Charlottenburg-Nord: light, air, sun

Light, air and sun for all.” That was the rallying cry of the architects of the Weimar Republic. The pioneering urban planners of this time saw their objective executed flawlessly in North Charlottenburg. Siemensstadt, known as the Ring-Estate, is a large residential estate showcasing their modern approach to housing. It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2008, amongst five other estates. Housing shortages, coupled with miserable living conditions in the tenements of the imperial era, gave rise to these new building projects. A healthy living environment, good sanitary facilities and ample green, recreational spaces: this was the aim of the proponents of ‘Neues Bauen’ (New Building). Siemensstadt, completed in 1931, was the last of six estates. Shortly afterwards, the global economic crisis put a stop to most major construction projects in Berlin. The top attraction in north Charlottenburg also dates back to the Weimar Republic: the Volkspark Jungfernheide. The Volkspark movement sought to create recreational areas in urban public parks, which would be of particular benefit to disadvantaged communities. Nature, exercise and education combined within an urban space: this is Jungfernheide. Our tour leads from the housing estate to the park, showing how the innovative projects of the Weimar Republic function and continue to evolve today.

U-Bahnstation Halemweg

His train stations will delight all fans of retro style. Rainer G. Rümmler designed most of Berlin’s subway stations from the mid-1960s to the 1990s. They are imaginative, hip and – above all – colourful. Rümmler really let loose on the U7 line: it features the boldest examples of his aesthetic design. Some of his stations are protected, having been listed as “unique testaments to post-war modernism.” Halemweg station may not be one of these, but anyone who loves the colour orange will appreciate this rather functional station, which opened in 1980. After all, Berliners have been missing the ‘orange experience’ of the infamous underpass beneath Messe Berlin since its closure. And orange is what you get at Halemweg… paired with a bit of green. The station was completely refurbished in 2021, and much has changed aboveground too. Previously uninviting, the area has been transformed by landscape architects and artists into a 450-metre green space. It features a forest-themed playground, funded by public programmes for urban redevelopment and sustainable renewal. The highlight is an oversized swing. Whilst mainly children and youths gather here, there is also a community garden with raised beds. Mirroring the colour scheme of the underground station, the natural greenery and orange-coloured playground equipment offer an intriguing contrast. Rümmler would have been delighted.

Around Goebelplatz

Architecture fans, take note: there is an open-air museum of modern architecture around Goebelplatz. Future students of architecture can discover buildings of the Weimar Republic, the National Socialist era, the post-war period and the 1960s and 1970s! Goebelplatz was named after the inventor Henry Goebel in 1930. In just one of many incidents, he caused a furore by claiming to have invented the light bulb – long before Thomas Edison. Despite numerous lawsuits, however, he was not able to prove his claim. Formerly known as Market Square, Goebelplatz is a rather small and inconspicuous green space, featuring whitebeam trees, a diagonal pathway and a central sculpture.

Westward are the foothills of the large Siemensstadt housing estate, built during the time of the Weimar Republic. A building by Otto Bartning nicknamed ‘Lange Jammer’ (Long Moan) was extended in 1958 by Hans Scharoun. The structure featured the long balcony corridors for which Scharoun is known. Pink corridors; colourful doors in yellow, red or blue; ‘porthole’ windows; a staircase with expressionist, zigzag-shaped windows – features which stand in stark contrast to the practicality of Bartning’s elongated building. Eastward, at Geitelsteig, the National Socialists’ vision of housing can be seen. Sloped roofs were favoured over flat roofs. The chief architect at Siemens, Hans Hertlein, created this architectural concept. Traditional materials and designs defined what was called ‘Heimatschutzstil’ (Native-protection-style). The murals on the outer stairwell façades also feature ‘native’ animals and plants: wild boar, deer, and a fox that caught a goose.
The most striking feature of the square, however, is a 1960s tower block, with its jagged façade. Hans Scharoun was also involved in this project. You can even see the imperial-era buildings of the Charlottenburg housing co-operative from the top floor. And when Siemensstadt Square is completed, you will be able to see an open-air museum from this tower block: all the architectural styles of the 20th and 21st centuries will be on show at once.

