Prenzlauer Berg: Trendy Neighborhoods in the South

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  Market day at Kollwitzplatz

• Kastanienallee

• Oderberger Straße

• Schwedter Straße

• Rykestrasse Synagogue

• Immanuelkirchstraße

• Winsstraße

After the fall of the Wall, many parts of southern Prenzlauer Berg were renovated and modernized. Today the neighborhood is a popular entertainment district with many cafés, bars, galleries, and stores.

Kastanienallee and Teutoburger Platz

Originally, the entire area around Kastanienallee and Teutoburger Platz was to be completely demolished to make way for a housing project during GDR times. Many buildings were partially empty as a result and were occupied by young squatters. Later, the apartments became rentals.

After extensive renovation during the post-reunification period, rents in Prenzlauer Berg were raised step by step. The Kastanienallee is still a trendy mile that is mentioned in many travel guides. Between designer stores, exclusive boutiques, and hip coffee shops you will find a few "Spätis" with goods for daily needs.

Oderberger Straße, which crosses Kastanienalle, features many unusual stores and cafés. On the corner of Schwedter Straße/Oderberger Straße/Kastanienallee lies the "Marthashof", a new housing estate with more than 150 luxurious condominiums, which is quite controversial from an urban planning point of view.

Kollwitzkiez and Kollwitzplatz

The neighborhood Kollwitzkiez was named after the German graphic artist and sculptor Käthe Kollwitz, who lived in the house on Kollwitzstraße 58 for most of her life (at that time, the address was Weißenburger Straße 25). Even more than the rest of the district, this part of Prenzlauer Berg has been overhaulen completely and there are hardly any unrenovated corners left. In summer, the numerous cafés on Rykestraße, Husemannstraße and Kollwitzstraße carry their tables and chairs outside and create a Mediterranean flair.

Kollwitzplatz, the suqare at the center of the neighborhood, hosts a weekly market on Saturdays, an organic farmers' market on Thursdays, and a Christmas market on Sundays in December. The Kulturbrauerei (formerly the Schultheiß Brewery) on Knaackstraße offers entertainment with cinema, concerts, a nightclub and regular events.

Winsviertel

The neighborhood Winsviertel between Prenzlauer Alle and Greifswalder Straße is rather quiet compared to the adjacent Kollwitzkiez and receives less tourist attention. It consists of two distinct parts: north of Heinrich-Roller-Straße, old buildings from the Wilhelminian period dominate, while the southern area towards Berlin-Mitte consist of prefabricated concrete buildings. The lifeline of the neighborhood is Winsstraße.

Bötzowviertel around Arnswalder Platz

The Bötzowviertel neighborhood around Arnswalder Platz survived the Second World War largely unscathed, but increasingly fell into decay during GDR times. After the German reunification, the neighborhood finally saw redevelopment.

Today, numerous buildings here are listed as historical monuments, such as the Filmtheater am Friedrichshain built in 1924/25, the Kurt-Schwitters comprehensive school, the grounds of the Schneider brewery, and Arnswalder Platz. The "Prenzlauer Gärten", a residential complex with townhouses, chic apartments, penthouses and lots of greenery, was Berlin's first gated community.

Helmholtzkiez and "Göhrener Ei"

The Helmholtzkiez (also called LSD quarter after Lychener Straße, Schliemannstraße and Dunckerstraße) is one of the most densely built-up areas in Berlin. Helmholtzplatz itself is a rectangular, heavily overgrown square with several children's playgrounds and a neighborhood meeting place. It has the character of a park and is located a few meters above the level of the surrounding residential streets.

This neighborhood is also very popular for going out. There are numerous cafés, pubs, restaurants, and small stores. Worth seeing is the "Göhrener Ei", a listed building ensemble in the southeastern part of the neighborhood. It got its name from the elongated semicircular shape in which the houses are arranged.