Berlin-Gropiusstadt
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Gropiusstadt district of Berlin |
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| Coordinates | 52 ° 25 '33 " N , 13 ° 27' 41" E |
| surface | 2.66 km² |
| Residents | 37,630 (Dec. 31, 2019) |
| Population density | 14,147 inhabitants / km² |
| Postcodes | 12351, 12353 |
| District number | 0805 |
| Administrative district | Neukölln |
The Gropiusstadt is a district in the Berlin district of Neukölln . It was built between 1962 and 1975 in what was then West Berlin as a large housing estate between the old settlements of Britz , Buckow and Rudow .
Since 2002, Gropiusstadt has been a separate district in the Neukölln district alongside Neukölln , Britz , Buckow and Rudow . The responsible district office made the decision on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone of the settlement.
90 percent of the around 18,500 apartments in the satellite town planned by Walter Gropius were built as social housing . Gropiusstadt has been a social hotspot since the 1980s . She became known beyond Berlin primarily through the book Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo and the film Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo , whose protagonist Christiane Felscherinow grew up here.
planning
In the mid-1950s, preliminary considerations began for the creation of a large housing estate in the south of Neukölln. Reconstruction work after the Second World War gained momentum and, true to the motto of the Athens Charter, it was also intended to move into the densely built-up Wilhelminian - style district “light, air and sun”. However, new living space had to be created for the residents of the rear and side houses that were to be demolished.
From considerations located in Britz Horseshoe Estate by Bruno Taut to expand to the south, the idea to use the location on the southern outskirts of Berlin, arable land for housing projects arose. In May 1958, the first land purchases began for the large Berlin-Britz-Buckow-Rudow housing estate (BBR), as the planning name was based on the districts involved. From 1962, the Bauhaus architect Walter Gropius and his office The Architects Collaborative (TAC) were in charge of the planning. He wanted to combine the “diverse elements of conventional city life” with the then modern methods of urban planning.
As a reminiscence of the Hufeisensiedlung, the concept envisaged circular structures with manageable residential areas and single-family houses in between, in which central business centers and a connection to the 7 underground line to be extended were embedded. Large green spaces in between were intended to loosen up the development and serve the residents for recreation.
With the construction of the wall on August 13, 1961, the framework conditions in West Berlin changed suddenly : since there were no more external growth areas available, the building projects now had to be significantly condensed. Instead of the originally planned 14,500 apartments, the plans were modified; the final version of the plan envisaged almost 19,000 residential units for more than 50,000 people on 264 hectares . As a result of the higher density, more space was required for infrastructure facilities (schools, shopping centers, etc.) and parking spaces, so that the buildings on the remaining space had to grow significantly in height. Instead of the maximum five storeys planned by Gropius, the tallest building here ( Ideal residential high- rise , Fritz-Erler-Allee 120) has 30 residential floors and, at 89 meters high, is one of the highest German residential buildings after the Colonia high-rise in Cologne (AXA high-rise), the Cologne Uni-Center , the Hamburg Mundsburg Tower , the Leipzig Conservatory Tower , the Mannheim Collini-Center and the north bank of the Neckar . The green areas have also been significantly reduced.
Construction phase
On November 7, 1962, the then governing mayor, Willy Brandt, laid the foundation stone for the first phase of construction in the presence of Walter Gropius. The development was entirely under the direction of the municipal housing associations GEHAG and DEGEWO , private investors practically did not get a chance . From 1965, parallel to the construction of the settlement, the subway from Britz-Süd to Rudow began to be extended. District centers were built along the underground stations, and a green corridor was created above ground along the route. Gropius died in 1969, and in 1972 the estate was named after the architect. In 1975 the Gropiusstadt was completed. After completion of the construction work, a district with 18,500 apartments was created for 1.74 billion marks .
Further development
_Entwicklungsgeschichte_der_Gropiusstadt.jpg)
While Gropiusstadt was an attractive district in the first few years that offered quality of life that often did not exist in the city center, from the late 1970s onwards it developed into a problem area due to the 90 percent share of social housing. The strongly ideological urban planning of the 1950s and 1960s, which was shaped by Le Corbusier , often did not lead to the desired results and brought with it previously unimagined problems. The plan changes carried out by the Berlin Senate against Gropius' will also contributed to the situation.
The open spaces, which were not yet too heavily overgrown, had little quality of stay, dark corners and stairwells developed into fearful spaces . The residents tended to keep to themselves in their apartments and despite the diverse social facilities, social life did not develop as expected. The residents complained about the loss of inner-city urbanity due to the wide open spaces, the neighborhood problems due to the high density of housing and the loss of the feeling of being in a neighborhood . Tenant fluctuation rose, as did the vacancy rate. Christiane Felscherinow , who grew up in Gropiusstadt, gives an account of the social problems in her book Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo .
In 1986, major investments were made to improve the living environment. The public green was upgraded according to Gropius' original ideas, squares were redesigned and targeted measures were used to create additional offers (such as youth clubs, district management ) for the residents.
