Westend () 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 ...

of the

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 ...

borough

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 ...

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 emerged in the course of Berlin's 2001 administrative reform on the grounds of the former

Charlottenburg Charlottenburg () is a locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Prussia, it is best known for Charlottenburg Palace, the ...

borough. Originally a mansion colony, it is today a quite densely settled, still affluent territory adjacent to Berlin's

inner city The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists some ...

in the east.

Geography

Westend is situated west of Berlin's

on Spandauer Berg, the northern peak of the sandy

Teltow Teltow [] is a town in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district, in Brandenburg, Germany. Geography Teltow is part of the agglomeration of Berlin. The distance to the Berlin city centre is , while the distance to Potsdam is . The Teltow Canal links the ...

plateau between the river valleys of

Spree Spree may refer to: Geography * Spree (river), river in Germany Film and television * ''The Spree'', a 1998 American television film directed by Tommy Lee Wallace * ''Spree'' (film), a 2020 American film starring Joe Keery * "Spree" (''Numbers' ...

and Havel. It is centered on Theodor-Heuss-Platz, a large square, from where the

Heerstraße ''Heerstraße'' is the German word for military road, a type or road that was built to enable the rapid movement of armies. Specific roads built for this purpose include the: * Aachen-Frankfurter Heerstraße * Bernauer Heerstraße * Lüneburger ...

arterial road, part of the

Bundesstraße 2 The Bundesstraße 2 (abbr. B2) is Germany's longest federal highway, running some 1000 kilometres from the Polish border near Gartz to the Austrian border near Garmisch-Partenkirchen. From north to south; it passes through major cities such a ...

and

Bundesstraße 5 The Bundesstraße 5 (abbr. B5) is a German federal highway running in a northwesterly to southeasterly direction from the Danish border near Niebüll to Frankfurt (Oder). It provides a direct route for motorists traveling between Berlin and Hamb ...

highways, runs west towards the Berlin city limits. In the west and north, Westend borders on the Berlin

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 ...

borough. The locality also includes the neighbourhoods of Neu-Westend and Ruhleben, a suburban housing area of the 1920s. The site of the former

Ruhleben internment camp Ruhleben internment camp was a civilian detention camp in Germany during World War I. It was located in Ruhleben, a former ''Vorwerk'' manor to the west of Berlin, now split between the districts of Spandau and Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. The ...

, a

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 ...

detention camp for civilians, today is part of the adjacent

district. Furthermore, the areas of Pichelsberg, Heerstraße and Eichkamp at the northern rim of the Grunewald forest belong to Westend. It is also home of the

Messe Berlin Messe Berlin (') are exhibition grounds in the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf precinct of Berlin, Germany, at Masurenallee opposite the Haus des Rundfunks. Since 2011, they have officially been known as "Berlin ExpoCenter City" and operated by the M ...

exhibition grounds (where the International Green Week and the '' Internationale Funkausstellung'' are held) and of the

Olympiastadion Olympiastadion is the German, Finnish and Swedish word for Olympic Stadium and may refer to: * Stockholm Olympic Stadium, the host of the 1912 Summer Olympics (though mostly referred as simply ''Stockholms Stadion'') * Olympiastadion (Berlin), the ...

built for the 1936 Summer Olympics.

History

When upon the 1806 Battle of Jena–Auerstedt victorious

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 ...

moved into Berlin, he had a

military camp A military camp or bivouac is a semi-permanent military base, for the lodging of an army. Camps are erected when a military force travels away from a major installation or fort during training or operations, and often have the form of large cam ...

set up on Spandauer Berg, though he himself chose nearby

Charlottenburg Palace Schloss Charlottenburg (Charlottenburg Palace) is a Baroque palace in Berlin, located in Charlottenburg, a district of the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf borough. The palace was built at the end of the 17th century and was greatly expanded during th ...

for accommodation. In May 1808 General

Claude Victor-Perrin Claude-Victor Perrin, 1st Duke of Belluno (7 December 1764 – 1 March 1841) was a French soldier and military commander who served during both the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was made a Marshal of the Empire in ...

