() is a quarter in the

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, 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 ...

of 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, that takes its name from the small lake (literally 'White Lake') within it. Before

Berlin's 2001 administrative reform Berlin is divided into boroughs or administrative districts (). In Berlin, the term is officially shortened to (districts). The boroughs are further divided into quarters (). These smaller localities are officially recognised, but have no admini ...

, was a borough in its own right, consisting of the quarters of , , , , and . A fictional German-language TV series by the same name is set in the borough between 1980 and 1990 during the

communist era A communist era is a sustained period of national government by a single party following the philosophy of Marxism–Leninism. Many countries have experienced such a period of communist rule. Current communist states China The Chinese Communist ...

History

was first mentioned in 1313 as . The first settlers subsisted on fishing and established themselves on the eastern shore of the lake, where an old

trade route A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. The term can also be used to refer to trade over land or water. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a singl ...

connected Berlin with () and the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

– today the federal highway.
/small> 1810 vs 2020 From 1914 onwards, the Weissensee Studios produced a number of

silent films A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

including works by

Fritz Lang Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), better known as Fritz Lang (), was an Austrian-born film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety Obituari ...

and the

expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

film ''

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' () is a 1920 German silent horror film directed by Robert Wiene and written by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer. The quintessential work of early German Expressionist cinema, it tells the story of an insane hypno ...

''. Weißensee has historically been overshadowed by its neighboring ''Ortsteile'' (localities) and , however its popularity is increasing due to its proximity to the hip but more expensive . Its trams make reaching Berlin Mitte very convenient.

Education in Weißensee

Kindergarten

Kindergarten EinStein, Klax-Kinder, Kita St.Josef, Kindergarten Staustraße, others

Primary School

Schule am Hamburgerplatz, Grundschule am Weißensee, Schule am Wasserturm, others

High School

Heinz-Brand-Schule, Hagenback-Oberschule, others

Gymnasium

Primo-Levi-Gymnasium, Robert-Havemann-Gymnasium, others

Technical college

Max-Bill-Schule

University/College

Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weißensee

Overview

Weißensee is one of the most peaceful districts of Berlin. The immediate area around the lake is characterized by its historic architecture, numerous places of interest, parks, lakes, and activities. The

Weißensee Academy of Art Berlin Weißensee (German: ''white lake'') may refer to: Places * Weissensee (Berlin), a district of Berlin *Weißensee, Thuringia, a town in Thuringia, Germany * Weissensee, Austria, a municipality in Carinthia, Austria * Weissensee (Carinthia), a lake i ...

() is of national rank. The cycling track has also hosted popular music concerts. The largest concert ever held here was a

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

concert on July 19, 1988, attended by an estimated 160,000 people. At

Weißensee Cemetery Weißensee (German: ''white lake'') may refer to: Places * Weissensee (Berlin), a district of Berlin *Weißensee, Thuringia, a town in Thuringia, Germany * Weissensee, Austria, a municipality in Carinthia, Austria * Weissensee (Carinthia), a lake i ...

, one of Europe's largest

Jewish cemeteries A Jewish cemetery ( ''beit almin'' or ''beit kvarot'') is a cemetery where Jews are buried in keeping with Jewish tradition. Cemeteries are referred to in several different ways in Hebrew, including ''beit kevarot'' (house of sepulcher ...

, notable people such as painter Lesser Ury and publishers Samuel Fischer and Rudolf Mosse are buried. The lake is almost circular in shape with a diameter of up to and is up to deep. With an area of , ''Weißer See'' has a water volume of .

Public transport

Public transportation in Germany is widespread, especially in its capital city, Berlin. The BVG is the main transport company in Berlin. Both buses and trams service Weißensee.

Bus

255 in the directions of Schwarzelfenweg and U Osloer Str. 259 in the directions of Aubertstr. and Stadion Buschallee/Hansastr.

Tram

M4 in the directions of Falkenberg or Zingster Str. and S Hackescher Markt

References

External links

tic-berlin: tourist & historical information about Weißensee

Gustav-Adolf Street

Article from Exberliner magazine
{{Authority control Localities of Berlin *Weissensee Former boroughs of Berlin Populated places established in the 1310s