Invalidenstraße, or Invalidenstrasse (see ß), is a street in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It runs east to west for through the districts of

Mitte Mitte () is the first and most central borough of Berlin. The borough consists of six sub-entities: Mitte proper, Gesundbrunnen, Hansaviertel, Moabit, Tiergarten and Wedding. It is one of the two boroughs (the other being Friedrichshain-Kreuz ...

and

Moabit Moabit () is an inner city locality in the boroughs of Berlin, borough of Mitte, Berlin, Germany. As of 2022, about 84,000 people lived in Moabit. First inhabited in 1685 and incorporated into Berlin in 1861, the former industrial sector, industr ...

. The street originally connected three important railway stations in the northern city centre: the Stettiner Bahnhof (today Nordbahnhof), the

Hamburger Bahnhof Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart is the former Train station#Terminus, terminus of the Berlin–Hamburg Railway in Berlin, Germany, on Invalidenstrasse in the Moabit district opposite the Charité hospital. Today it serves as ...

and the Lehrter Bahnhof, the present-day

Berlin Hauptbahnhof Berlin Hauptbahnhof () (English: Berlin Central Station) is the main railway station in Berlin, Germany. It came into full operation two days after a ceremonial opening on 26 May 2006. It is located on the site of the historic Lehrter Bahnhof, ...

History

The street was laid out in the 13th century and originally named ''

Spandau Spandau () is the westernmost of the 12 boroughs of Berlin, boroughs () of Berlin, situated at the confluence (geography), confluence of the Havel and Spree (river), Spree rivers and extending along the western bank of the Havel. It is the smalle ...

er Heerweg''. It was renamed after a hostel erected in 1748 by the order of King

Frederick II of Prussia Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself '' King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prus ...

, the ''Invalidenhaus'', which served the

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in an job, occupation or Craft, field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in the military, armed forces. A topic o ...

s that fought in the

Silesian Wars The Silesian Wars () were three wars fought in the mid-18th century between Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia (under King Frederick the Great) and Habsburg monarchy, Habsburg Austria (under Empress Maria Theresa) for control of the Central European ...

. Today the remaining parts of this building house offices for the Federal Ministry of Economics. On western Invalidenstraße was the site of the notorious Moabit cell prison and large barracks of the Prussian

Uhlan Uhlan (; ; ; ; ) is a type of light cavalry, primarily armed with a lance. The uhlans started as Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army, Lithuanian irregular cavalry, that were later also adopted by other countries during the 18th century, including Polis ...

s (''Uhlanenkaserne'').

East–West border crossing

After World War II Invalidenstraße was divided between

East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

and

West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...

and the ''Sandkrugbrücke'' crossing the Berlin–Spandau Shipping Canal was the location of a

border crossing Border control comprises measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it als ...

. Nearby on August 24, 1961 Günter Litfin attempting to flee to the west was shot by East German border troops, becoming the second victim at the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...

erected eleven days before. A memorial marks the site.

Invalidenstraße today

After

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

, Invalidenstraße became one of the most important arterial roads in Berlin, particularly after the opening of the new

. A further expansion including a tramway line is planned. Several public institutions and federal ministries are situated along the street: the Museum of Natural History and the faculties of agriculture and horticulture of the

Humboldt University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

as well as the Federal Ministry of Transport and, on the other side of the ''Invalidenpark'', the Federal Ministry of Economics opposite of the

Charité The Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Charité – Berlin University of Medicine; ) is Europe's List of hospitals by capacity, largest university hospital, affiliated with Humboldt University of Berlin, Humboldt University and the Free ...

hospital Campus Mitte. Beyond the ''Sandkrugbrücke'' in Moabit the former Hamburger Bahnhof train station has been converted into the Museum für Gegenwart.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Invalidenstrasse Streets in Berlin Berlin border crossings

History

East–West border crossing

Invalidenstraße today

See also

References