Wrangelkiez

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South-east Wrangelstrasse seen from Skalitzer Strasse , at the end of which the Taborkirche

The Wrangelkiez (originally: Schlesisches Viertel ) is a densely populated, Wilhelminian-style residential area in Berlin and forms the eastern end of the Kreuzberg district in the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district .

location

The 45  hectare area with around 12,400 inhabitants was on the edge of the Wall during the time of the Wall . The population density is 27,556 inhabitants per square kilometer. In the north-west the area is bounded by Skalitzer Straße , in the south-west by Görlitzer Park , in the north-east by the Spree and in the south-east by the Landwehr Canal .

history

Wrangel and Falckensteinstrasse in the late 1980s
Oppelner Strasse in mid-November 1989: GDR citizens standing in line for the welcome money

The history of the development of the district can not be viewed separately from that of the part of the former SO 36 mail delivery area on the other side of Görlitzer Park . The former Köpenick field outside the city wall (which followed the course of today's elevated railway ) was surrounded by the Landwehr Canal next to the Spree from 1845 (start of construction) . The development of the area did not begin until 1858 according to plans by James Hobrecht . The revised development plan from 1862 initially assigned numbers to the streets and letters to the squares. With the construction of the Görlitz train station , they were largely given their current names.

The site was initially owned by Heinrich Andreas de Cuvrys , a Berlin native of Huguenot origin who had built a factory here (corner of Schlesische Strasse and Taborstrasse ). The Cuvrystraße was after the Silesian road the first to give a name. Its southern part is called - after the separation by the train station and today's park area - but Ratiborstraße . The Heckmannufer was later named after the second industrialist resident there .

In addition to the military, Wrangel and Falckenstein, places in the direction of the main streets facing out of town were named after: Görlitz , Liegnitz , Sorau , Oppeln and Tabor . The Görlitzer Bahn , which opened in 1866/1867, brought a stream of immigrants to the station of the same name, who often looked for work and accommodation in the immediate vicinity. This quickly created a mixed area of ​​businesses and simple living space. The multi-storey houses built according to the Berlin eaves height were roughly the same height, and the building plans were often similar. Two or more tenants often shared an apartment, and the toilets were often in the corners of the stairwells.

Naming

Field Marshal General Friedrich von Wrangel

The name Wrangelkiez for the Silesian Quarter only came up at the end of the 1980s and is unfortunate from today's perspective. On the one hand, only the smaller part of the eponymous Wrangelstrasse is here. On the other hand, General Friedrich von Wrangel marched against revolutionary Berlin in 1848, imposed martial law on the Prussian capital and put an end to the revolution. However, at the time when the Federal Republic of Germany had not yet recognized the Polish western border and some CDU members of the Bundestag explicitly opposed this recognition, the designation Silesian Quarter was even less desirable.

description

Sidewalk in Schlesische Strasse

The Wrangelkiez is a residential area with an above-average young population structure. The proportion of 18 to 35 year olds is 34.2%. At around 40%, the proportion of foreigners is among the highest in all of Berlin and if you include people with a migration background , it is 65%. The proportion of Turkish immigrants is 35.8%. The proportion of unemployed and social welfare recipients in this neighborhood is also well above the average at 30.5%. The Wilhelminian style building structure is in a comparatively good condition. This goes back to many of the measures to improve the living environment in the urban renewal programs of the 1980s. It offers a wide range of leisure and recreational opportunities for an inner-city area ( Görlitzer Park , Treptower Park , Spree ).

Görlitzer Strasse from the southeast

Since the political change , the area has been subject to constant upheaval. Up until 1990, many people lived in the Wrangelkiez who consciously moved to this part of West Berlin , which was perceived as remote and where there were pronounced social networks . The integration of migrants was often seen as a collective task. In the 1990s, however, the urban location also changed the image of the quarter, with many residents moving mainly to Prenzlauer Berg and Friedrichshain . The departure of the middle classes led to a social change in the quarter. However, the small-scale commercial structure, especially in Wrangelstrasse and around the Schlesisches Tor , was largely preserved. In the meantime, the area around Schlesische Straße is considered to be an up-and-coming trendy district in Berlin because of the settlement of clubs, bars and artist agencies . Likewise, some bars with trendy flair have established themselves in the southern Görlitzer Strasse with a view of the Görlitzer Park.

The gentrification in Wrangelkiez was the subject of several scientific studies. For example, the price development, the distribution of street art and the importance of falafel snacks were examined. According to the sociological geographer Miriam Stock, Arabic snacks have helped shape gentrification in Berlin quarters such as Kreuzberg, Prenzlauer Berg and Friedrichshain. In her dissertation published in 2013, Stock examined  the construction of flavor landscapes there based on the distribution and staging of the respective shops. In 2007, under the motto Frittenskandal im Falafelkiez, the scandalization of a planned McDonald’s branch in Wrangelkiez was discussed in Berlin . According to taz, the US chain was disturbed by an authenticity bubble in which the bourgeois, white middle class in the traditional alternative district had established itself. The academic middle-class taste stuck to the falafel , which appear aesthetic, folkloric and authentic, the fast food branch became a focal point for young migrants, among others .