Information Point Siemensstadt - Goebelstrasse 2

The seven men agree: terraced buildings should be built. Predominantly perpendicular to the street. Above all, no imperial-era, perimeter block developments, with their narrow inner courtyards. But these architects do not want to construct terraced housing similar to other projects of the time. Their plans are more modern, more radical. The architects in question designed the large Siemensstadt housing estate: Hans Scharoun, Walter Gropius, Otto Bartning, Hugo Häring, Fred Forbát and Paul Rudolf Henning. The project was led by municipal planning officer Martin Wagner. He was the visionary behind the ‘Neues Bauen’ (New Building) movement and created the political and logistical conditions for the construction of the housing development. Though each architect erected terraced housing, the designs differ greatly. Information about the history of the buildings can be found on information boards, which are set up at various points throughout the estate.
A small pavilion opposite Goebelplatz serves as the central information point.
The former shop, built by Fred Forbát, houses the ‘Infostation Siemensstadt’. It offers tourists information about this famous housing development. ‘Deutsche Wohnen’, the owners of the site, set up the pavilion after Siemensstadt was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Exhibitions, lectures and free guided tours were previously held here. Unfortunately, both Deutsche Wohnen and the operator of the pavilion have recently reduced the events being held. The pavilion can still be visited during a guided tour, however. Information about the estate is displayed on the façade and in the windows of the pavilion.

The ‘Long Moan’ - Goebelstrasse

The ‘Long Moan’. It is not known how and when Hans Bartning’s building was given this derisive nickname. Long? Indeed, that it is: the curved façade stretches 338 metres along Goebelstrasse. But its tenants back then didn’t really have any reason to moan. The average flat was 54 square metres in size, and was equipped with a toilet, bathroom and heating: extremely modern and comfortable for accommodation in 1930. Having in fact constructed a row of 25 identical buildings next to one another, Otto Bartning’s housing block certainly doesn’t boast a rich diversity of design.
“As plain as possible in terms of colour and contour,” is Bartning’s own description of his architecture… which has been criticised by some as monotonous. Yet the façade facing the street is not the building’s best side. That side faces north, with little sun exposure. The sun shines on the southern side. Thus, the living rooms, bedrooms and balconies are southern-facing. Yet the ‘Lange Jammer’ had even more to offer its tenants, which made it to a meeting point. Those without their own washing machine could use the central laundrette, located right next to the building (a separate play area helped shorten the waiting time for any children who came along). Bouncy cantilever chairs, designed by Bauhaus director Mies van der Rohe, were on site, tempting one to sit and relax for a moment. The estate’s housing company had an office in the disused laundrette for a long period. Currently empty, it awaits its next purpose. The nearby district heating facility also ceased operating long ago. But the building itself is a testament to the modernity of the Long Moan, as having an independent heating facility was still a novelty in the 1930s.

Hans Scharoun’s Studio - Heilmannring 66A

Neighbourhood is a spiritual energy – a quality, not just quantity. It is a space that a pedestrian can cross in about a quarter of an hour; a space that can match a child’s sense of joy in life; large enough to foster adventure, small enough to create a feeling of home.”
In 1926, Hans Scharoun used these words to aptly define what we now understand under the term ‘neighbourhood’: a residential area that inspires a sense of belonging and community, lending it a unique identity. Spearheading the development and concept of the Siemensstadt housing estate, Scharoun himself was responsible for creating the environment necessary to instil this so-called ‘spiritual energy’.
Isn’t it the best sign of confidence, when the architect moves into the house which they themselves designed? Scharoun moved into one of his buildings at Jungfernheide 4 in 1930. Officially, it still belonged to Spandau. Thus, Scharoun only became a ‘Charlottenburger’ in the post-war period. He would go on to become an honorary citizen of Berlin, and the architect of the Philharmonie (the concert hall of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra). From 1961, Scharoun lived at Heilmannring 66A, in one of his ‘Wohngehöfte’, as he called his apartment blocks (roughly: living & community). He and his wife chose to live on the top floor. If you don’t live in a villa, then at least have the best view! His studio was at the very top, accessible via a spiral staircase. Slanted windows, which almost reached down to the floor, let in plenty of light and offered a panoramic view over the Siemensstadt complex. Stood in front of the building’s entrance today, you will still find the name ‘Professor Scharoun’ on the doorbell. This great architect’s studio still exists. And if you are lucky, you can still get a sense of Scharoun’s spirit during one of the rare guided tours of his studio.

The Siemens Railway

An elevated railway viaduct winds its way through the centre of the Siemensstadt estate. This so-called ‘centipede’ (Tausendfüssler) runs between Siemensdamm and Jungfernheideweg, acting as a boundary between boroughs. But nothing has travelled along here for decades. Things used to be very different. Ninety years ago, trains zoomed past every five minutes. Their job: to take Siemens employees to their workplace. The company had a workforce of 60,000 at that time, yet many employees did not live in the nearby company housing estates. The tram system had already been hopelessly overcrowded due to commuting Siemens employees during the imperial era. The city of Berlin was too cash-strapped to come up with a solution. Siemens had the money and the expertise… and built the solution itself. The railway line opened in 1929, slicing through the housing estate which had yet to be built. In the post-war period, the number of employees decreased and the Siemens railway was used less and less. In the end, a curious political situation contributed to the closure of the railway. The GDR Reichsbahn (state railway of East Germany) was responsible for running the former Reichsbahn lines after World War II. Thus the socialist GDR provided transportation to the employees of an international company! This ended in 1980, when the GDR Reichsbahn terminated the line following a strike.
Today, the viaduct is re-born as a popular, elongated ‘lost place’, enticing visitors as if on a secret photo tour. Naturally, graffiti sprayers also gravitate to this new open space, which nature has been gradually reclaiming over time. But not for long. Look ahead to the year 2029: the Siemensbahn is running again and taking passengers to the new neighbourhood of Siemensstadt Square (one of Berlin’s most ambitious urban development projects). The trains will run at a 10-minute interval, however – hopefully causing less noise pollution than the road traffic on Siemensdamm today.