, French governor of Berlin, pitched the large ''Camp Napoleonbourg'' here, however, he folded up his tents already in November and wasteland was left behind. On the road from Charlottenburg to Spandau, the ''Spandauer

Bock Bock is a strong beer in Germany, usually a dark lager. Several substyles exist, including: *Doppelbock (''Double Bock''), a stronger and maltier version *Eisbock (''Ice Bock''), a much stronger version made by partially freezing the beer and ...

'' brewery was established in 1840, together with a popular pub catering though of doubtful reputation. The ''Villenkolonie Westend'' was developed from 1866 on as a residential area for the wealthy bourgeoisie of Berlin and named after the

West End of London The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government build ...

. The beginnings, overshadowed by the Austro-Prussian War, were quite modest and the first land settlement company around the Stettin merchant Johannes Quistorp and architect

Martin Gropius Martin Carl Philipp Gropius (11 August 1824, Berlin – 13 December 1880) was a German architect.Wirth, Irmgard (1966).Gropius, Martin Carl Philipp. In: ''Neue Deutsche Biographie''. Band 7. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot. . p. 132-133 retriev ...

collapsed in the

Panic of 1873 The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the ...

. Nevertheless, the development was boosted by Berlin's

population pressure Population pressure, a term summarizing the stress brought about by an excessive population density and its consequences, is used both in conjunction with human overpopulation and with other animal populations that suffer from too many individuals ...

after the

unification of Germany The unification of Germany (, ) was the process of building the modern German nation state with federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without multinational Austria), which commenced on 18 August 1866 with adoption of t ...

and similar to other mansion colonies such as

Lichterfelde West Lichterfelde West is part of Lichterfelde in the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough of Berlin. It is known for its historic mansions, tree-lined streets and green squares. Next to Dahlem and Grunewald, Lichterfelde West is one of the German capital's ...

or Grunewald, most of the premises were overbuilt by the end of the century. The area was connected to the

Berlin Ringbahn The Ringbahn (German for circle railway) is a long circle route around Berlin's inner city area, on the Berlin S-Bahn network. Its course is made up of a double-tracked S-Bahn ring and a parallel freight ring. The S-Bahn lines S41 and S42 prov ...

with the inauguration of Westend station in 1877. In 1889 a harness racing track opened, which was relocated to Ruhleben in 1908. Westend again became a garrison town, when in the 1890s the 3rd Brigade regiment No. 3 ('' Königin Elisabeth'') barracks of the German 2nd Guards Infantry Division were erected on the eastern Spandauer Berg slope. On 8 June 1913, the

Deutsches Stadion The ''Deutsches Stadion'' ("German Stadium") was a monumental stadium designed by Albert Speer for the Nazi party rally grounds in Nuremberg, southern Germany. Its construction began in September 1937, and was scheduled for completion in 1943. ...

was inaugurated in the northern Grunewald forest, designated as venue of the 1916 Summer Olympics that were never held due to World War I and later rebuilt as Olympiastation.

Sights

Hausansicht GKM 2016 Bildarchiv GKM E Duch Web

* Funkturm, erected in 1926 on the Messe Berlin grounds * Haus des Rundfunks by

Hans Poelzig Hans Poelzig (30 April 1869 – 14 June 1936) was a German architect, painter and set designer. Life Poelzig was born in Berlin in 1869 to Countess Clara Henrietta Maria Poelzig while she was married to George Acland Ames, an Englishman. Uncerta ...

, 1931, today broadcasting centre of the

Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (; "Berlin-Brandenburg Broadcasting"; abbreviated: RBB , stylized as rbb) is an institution under public law (national broadcaster) for the German states of Berlin and Brandenburg, based in Berlin and Potsdam. RBB ...

(RBB) *

Deutschlandhalle Deutschlandhalle was an arena located in the Westend (Berlin), Westend neighbourhood of Berlin, Germany. It was inaugurated on 29 November 1935 by Adolf Hitler. The building was granted landmark status in 1995, but was demolished on 3 December 20 ...

arena, 1935, demolished in 2011 *

arena, 1936/1937 * St. George's Anglican Church, 1950 * Epiphany Church, built in 1906 according to plans designed by Jürgen Kröger *

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

with Bell Tower (''Glockenturm'') and

Waldbühne The Waldbühne (''Woodland Stage'' or ''Forest Stage'') is a theatre at Olympiapark Berlin in Berlin, Germany. It was designed by German architect Werner March in emulation of a Greek theatre and built between 1934 and 1936 as the Dietrich-Eckar ...

