Lichterfelde West is part of

Lichterfelde Lichterfelde may refer to: * Lichterfelde (Berlin), a locality in the borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf in Berlin, Germany * Lichterfelde West, an elegant residential area in Berlin * Lichterfelde, Saxony-Anhalt, a municipality in the Stendhal Distri ...

in the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough of

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 constitu ...

. 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 wealthiest and most sought-after residential areas. Since the German government's move to Berlin in 2000, it has seen the highest rises in real-estate prices of any area in former West-Berlin. Today, many mansions in Lichterfelde West are used by diplomats for representative purposes. Lichterfelde West is home to the Berlin Botanical Garden and Museum, the Schlosspark Lichterfelde manor and park, as well as the

Charité The Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Charité – Berlin University of Medicine) is one of Europe's largest university hospitals, affiliated with Humboldt University and Free University Berlin. With numerous Collaborative Research C ...

university hospital's ''Benjamin Franklin Campus''. The former Prussian Main Cadet School is home to the

German Federal Archives , type = Archive , seal = , seal_size = , seal_caption = , seal_alt = , logo = Bundesarchiv-Logo.svg , logo_size = , logo_caption = , lo ...

, while the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) operates from a historic building in Lichterfelde West. A new "Business and Innovation Center" of nearby

Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and t ...

is being developed close to the Botanical Garden.

Mansions of Lichterfelde West (Villenkolonie Lichterfelde)

Lichterfelde West is best known for the 19th-century ''Villenkolonie Lichterfelde'', which was developed from 1860 to 1900 by the wealthy businessman Johann von Carstenn and is a remarkable example of 19th-century Villenkolonie, a German concept of settlements completely made up of mansion houses or villas. While some houses were destroyed in

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Lichterfelde West has kept its 19th-century charm and boasts a large assortment of villas in an often extravagant mix of architectural styles. The architect Gustav Lilienthal built a number of Tudor-Revival style homes in Lichterfelde West, also known as "Carstenn-Castles". It still features its original tree-lined and cobbled streets, small squares and working gas lights. The Prussian Main Cadet School, which contributed to Lichterfelde West's reputation of being home to many German aristocrats, was disbanded in 1920 by the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1 ...

. File:Villenkolonie Berlin Lichterfelde West.jpg, Map of the mansion colony File:Lichterfelde-West+Baseler-Brüderstrasse.JPG, Villa on Baseler Straße File:Berlin-Lichterfelde, Villa Holzhüter, Curtiusstraße.jpg, Villa on Curtiusstraße File:Lichterfelde Willdenowstraße-001.JPG, Villa on Willdenowstraße File:Berlin Lichterfelde Paulinenstraße 24.jpg, Villa on Paulinenstraße File:Kommandantenstraße 104 (Berlin-Lichterfelde).JPG, Villa on Kommandantenstraße File:Villa Kadettenweg Ringstrasse.JPG, Villa on Kadettenweg File:Ringstraße 89 (Berlin-Lichterfelde).JPG, Villa on Ringstraße File:Villa Haus Holstein Berlin Lichterfelde West Kommandantenstraße.jpg, Villa on Kommandantenstraße

Swiss Quarter

Development continued after completion of the mansion colony and more residential buildings were built until the 1930s. At the time, many streets were named after

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland *Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia *Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports * Swiss Internation ...

places and personalities, thus leading to this area of Lichterfelde West to getting referred to as "Schweizer Viertel" (en.: Swiss Quarter). After the

fall of the Berlin wall The fall of the Berlin Wall (german: Mauerfall) on 9 November 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, was a pivotal event in world history which marked the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtain and one of the series of eve ...

, areas formerly occupied by

U.S. Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

were developed into townhouses or converted into loft-style apartments. In 2008, the private, bilingual (English and German) ''Phorms School'' opened in the Swiss Quarter of Lichterfelde West.

Transportation

Lichterfelde West is connected to 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-, Ri ...

commuter rail network by its station on the ''S1'' line. The rail station also serves nearby

Free University A free university is an organization offering uncredited, public classes without restrictions to who can teach or learn. They differ in structure. In 1980 in the United States, about half were associated with a traditional university, about a ...

in bordering Dahlem. From ''S Lichterfelde West'', it takes around 15 minutes to both

Berlin-Mitte Mitte () (German for "middle" or "center") is a central locality () of Berlin in the eponymous district () of Mitte. Until 2001, it was itself an autonomous district. Mitte proper comprises the historic center of Alt-Berlin centered on the ch ...

and

Wannsee Wannsee () is a locality in the southwestern Berlin borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Germany. It is the westernmost locality of Berlin. In the quarter there are two lakes, the larger '' Großer Wannsee'' (Greater Wannsee, "See" means lake) and ...

