Koenigsheide (Berlin)
The Königsheide is around 110 hectares large mixed forest in the district of Treptow-Koepenick of Berlin . The acidic permanent forest consists predominantly of a sparse stock of oaks , but also of pines or a mixture of both genera . It is one of the remaining areas of the former Cöllnischer Heide , the large forest area south-east of old Berlin - today it consists of Wuhlheide , Köllnischer Heide and Grünauer and Köpenicker forests.
location
The partly Mediterranean -looking forest is located in the northwest of the Johannisthal district and east of the Späthsfelde district of the Baumschulenweg district . The forest area borders, separated by the Königsheideweg, on the Späthsfelde settlement and the “Späthsches Viertel” row house settlement on Mahonienweg, which was built in 1999, to the south-east of the Späth'schen tree nursery .
The Königsheide was incorporated into the new Treptow district of Greater Berlin in 1920 as part of the village of Johannisthal . Since the administrative and territorial reform on January 1, 2001, the Königsheide has been part of the Treptow-Köpenick district.
origin of the name
The name goes back to a meeting between the Swedish King Gustav Adolf and the Brandenburg Elector Georg Wilhelm , which took place during the Thirty Years' War at the forester's house Kanne halfway between Berlin and Köpenick. In May 1631 the King of Sweden asked the Elector to give him the fortresses of Spandau and Küstrin for the Swedish army in order to save the city of Magdeburg, which was threatened by Tilly's troops . The elector, who was still hesitant at first, postponed the decision. In any case, it came too late to prevent the destruction of Magdeburg .
history
The Königsheide was originally part of the Köllnische Heide, which stretched from Neukölln (before 1912 Rixdorf , from 1920 Neukölln ) to Köpenick . As industrialization progressed , parts of this contiguous forest area were cleared for residential and industrial construction. The forest stagnates on slightly elevated valley sands, which are therefore drier than the Spree floodplain to the northeast and the former Rudow meadows to the west, which used to be a swamp area. Since the settlement of the valley areas of the Spree in the late Middle Ages, large areas of the Köllnische Heide have been used as pastureland; Since the 19th century, the forest areas had to give way to the development of residential and commercial areas and associated infrastructure facilities in the course of urbanization and large cities around Berlin . As a remnant, remained in the northwest of the Johannisthal district, bounded by the Königsheideweg and the Südostallee, the Königsheide of around 110 hectares, which today serves as a nature and water protection area for general recreation.
The Heidekampgraben originally had its source in the Königsheide on the area of the Späth'sche tree nurseries . Since the construction of the Britz connecting canal between 1900 and 1906, which divided the forests, it has started on the artificial waterway. On the site of the Späth Arboretum , a pond still bears witness to the old watercourse.
During the GDR era there was a children's home named after the teacher and writer Anton Semjonowitsch Makarenko in the Königsheide .
In the 20th century, the operation of the waterworks on the Spree and Johannisthal as well as the construction of the Teltow Canal (1907) and the Britz branch canal lowered the groundwater level so that it is around six meters lower today than it was at the end of the 19th century .
meaning
The Königsheide forms an important recreational area for the population of southeast Berlin, especially those from the Treptow-Köpenick and Neukölln districts , and serves as a water extraction area - even if the water extracted from the Johannisthal waterworks is currently not being used due to still existing pollution. On the other hand, with its characteristic flora and fauna , the Königsheide represents an interesting and important natural area that needs to be secured and protected accordingly.
The loose pedunculate and sessile oak forest on the dry sandy valley floor shows above all a species-rich herb layer. The most important species of this dry sand grass include sheep fescue , red ostrich , straw flower , meadow quail wheat , soapwort , silver grass , adder's head , pipe grass , bristle grass , three-toothed , wire-smoked and the rare branchy grass lily , a red list species.
Conservationists criticize the cultivation of non-native deciduous trees such as robinia and sycamore maple by forestry.
Königsheideteich
The king heath pond is a protected spawning grounds for pond frog , toad , newt and spadefoot .
literature
- Bernd Machatzki, Justus Meißner: The Königsheide in Berlin-Treptow - on the development of a valuable forest area close to the city in the past five years. In: Berliner Naturschutzblätter. 40, No. 3, 1996, pp. 556-598.
Web links
Coordinates: 52 ° 27 ′ 14 ″ N , 13 ° 29 ′ 29 ″ E