907–1992), actress * Paul Kellner (1890–1972), swimmer * Henning Alexander von Kleist (1707–1784), Governor of Spandau citadel, died there * Rosa Lindemann (1876–1958), communist * Arthur Löwenstamm (1882–1965), Spandau Synagogue's first and only rabbi from 1917 to 1938 * Moriz von Lyncker (1853–1932), Prussian officer and Chief of the Military Cabinet of Kaiser Wilhelm II * Christian Friedrich Neue (1789–1886), philologist *
Oliver Petszokat Oliver Alexander Reinhard Petszokat (born 10 August 1978), better known by his stage name Oli.P, is a German singer, actor and television presenter. Biography Petszokat, whose father Reinhard Petszokat was a policeman, began ballroom dancing a ...
(born 1978), better known by his stage name Oli.P, singer, actor and TV presenter * Hans von Plessen (1841–1929), Prussian Colonel-General *
Ivan Rebroff Ivan Rebroff (31 July 193127 February 2008) was a German-born vocalist, allegedly of Russian ancestry, who rose to prominence for his distinct and extensive vocal range of four and a half octaves, ranging from the soprano to bass registers. ...
(1931–2008), singer * Erna Sack (1898–1972), coloratura soprano, known as the German Nightingale for her high
vocal range Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of st ...
. * Sıla Şahin (born 1985), actress * Richard Schulze-Kossens (1914–1988), SS commander during the Nazi era *
Franz Hermann Troschel Franz Hermann Troschel (10 October 1810 – 6 November 1882) was a German zoologist born in Spandau. He studied mathematics and natural history at the University of Berlin, where he was awarded his doctorate in 1834.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; ...
(1810–1882), zoologist * Carl Albert Weber (1856–1931), botanist * Kai Wegner (born 1972), politician of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU)


Twin towns – sister cities

Spandau is twinned with: * Ashdod, Israel (1968) *
Asnières-sur-Seine Asnières-sur-Seine () is a commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department and Île-de-France region of north-central France. It lies on the left bank of the river Seine, some eight kilometres from the centre of Paris in the north-western suburbs of ...
, France (1959) *
İznik İznik is a town and an administrative district in the Province of Bursa, Turkey. It was historically known as Nicaea ( el, Νίκαια, ''Níkaia''), from which its modern name also derives. The town lies in a fertile basin at the eastern end ...
, Turkey (1987) *
Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable a ...
, United Kingdom (1959) *
Nauen Nauen is a small town in the Havelland district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is chiefly known for Nauen Transmitter Station, the world's oldest preserved radio transmitting installation. Geography Nauen is situated within the Havelland Luch gla ...
, Germany (1988) *
Siegen Siegen () is a city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in the Arnsberg region. The university town (nearly 20,000 students in the 2018–2019 winter semest ...
, Germany (1952) * Siegen-Wittgenstein, Germany (1952)


See also

* Berlin Spandau – Charlottenburg North (electoral district) * Altstadt Spandau, the historic old town * Spandau Synagogue * Monuments in Spandau ''(German Wikipedia)''


References


Further reading

* Zeller, Frederic (1989). ''When Time Ran Out: Coming of Age in the Third Reich''. London: W H Allen. .


External links


Official homepage

Official homepage of Berlin

"Unterwegs in Spandau": Sehenswürdigkeiten, News, Veranstaltungshinweise und Berichte aus Spandau
{{Authority control Districts of Berlin Former boroughs of Berlin