Old town Spandau
The old town of Spandau on the so-called "old town island" in Berlin developed from 1232, when Spandau was first mentioned as a city, and advanced to become an economically and militarily rearward base for the defense of the national border, which was moved to the east in the course of the subjugation of the Slavs by the Ascanians . The second significant settlement that arose in that period, the castle on the day the district Haselhorst belonging Citadel Island .
Urban development
In the 19th century Spandau was expanded into one of the strongest fortresses in Prussia . The fortress requirement, which had existed since the 17th century and was only finally lifted in 1903, had extremely negative consequences for urban development. On the one hand, this reduced the scope for expansion to a minimum, and on the other hand, the trade tax exemption for the army workshops belonging to the military treasury had a negative effect on the city's finances. In addition, the economy in the armaments sector was heavily dependent on military developments and the general political situation, with correspondingly strong fluctuations in terms of labor and housing requirements. Only after the fortress status was abolished, Spandau became attractive as a location for private industry due to its convenient location.
With the armaments industry re-established , Spandau was the target of heavy air raids in late 1944 and early 1945 , which mainly destroyed the old town. Also because of the radical renovation in the 1950s and the construction of the subway in the 1980s, little of the old structure remained. At the same time, the largely preserved urban layout still gives the impression of being a small town. At the same time, the Havel and wide traffic aisles clearly separate the old town from the surrounding districts. The redesign of the old town into a pedestrian zone , initiated in 1978, was completed in 1989 after more than ten years. The main shopping streets are Carl-Schurz-Straße (named after the politician Carl Schurz ) and Breite Straße . Since 2001, retail in the old town has been under great competitive pressure from the neighboring Spandau Arcaden shopping center with its 125 shops.
Historical buildings
St. Nicholas Church
The most important building is the St. Nikolai Church on Reformation Square, which was built in place of a previous building from the 13th century . The three-nave Gothic brick - hall church from the 14th century has a powerful gable roof ; In 1989, the baroque hood of the massive west tower with Schinkel decorations was reconstructed according to plans from 1839.
Gothic house
An important medieval architectural monument from the end of the 15th century is the Gothic House at 32 Breiten Straße. Contrary to the wood and half-timbered construction that was prevalent at the time , it was built as a representative stone building. Parts of the original structure such as the ribbed vault in the back and the pointed arch arcade are still preserved.
A fire in the 18th century destroyed large parts of the building and in the course of the reconstruction it was given a classical facade and a different room layout. In this condition, the Gothic House survived until after the Second World War . At the end of the 1950s there were major interventions in the historical building fabric until restoration was finally started in 1987. Today the Berlin-Spandau Tourist Information Center is located on the ground floor of the Gothic House ; the premises are also used as a gallery for changing exhibitions. The City History Museum is on the first floor.
Wendenschloss and city wall
From the Gotisches Haus you get to the central square of Spandau's old town, the market, to Moritzstrasse , which leads west to the Mühlengraben. In the Jüdenstrasse crossing it (from 1938 to 2002 Kinkelstrasse , named after the theologian Gottfried Kinkel ) was the Wendenschloss (No. 33), an elaborate farmhouse from around 1700. The original building was demolished in 1966 and replaced by a new building, its facade to remind of the historical model.
At the southern continuation of the mill moat, the Viktoria-Ufer , a remnant of the city wall from the 14th century is still 116 meters long.
literature
- Baedekers Allianz travel guide Berlin . Verlag Karl Baedeker GmbH, Ostfildern-Kemnat 1991, ISBN 3-87504-126-7 , p. 222.
- All of Berlin - walks through the capital . Nicolaische Verlagsbuchhandlung GmbH, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-89479-390-6 .
Web links
- Online travel guide for Spandau . Sights, culture, walks, tours through the old town and beyond.
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 52 ° 32 ′ 14.2 " N , 13 ° 12 ′ 14.7" E