Jungfernheide Public Park

For a long time, the Jungfernheide forest was used exclusively by the Prussian king and his entourage. The forest served as a hunting ground for the royal family, and nearly all wild animals were game for the hunt! Until 1800. The shooting continued, though now it was the Prussian military who demonstrated their marksmanship here. At least they practised it. At the start of the 20th century, the city of Charlottenburg acquired parts of the site for civilian use. At first delayed due to the First World War, the time finally came in 1923: Berlin’s director of parklands, Erwin Barth, opened Jungfernheide. It was the flagship project of the Volkspark (public park) movement.
This was no ornamental garden, but a park that met the needs of the urban population for areas in which to play, practice sport and relax. The existing trees were largely retained. The surrounding population – mostly Siemens employees and their families – could avail of sports fields, an outdoor swimming pool, a playground, a wildlife reserve, a water tower and an open-air theatre.
At 146 hectares, Jungfernheide is the largest public park in Berlin. This is so, despite the former entrance and eastern parts of the park having to make way for the construction of a motorway. Over time, the park fell into disrepair and was in a deplorable state. In recent years, however, the district has set itself the goal of repairing the existing facilities and renovating paths and playgrounds. More importantly, the aim is to raise awareness of the immense importance and urban ecological function of Jungfernheide park in the metropolis of Berlin. Today, park rangers are regularly on duty and even offer guided tours.
At the park’s get-together, next to the ‘Kita im Grünen’ (daycare centre ‘in the green’), one listens carefully to the needs of park goers and responds promptly. The information on display is in both German and Polish, as most visitors to the park live nearby and speak Polish. The Volkspark is also a recreational area for many refugees from the Ukraine, who are still housed at Tegel Airport.
We enter the park via the entrance on Heckerdamm. The most beautiful entrance is at Kurt-Schumacher-Damm: two sculptures of bears stand on either side of the path, figures of children at play beneath them. A favourite motif of many park visitors, there is a curious tale about these bears: one sculpture mysteriously disappeared after the Second World War. In 2010, a fragment of the bear randomly turned up in a neighbouring daycare centre. The missing bear could then be re-created based on the original fragment. Weighing seven tonnes, it now keeps the other bear company again… and must now no longer fear any Prussian hunters, of course.

The Gustav Böss Stage

It couldn’t be more fitting: Friedrich Schiller’s The Robbers – performed by convicts jailed in Berlin.
The year is 2023, the venue is the Gustav-Böss-Bühne, in the centre of Volkspark Jungfernheide. Prisoners, ex-convicts and amateur actors take to the stage to tackle the correlations between injustice, law and freedom. Prisoners can thank Germany’s best-known penitentiary theatre project, ‘Aufbruch’ (start), for their brief escape from life behind bars. These projects are usually staged within prison walls. This time, the stage is in a park forest.
Both Berlin’s director of parklands, Erwin Barth, and the long-time mayor of the city, Gustav Böss, campaigned vehemently for a stage be erected in Jungfernheide. In 1921, Böss established the foundation ‘Park, Play and Sport’(Park, Spiel und Sport). The sponsorship donations raised for the foundation helped fund the theatre stage, which was named after him. The design was inspired by the ancient Greek theatre of Ephesus. With its neatly trimmed hedges, pergolas and the surrounding alder forest, the outdoor theatre was truly a treasure in the park.
Trees still line the auditorium today. Yet not much is left of the original features, such as garden ornaments and a wooden box office, nor of the quarters and changing rooms which were there. The stage has fallen into a hibernation of sorts several times, has become overgrown and dilapidated, before being reawakened again. It was destroyed during the war, then rebuilt in a basic manner. Another closure was followed by a reopening alongside a ‘cultural’ beer garden, yet soon again the stage was merely in use sporadically. Today, the theatre is being restored again. The father-and-son team currently running the ‘Kulturbiergarten’ on site are, of course, delighted when the beer they serve is accompanied by a live performance. Delighted too, to hear the crowd’s cheers for the actors in The Robbers resounding through the forest.
Had this theatre project existed in Gustav Böss’ days, he could have been part of the ensemble himself, for Böss had also spent time behind bars. The National Socialists imprisoned him for several months in 1933, in connection with the so-called ‘fur coat affair’ and a scandal surrounding the Sklarek brothers. But that is a story for another time, upon another stage…