Attractions

Left tower of the Liebfrauenkirche between mosque and supermarket
Schlesisches Tor underground station with the former department store at the gate (abbreviated: Kato ) and later Club Kato (today: Bi Nuu )
Industrial buildings on the Cuvry wasteland with graffito by Blu and JR

traffic

Oberbaumbrücke with the
U1 underground train

The main axes are Skalitzer Strasse - Oberbaumstrasse and Schlesische Strasse. The main axes were already served by trams in the late 19th century . Later there was also a route in Falckensteinstrasse and Görlitzer Strasse to Görlitzer Ufer. It was initially led over Wrangelstrasse and Taborstrasse, which the paving reminded of until the early 1980s. In 1945 only the lines from Oberbaumbrücke to Schlesisches Tor (line 4), in the eastern Falckensteinstrasse (line 3) and in Schlesische Strasse (lines 3, 87 and 92) were reactivated. Even after the currency reform , in contrast to other lines, there was no change of conductors here. On the BVG route map from 1954, they have already been replaced by the A 28 bus line . Due to the construction of the Wall , there was no through traffic here after August 13, 1961. Tram lines were finally cut, and the underground now also ended at the Schlesisches Tor . While the second axis could be reopened soon after the fall of the wall , the repair of the Oberbaum Bridge dragged on until 1995.

Bus routes 165 and 265 are currently operating here. An extension of the M10 tram along Falckensteinstrasse to Hermannplatz has been under discussion for a long time.

The Schlesisches Tor high station on the Berlin underground lines U1 and U3 became world-famous thanks to the musical line 1 of the Grips Theater . From 1961 to 1995 it was the terminus of the underground line 1 or U1.

"Car-free Wrangelkiez" initiative

Since the spring of 2018, the residents' initiative “Car-free Wrangekiez” has been campaigning for the redesign of the neighborhood towards a residential area without motorized individual traffic. A “low-car traffic concept” was developed for this purpose. The Senate Department for the Environment, Transport and Climate Protection announced in 2019 that it wanted to finance a feasibility study for the concept. Public participation is planned for the study. The district office was named as responsible for the tender.

Regardless of the study, the implementation of traffic calming measures is planned that had previously been agreed with the neighborhood. This includes the construction of diagonal barriers at the intersection of Wrangelstraße, Cuvrystraße and Falckensteinstraße and the creation of new bicycle parking spaces, including on the previous lane.

According to the demands of the initiative, car areas in front of the front doors are to be reduced and, with the exception of emergency lanes, limited by means of bollards or concrete cubes. Alternatively, playgrounds, lawns, a central Kiezplatz, public sports and leisure facilities, tiny houses along the Landwehr Canal and community gardens are to be set up.

literature

  • Dieter Kramer: Kreuzberg 1968-2013. Demolition, departure, upheaval . Nicolai, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-89479-805-5 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Dieter Kramer: Kreuzberg 1968-2013. Demolition, departure, upheaval , p. 48
  2. ^ Emil Galli: Görlitzer Bahnhof / Görlitzer Park , p. 55
  3. ^ Emil Galli: Görlitzer Bahnhof / Görlitzer Park , p. 54
  4. Bross, Fabian (2017): Beer Prices Correlate with the Quality of Illegal Urban Art. A Case Study on the Relationship Between Street Art and Gentrification in a Berlin Neighborhood . Mimeo.
  5. Miriam Stock: The Taste of Gentrification: Arabian Snacks in Berlin . transcript Verlag, 2016, ISBN 978-3-8394-2521-3 ( google.de [accessed December 30, 2016]).
  6. The Taste of Gentrification: Arabian Snacks in Berlin , by Miriam Stock, p. 7
  7. Anne Haeming: "Falafel is a poor people's meal" . ( Memento of the original from December 30, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In taz on the weekend , 18./19. January 2014 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.annehaeming.de
  8. [1]
  9. Information and an audio file for the blind ( memento of the original dated May 2, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.berlinfuerblinde.de
  10. Wrangelkiez.de Kiezkunst ( Memento of the original from August 25, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.wrangelkiez.de
  11. Kreuzberg wears black: Cult graffiti painted over . At: tagesspiegel.de , accessed on December 13, 2014
  12. ^ Landesdenkmalamt Berlin - Seniorenclub , accessed on April 1, 2017
  13. Tram Special: Tramways in Berlin , Issue 1/2005, p. 31
  14. Historical tram network plans from 1925 and 1936 at www.berliner-verkehrsseiten.de (PDF)
  15. Alt-Berlin-Info  ( page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved March 25, 2012@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.alt-berlin.info  
  16. Šigut Hilkenbach / Wolfgang Kramer: The trams in Berlin, p.64
  17. Tram Special , Issue 2/2011: Local traffic in Berlin 1945–1990, p. 12
  18. Tram Special , Issue 2/2011: Local traffic in Berlin 1945–1990, p. 29
  19. Patrick Goldstein: Kreuzberger Wrangelkiez could become car-free. March 5, 2019, accessed on March 6, 2019 (German).
  20. The concept. Retrieved March 6, 2019 (German).

Coordinates: 52 ° 30 '  N , 13 ° 27'  E