Wilhelmsruh () is a German locality (''Ortsteil'') within 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 Ag ...

(''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. P ...

, Berlin. It is the city's smallest locality, after

Halensee Halensee () is a ''locality'' (''Ortsteil'') of Berlin in the district (''Bezirk'') of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Halensee was established as a villa and tenement settlement in about 1880, in the suburb of Wilmersdorf, which became part of Great ...

and

Hansaviertel The Hansaviertel () is the smallest ''Ortsteil'' (district) of Berlin and is between Großer Tiergarten and the Spree River, within the central Mitte borough of Berlin. The district was almost completely destroyed during World War II but was reb ...

History

In the locality, originally part of

Rosenthal Rosenthal is a German and Jewish surname meaning "rose valley". Notable people with the name include: A * Abe M. Rosenthal (1922–2006), ''New York Times'' editor and columnist *Albert Rosenthal (1863–1939), American portrait artist * Albert ...

, it was built a country house named ''Nordend'' which received occasionally the designation name ''Rosenthal II''. In 1892 the settlement received the name of ''Colonie Wilhelmsruh''. As part of

Nordend Nordend (meaning ''north end'' in German) is a northern peak of the Monte Rosa Massif. Nordend is the fourth highest peak of the massif, after the Dufourspitze (4,634 m), the Dunantspitze (4,632 m) and the Grenzgipfel (4,618 m). See also *List o ...

municipality (now a zone of

), it merged into Berlin in 1920 with the "

Greater Berlin Act 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 ...

". 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 ...

" it was 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 ...

bordering with the western sector, and it was crossed by 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 ...

from 1961 to 1989.

Geography

Wilhelmsruh is located in the northern suburb of Berlin, in a corner of Pankow district surrounded by

Niederschönhausen Niederschönhausen (, literally "Lower Schönhausen") is a locality (''Ortsteil'') within the borough (''Bezirk'') of Pankow in Berlin, Germany. It is also known as "Pankow-Schönhausen" to differ it from Hohenschönhausen in Berlin-Lichtenberg. Fr ...

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. Subdivi ...

and

Märkisches Viertel Märkisches Viertel (, ''MV'') is a German locality (''Ortsteil'') in the borough (''Bezirk'') of Reinickendorf in Berlin. Its name refers to the March of Brandenburg (german: Mark Brandenburg). Overview It consists of a large housing estate of a ...

(both in

district). Its western corner is close to

Wittenau Wittenau () is a German locality (''Ortsteil'') within the borough (''Bezirk'') of Reinickendorf, Berlin. History Originally named Dalldorf it was first mentioned in 1332. In 1869 the city of Berlin had acquired land in the Dalldorf in order to ...

but it doesn't borders with this locality. In its territory, Wilhelmsruh counts two little lakes: Wilhelmsruhsee and Garibalditeich; this one named after

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...

and located in Garibaldistraße.

Transport

The locality is served by 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 ...

'' lines S1 and S85, at Wilhelmsruh station, and by the bus lines 122 and 155. The railway station also represented the junction of two abandoned branches of the

Prussian 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 N ...

and the Heidekraut Railway. Due to its position outside the

Wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including: * Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the supe ...

(in Reinickendorf), from 1961 to 1989 the ''S-Bahn'' station was usable only for

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 ...

, at the southern entrance.Historical notes and picture of Wilhelmsruh station
/ref> The Heidekraut rail terminal was instead moved to Rosenthal station, now abandoned.

Photogallery

File:Berlin-Wilhelmsruh S-Bahnhof.JPG, Wilhelmsruh station File:Pankow VII-UGA.JPG, Cemetery "Pankow VII" File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-50895-0004, Berlin, Wilhelmsruh, Fontanestraße, Wohnblock, Grünanlage.jpg, Fontanestraße in 1957

References

External links

Industrial history of the electrical substation "Wilhelmsruh"
{{Authority control Localities of Berlin *