amphitheatre by Werner March, 1934–36 *

Unité d'Habitation {{Infobox company , name = Moldtelecom , logo = , type = JSC , foundation = 1 April 1993 , location = Chişinău, Moldova , key_people = Alexandru Ciubuc CEO interim , num_employees = 2,750 employees As of 2019 , industry = Telecommunica ...

with

Modulor The Modulor is an anthropometric scale of proportions devised by the Swiss-born French architect Le Corbusier (1887–1965). It was developed as a visual bridge between two incompatible scales, the Imperial and the metric systems. It is based ...

scale by Le Corbusier, part of the

Interbau Interbau was a housing development, constructed as part of the 1957 International Building Exhibition in the Hansaviertel area of West Berlin. The overall plan was managed by Otto Bartning, and the urban design competition was won by Gerhard Jo ...

exhibition 1957 * Studio of sculptor

Georg Kolbe Georg Kolbe (15 April 1877 – 20 November 1947) was a German sculptor. He was the leading German figure sculptor of his generation, in a vigorous, modern, simplified classical style similar to Aristide Maillol of France. Early life and educa ...

, 1928/1929, today a museum * Internationales Congress Centrum (ICC) conference centre, 1975–1979 * Mommsen Stadium, 1930, home of the

Tennis Borussia Berlin Tennis Borussia Berlin is a German football club based in the locality of Westend in Berlin. History The team was founded in 1902 as ''Berliner Tennis- und Ping-Pong-Gesellschaft Borussia'' taking its name from its origins as a tennis and ta ...

football club * Westend hospital of the

German Red Cross The German Red Cross (german: Deutsches Rotes Kreuz ; DRK) is the national Red Cross Society in Germany. With 4 million members, it is the third largest Red Cross society in the world. The German Red Cross offers a wide range of services withi ...

* Spandauer Berg

water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towers often operate in conju ...

, 1909 * Villas along the street ''Am Rupenhorn'' by Erich Mendelsohn, 1930 and Wassili and Hans Luckhardt, 1932 *

Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Cemetery The Protestant Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Cemetery (german: Der evangelische Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Friedhof) is a burial ground in the Westend district of Berlin with a size of 3.7 hectares. The cemetery is under monument and cultural heritage ...

Transportation

Westend is served by the

Berlin S-Bahn The Berlin S-Bahn () is a rapid transit railway system in and around Berlin, the capital city of Germany. It has been in operation under this name since December 1930, having been previously called the special tariff area ''Berliner Stadt-, Ring ...

Ringbahn The Ringbahn (German for circle railway) is a long circle route around Berlin's inner city area, on the Berlin S-Bahn network. Its course is made up of a double-tracked S-Bahn ring and a parallel freight ring. The S-Bahn lines S41 and S42 prov ...

'' lines S41, S42 and S46 at the stations '' Westend'', '' Messe Nord/ICC'' and '' Westkreuz'' as well as the ''Westbahn'' lines S75 and S5 at the stations '' Messe Süd'', ''

'', '' Olympiastadion (Süd)'' and '' Pichelsberg''. The Siemensstadt-Fürstenbrunn station is abandoned since 1980.

U-Bahn Rapid transit in Germany consists of four U-Bahn systems and fourteen S-Bahn systems. The U-Bahn commonly understood to stand for Untergrundbahn (''underground railway'') are conventional rapid transit systems that run mostly underground, while ...

connection to the inner city is provided by the U2 line with the stations '' Kaiserdamm'', '' Theodor-Heuss-Platz'', '' Neu-Westend'', '' Olympia-Stadion (Ost)'' and '' Ruhleben''. The A100 (''Berliner Stadtring'')

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...

marks Westend's eastern border. The federal highways

and

together run through the locality along the streets ''Kaiserdamm'' and ''Heerstraße''. Near the S-Bahn station ''Messe Nord/ICC'' is Berlin's Central

Bus station A bus station or a bus interchange is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. While the term bus depot can also be used to refer to a bus station, it generally refers to a bus garage. A bus station is ...

''Zentraler Omnibusbahnhof'' (ZOB).

References

External links