Flora and Fauna Experience

Their chests are bare, and they wear a feathered headdress. Distinguished by their physique and beauty: the American showgirls that have recently been on show in the public park. We must disappoint those expecting sensual dancers, however, as American Showgirls are chickens! This unique and rather novel crossbreed has a featherless neck and wild, sometimes brightly coloured, decorative feathers on its head. They are part of the Flora and Fauna Experience (Erlebniswelt Tier und Natur), which opened in 2015. The focus here lies in discovering the habitats of animals and plants, which is especially important for children growing up in urban environments. Erwin Barth had already had this idea, creating an enclosure for black and fallow deer in 1931. Unfortunately, caring for the two white-tailed deer, roe deer and wild boar proved too costly. They moved to the Uckermark region in 2013. Shortly afterwards, the ‘Erlebniswelt’ was relaunched in Volkspark Jungfernheide – albeit with goats, who are easier to care for. Now there is a hutch for chickens and Indian Runner ducks, with a free-range enclosure. There is also a hutch with a free-range area for rabbits and guinea pigs as well as two beehives – all thanks to the local district office and to some very committed volunteers. Today, Gary the Greek tortoise also likes to ‘race’ around the grounds. At least until October, when he disappears into his well-deserved hibernation for nearly six months. And Lotte moved in two years ago. An American showgirl, still a chick. However, Lotte did not exactly grow up as planned. She wasn’t a hen after all, but a cockerel! A case of mistaken gender, surely – or did she just change her mind, as some like to do nowadays? Lotte became Lothar. And the cockerel Lothar now roams around the outdoor enclosure almost more gracefully than a real showgirl…

The Jungfernheide Water Tower

There are many water towers in Berlin, and amongst the most beautiful is the one at Jungfernheide. It is one of the few built during the Weimar Republic. An expressionist work of art, the tower was completed in 1927, four years after the park first opened. It remains the architectural focal point of the park, perfectly set in scene from multiple viewpoints. Architect Walter Helmcke had it constructed of ‘iron’ clinker bricks, which are dark red and made from clay containing iron oxide. Design elements include cornices, and bricks protruding from the tower in a linear, geometric pattern, which divide the structure visually. The shining copper roof is visible from afar, with its huge, decorative lamp at the tip. The purpose of this lighthouse — no, water tower — was not to supply water to the neighbourhood. The 65 cubic metres (65,000 litres) water capacity was purely used for the park.
The water tower operated until 2001, but it had taken on another role a few years prior: a nesting box for kestrels is located in the upper third of the tower. A live camera feed allows viewers to watch the falcon parents nesting each year, as their offspring feeds and first attempts to fly.
The AG Greifvogelschutz Berlin (a club for the protection of birds of prey) oversees this exciting project. Nestled at the foot of the tower is a restaurant with outdoor seating, which has recently been the main attraction on site. It is run by the adjacent high rope adventure company. Originally, a café was to open when the water tower was first built, but the budget had already been spent. Today, the park boasts two very popular spots right next to one another: the café and the high rope centre.

The Maria Regina Martyrum Church

The church was to be the Christian reaction to the powers of evil. Symbolic of being able to prevail, of resurrection in the face of horror. A horror which the nearby Plötzensee execution site symbolises.

The Maria Regina Martyrum church (lengthily named the ‘Memorial Church of German Catholics to honour the martyrs for freedom of faith and conscience in the years 1933-1945’) is perhaps more a memorial than a parish church. It has been part of the ‘Path of Remembrance’ in north Charlottenburg since 2018, which connects several churches and the Plötzensee memorial site. One of the most curious and architecturally fascinating churches of the post-war period was erected here by two architects, Hans Schädel and Friedrich Ebert. The building has been described as a ‘propped-up, angular, giant whale’ or an ‘airship made of exposed aggregate concrete’, as it appears to float in the air upon three transverse concrete walls.

The striking bell tower and large courtyard also add to the unique character of the church grounds. It is the works of art on display, however, that have made it one of the most impressive and depressing memorials to the victims of National Socialism in Berlin. One of the three sarcophagi inside the church contains the urn of Erich Klausener, head of ‘Katholische Aktion’. The National Socialists had Klauserer murdered. Both a square and a neighbourhood in Charlottenburg are named after him. Yet not only Catholics are honoured here. A plaque next to the sarcophagus of Erich Klausener reads: To all martyrs who were denied a grave – to all martyrs whose graves are unknown.

Route Charlottenburg Nord

The city walk is also available on komoot. Further information can be found on the komoot website.