. Additionally, various bus lines offer public transportation service to

Steglitz Steglitz () is a locality of the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough in Southwestern Berlin, the capital of Germany. is a Slavic name for the European goldfinch, similar to the German . Steglitz was also a borough from 1920 to 2000. It contained th ...

, Zehlendorf, Dahlem, and Lichterfelde Ost.

Walks

For a twenty-minute stroll leave Lichterfelde West train station direction South, cross Curtiusstrasse into Baselerstrasse. Follow until you reach Karlsplatz, turn left along the square, cross Ringstrasse into Kadettenweg. Follow Kadettenweg, and pass by the Cadet Corps memorial at Paulinenplatz until you reach Weddigenweg. Turn right, after two hundred yards turn right again into Paulinenstrasse for a short stop at the so-called "Carstenn Castles", small villas built in Tudor-castle style. Turn back and turn right again into Weddigenweg, across Baseler Strasse, until you reach Kommandanten Strasse. Turn right, follow Kommandanten Strasse (dir. North), cross Ringstrasse, still follow Kommandantenstrasse, pass by the "Rother Stift", a former retirement home for dowagers, until you reach Kadettenweg (North end). Follow Kadettenweg for a few hundred yards, turn right into Curtiustrasse, pass by the "Litehouse" restaurant and back to the train station.

Places of interest

* Berlin Botanical Garden and Museum * Lichterfelde Manor with park * Parkfriedhof Lichterfelde (cemetery known for many notable having been buried here) *

German Federal Archives , type = Archive , seal = , seal_size = , seal_caption = , seal_alt = , logo = Bundesarchiv-Logo.svg , logo_size = , logo_caption = , lo ...

(located in former Prussian Main Cadet School) * German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) *

university hospital's ''Benjamin Franklin Campus'' * German Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM)

Notable residents

Hasso von Boehmer Hasso von Boehmer (9 August 1904 – 5 March 1945) was a German lieutenant colonel on the General Staff and one of the 20 July Plotters. Hasso von Boehmer belonged to Infantry Regiment 9 (I.R. 9) from Potsdam, from which also came many of the o ...

, lieutenant colonel and one of the 20 July Plotters *

Herbert von Bose Carl Fedor Eduard Herbert von Bose (16 March 1893, Straßburg – 30 June 1934, Berlin) was head of the press division of the Vice Chancellery (''Reichsvizekanzlei'') in Germany under Vice Chancellor Franz von Papen. A conservative opponent o ...

, head of the press division of the Vice Chancellery under

Franz von Papen Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen, Erbsälzer zu Werl und Neuwerk (; 29 October 18792 May 1969) was a German conservative politician, diplomat, Prussian nobleman and General Staff officer. He served as the chancellor of Germany ...

and opponent of the Nazi regime * Johann Albrecht von Bülow, General of the Infantry under

Fredrick 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 ...

Bushido is a moral code concerning samurai attitudes, behavior and lifestyle. There are multiple bushido types which evolved significantly through history. Contemporary forms of bushido are still used in the social and economic organization of Japan. ...

, German rapper and producer * Fritz Elsas, former mayor of Berlin and opponent of Nazi regime * Peter Fox, German singer and songwriter * Otto Hahn, OBE, German

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...

and pioneer in the fields of radioactivity and

radiochemistry Radiochemistry is the chemistry of radioactive materials, where radioactive isotopes of elements are used to study the properties and chemical reactions of non-radioactive isotopes (often within radiochemistry the absence of radioactivity leads ...

* Theodor Heuss, former president of West Germany *

Günther Jauch Günther Johannes Jauch (; born 13 July 1956) is a German television presenter, television producer, and journalist. Career Jauch is known for a unique style of informing and entertaining people that is generally considered witty and funny. ...

, German television host and producer * Nils Seethaler, cultural anthropologist * Adolf Wehrmut, former mayor of Berlin * Arthur Werner, former mayor of Berlin * Josef Wirmer, German jurist and opponent of the Nazi regime * Peter Yorck, count of Wartenburg, German jurist and opponent of the Nazi regime

References

External links

{{commonscat-inline, Berlin-Lichterfelde-West, Lichterfelde West Zones of Berlin Steglitz-Zehlendorf es:Lichterfelde fr:Lichterfelde