Soldiner Kiez

Houses in Wollankstraße. Wollankstraße forms the eastern boundary of the Soldiner Kiez.

The Soldiner Kiez is located in Berlin-Wedding. It is a very international neighborhood with good social cohesion - and beautiful walks along the Panke river.

Before the fall of the Berlin Wall, Soldiner Kiez had a dead-end location: to the north and east, the neighborhood bordered directly on Pankow and Prenzlauer Berg, both of which belonged to East Berlin. A lot has happened in the meantime. Dead-end streets have become thoroughfares, courtyards have become communal gardens and vacant flats in old buildings have become student flatshares.

Location of the Soldiner Kiez in Wedding

Soldiner Kiez is located in the district of Gesundbrunnen, which used to be part of Berlin-Wedding and is now part of the Mitte borough. The Kiez is still very young. It takes its name from the Soldiner Straße / Wollankstraße neighborhood management, which was set up in 1999. Soldiner Straße is named after the town of Soldin in Pomerania, which is now in Poland and is called Myślibórz. It runs roughly east-west through the Kiez. The boundaries of Soldiner Kiez are formed by the route of the northern railway line, Drontheimer Straße or Provinzstraße and Osloer Straße.

Living in the Soldiner Kiez

People from many different cultures live peacefully side by side in the Soldiner Kiez in Wedding. The apartment blocks - often with courtyards - stand close together. Quite a few of them are old buildings from around 1900, some of which have been renovated. There are small shops, snack bars, bistros and restaurants with international cuisine, ice cream parlours and galleries. But the Soldiner Kiez is not a trendy neighborhood. Many have little money. But little money also means a lot of commitment. Everyone benefits from the work of the Soldiner Strasse neighborhood management, the local associations and initiatives, including the students, creative people and young families who deliberately move here. They meet in community gardens such as Prinzengarten and ElisaBeet, on temporary play streets, create street art together, beautify the green spaces and celebrate street parties.

Urban greenery: Panke and Franzosenbecken

On the banks of the Panke, which flows through Soldiner Kiez in a roughly north-south direction, there are large, old trees. The footpath along the water invites you to look, stroll and take a deep breath. One evening in December, the panke.info association organises a festival of lights. For this, tea lights are lowered into the water on small wooden boats at the bridge near Fordoner Platz and fished out again at Gotenburger Straße. Visitors accompany them with lanterns and torches along the banks of the Panke to their destination. To the east of the Panke, towards the Huguenot Church, lies the Franzosenbecken. The basin is an overflow basin of the Panke and is now used as a park by local residents. There are playgrounds to the north and an allotment site to the west.

Landmark Stephanuskirche

If you need more peace and quiet and more greenery, you have to cross the neighbouhood boundaries. The St Elisabeth Churchyard II and Bürgerpark Pankow are very close by. A few steps further on, the Pankow III cemetery and the Volkspark Schönholzer Heide offer soothing shade, fresh air and lush greenery. Peace and quiet of a different kind can be found in the imposing Stephanuskirche on the corner of Prinzenallee and Soldiner Straße. The neo-Gothic brick building with its almost 80 meter high tower, visible from afar, can accommodate 1000 people - at least in theory. The church can be visited as part of events and services, including the Open Church of St Stephen with a silent prayer service.