After the fall of the Wall , the situation changed significantly. The generous federal subsidy for the Berlin urban development subsidy was dropped, the demand for housing fell because Berliners can also move to the Brandenburg area, and newcomers from Eastern Europe increased the proportion of foreigners. Since 2001, no is Wohnberechtigungsschein longer required for the purchase of apartments to improve the efficiency of Gropiusstadt has increased again. According to the housing association degewo , which is one of the main owners, the vacancy rate is in the single digits. The housing company GEHAG has been gradually selling apartments to international investors since 2004 . Since August 2006, part of Gropiusstadt has been a district management area with prevention intent.
The shopping center on Johannisthaler Chaussee has developed from a district center to a shopping center of supraregional importance through roofing and several extensions. The Gropius passages are now more than 85,000 sqm of retail space and 170 shops of the largest shopping centers in Germany.
After a 40-year break in construction, a long-planned densification of Gropiusstadt began in autumn 2014. The first building measure on Fritz-Erler-Allee will be 240 smaller apartments in the existing green spaces.
The tallest residential building in Berlin at Fritz-Erler-Allee 120 by Walter Gropius
Apartment block in Gropiusstadt
The Gropiusstadt from the Rudower Höhe
50 years of Gropiusstadt, Fritz-Erler-Allee
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traffic
The central connection to the inner city districts is via the underground line U7 . The train stations Johannisthaler Chaussee , Lipschitzallee , Wutzkyallee and Zwickauer Damm are located in Gropiusstadt . The central supply facilities for the residents were built around all four stations. The extension of the underground line C (today: U7) and its route below the Britz-Buckow-Rudow green corridor was linked to the planning of the satellite town and was planned since the late 1950s and implemented in the early 1960s.
Parishes
In Gropiusstadt, a number of new parishes emerged during the construction phase and afterwards.
- St. Dominicus (Catholic)
- Martin-Luther King (Protestant)
- Gropiusstadt-Süd (Protestant)
- Trinity Congregation (Protestant)
schools
- Hugo Heimann Elementary School
- Janusz Korczak Elementary School
- Catholic primary school St. Marien
- Martin Lichtenstein Elementary School
- Primary School Am Regenweiher
- Walter-Gropius-Schule (nationwide first comprehensive school )
- Campus Efeuweg (community school)
- Hermann von Helmholtz High School (secondary school)
- Lise Meitner School ( Vocational Upper School Center )
sports clubs
The following sports clubs are based in Gropiusstadt:
Attractions
Sights in Gropiusstadt are the Jungfernmühle , which is included in the Berlin monument list, and the Dreieinigkeitskirche . Among the numerous high- rise residential buildings, the Ideal residential high- rise is of particular importance as it is the tallest residential building in the Berlin metropolitan area and one of the tallest residential buildings in Germany.
With the development of previous agricultural areas, the idea of a green city was implemented, which is what the Rudower grove in the district stands for.
The Rudower grove ( location ) is listed in the official list as a park with street number 8041. It covers an area of 600 meters in length and is partially 100 meters wide. In 1872 it was planted by Wildmeister Hugo Luther on behalf of Kaiser Wilhelm I and has been the "Bird Sanctuary on Wildmeisterdamm in Rudow" since 1959 and was a "no man's land" due to its location near the Berlin Wall . Since 2006, a section of the Berlin Wall Trail has been located here along the former border. However, due to the construction of Gropiusstadt, the game and bird population declined. Lipschitzallee underground station (west) and Wutzkyallee (east) are both about 350 meters from the forest, which ends in the north at Wildmeisterdamm. The Wildmeisterdamm is still a footpath in the area of the "Teltower Dörferweg" No. 15 of the 20 green main paths in Berlin in the route of Buckower Bahnhofstrasse . Plans in the state of Brandenburg envisage a continuation of the greening across the state border into Großziethen.
See also
- List of streets and squares in Berlin-Gropiusstadt
- List of cultural monuments in Berlin-Gropiusstadt
- List of old streets and squares in Gropiusstadt
literature
- Karin Kramer, Dorothea Kolland (ed.): The long way to the city. The Gropiusstadt in upheaval. Collection of articles, 2002, ISBN 3-87956-280-6 .
- Heidede Becker (ed.): Gropiusstadt - Social conditions on the outskirts. Kohlhammer Verlag , 1977, ISBN 3-17-002992-4 .
- Christiane Felscherinow : We children from Zoo Station . Heyne Verlag , 1999, ISBN 3-453-16289-7 .
- Frank Bielka, Christoph Beck (ed.): Heimat Großsiedlung. 50 years of Gropiusstadt. Development opportunities for the future . Nicolai Verlag , Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-89479-730-0 .
- Hans Bandel , Dittmar Machule (ed.): The Gropiusstadt - The urban planning and decision-making process . Verlag Kiepert KG, Berlin 1974, ISBN 3-920597-20-6 .
