Lichtenberg () is the eleventh

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. In Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it absorbed the former borough of Hohenschönhausen.

Overview

The district contains the

Tierpark Berlin The Tierpark Berlin is one of two zoos located in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in 1955 and is located in Friedrichsfelde on the former grounds of Friedrichsfelde Palace, which is situated within the zoo. , the zoo houses 7,250 animals from ...

in Friedrichsfelde, the larger of Berlin's two zoological gardens. During the period of Berlin's partition between West and East, Lichtenberg was the location of the headquarters of the

Stasi The Ministry for State Security, commonly known as the (),An abbreviation of . was the state security service of the East Germany from 1950 to 1990. The Stasi's function was similar to the KGB, serving as a means of maintaining state autho ...

, the

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

state security service. Prior to the establishment of the GDR it housed the main office of the Soviet Military Administration in Berlin, and before that it was an officers' mess of the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

. The complex is now the location of the Stasi Museum. The

Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial The Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial (german: Gedenkstätte Berlin-Hohenschönhausen) is a museum and memorial located in Berlin's north-eastern Lichtenberg district in the locality of Alt-Hohenschönhausen, part of the former borough of Hoh ...

is on the site of the main remand prison of the Stasi. Additionally, Lichtenberg is the location of the

German-Russian Museum The Museum Berlin-Karlshorst, previously named ''German-Russian Museum Berlin-Karlshorst'' (Deutsch-Russisches Museum Berlin-Karlshorst) is dedicated to German-Soviet and German-Russian relations with a focus on the German-Soviet war of 1941– ...

, the historical venue of the unconditional surrender of the German armed forces (Wehrmacht) on 8 May 1945.

Subdivision

Lichtenberg is divided into 10 localities:

History

The historic village of Lichtenberg together with neighbouring Friedrichsfelde,

Karlshorst Karlshorst (, ; ; literally meaning ''Karl's nest'') is a locality in the borough of Lichtenberg in Berlin. Located there are a harness racing track and the Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin (''HTW''), the largest University of Ap ...

, Marzahn, Biesdorf, Hellersdorf, Kaulsdorf and Mahlsdorf was incorporated as the 17th borough of Berlin by the 1920

Greater Berlin Act The Greater Berlin Act (german: Groß-Berlin-Gesetz), officially Law Regarding the Creation of the New Municipality of Berlin (german: Gesetz über die Bildung einer neuen Stadtgemeinde Berlin), was a law passed by the Prussian state government i ...

. In the 1970s, the

government had large pre-fabricated high-rise

housing estate A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex or housing development) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Popular throughout the United States ...

s ('' Plattenbau'') built in the east of the Lichtenberg borough. This area was separated off and became the new borough of Marzahn, which included Biesdorf, Hellersdorf, Kaulsdorf and Mahlsdorf in 1979. In 1986, this district in turn was split into the two boroughs of Marzahn and Hellersdorf in 1986, and again merged as Marzahn-Hellersdorf by the 2001 administrative reform.

Politics

District council

The governing body of Lichtenberg is the district council (''Bezirksverordnetenversammlung''). It has responsibility for passing laws and electing the city government, including the mayor. The most recent district council election was held on 26 September 2021, and the results were as follows: ! colspan=2, Party ! Lead candidate ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, The Left (LINKE) , align=left, Michael Grunst , 36,283 , 24.8 , 5.0 , 15 , 3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

(SPD) , align=left, Jutta Feige , 28,739 , 19.6 , 2.0 , 12 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) , align=left, Martin Schaefer , 19,224 , 13.1 , 0.5 , 8 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Alliance 90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (german: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, ), often simply referred to as the Greens ( ), is a green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 as the merger of The Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (for ...

(Grüne) , align=left, Daniela Ehlers , 19,057 , 13.0 , 4.8 , 8 , 3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (german: link=no, Alternative für Deutschland, AfD; ) is a right-wing populist * * * * * * * political party in Germany. AfD is known for its opposition to the European Union, as well as immigration to Germany. ...

(AfD) , align=left, Karsten Woldeit , 17,528 , 12.0 , 7.2 , 7 , 5 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Free Democratic Party (FDP) , align=left, Rico Apitz , 8,009 , 5.5 , 2.5 , 3 , 3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Tierschutzpartei , align=left, Katja Michel , 6,528 , 4.5 , New , 2 , New , - , colspan=8 bgcolor=lightgrey, , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Die PARTEI , align=left, , 3,744 , 2.6 , New , 0 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Free Voters Free Voters (german: Freie Wähler, FW or FWG) in Germany may belong to an association of people which participates in an election without having the status of a registered political party. Usually it involves a locally organized group of voters ...

, align=left, , 3,214 , 2.2 , New , 0 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, dieBasis , align=left, , 2,179 , 1.5 , New , 0 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Pirate Party Germany , align=left, , 1,124 , 0.8 , 2.1 , 0 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, National Democratic Party , align=left, , 433 , 0.3 , 0.7 , 0 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Liberal Conservative Reformers , align=left, , 214 , 0.1 , New , 0 , New , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 146,276 ! 98.8 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 1,767 ! 1.2 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 148,043 ! 100.0 ! ! 55 ! ±0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 216,202 ! 68.5 ! 8.4 ! ! , - , colspan=8, Source
Elections Berlin

District government

The district mayor (''Bezirksbürgermeister'') is elected by the Bezirksverordnetenversammlung, and positions in the district government (''Bezirksamt'') are apportioned based on party strength. Michael Grunst of the Left was elected mayor on 16 December 2016. Since the 2021 municipal elections, the composition of the district government is as follows:

Twin towns – sister cities

Lichtenberg is twinned with: * Białołęka (Warsaw), Poland (2000) *

Hajnówka County __NOTOC__ Hajnówka County ( pl, powiat hajnowski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Podlaskie Voivodeship, north-eastern Poland, on the border with Belarus. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result ...

, Poland (2001) * Hoàn Kiếm (Hanoi), Vietnam (2015) * Jurbarkas, Lithuania (2003) *

Kaliningrad Oblast Kaliningrad Oblast (russian: Калинингра́дская о́бласть, translit=Kaliningradskaya oblast') is the westernmost federal subject of Russia. It is a semi-exclave situated on the Baltic Sea. The largest city and admin ...

, Russia (2001) * KaMubukwana (Maputo), Mozambique (1995) * Margareten (Vienna), Austria (2015)

People

Ilse Stöbe Ilse Frieda Gertrud Stöbe (17 May 1911 – 22 December 1942) was a German journalist and anti-Nazi resistance fighter. She was born and died in Berlin. Life Ilse Stöbe grew up in a working-class home in Berlin. Stöbe was the only daughter of ca ...

(1911–1942), German journalist and resistance fighter *

Hans Kempin SS-Standartenführer (Colonel) Hans Wilhelm Kempin (7 June 1913 – 30 November 1992) was a German Waffen-SS combat and training officer who served in the SS-Standarte ''Deutschland'', SS-Regiment ''Der Führer'' and later commanded the 547 ...

(1913–1992), German Waffen-SS combat and training officer *

Bommi Baumann Michael "Bommi" Baumann (August 25, 1947 – July 19, 2016) was a German author and former militant. After growing up in Berlin, he was radicalised by the police shooting of Benno Ohnesorg and founded the Movement 2 June with his best friend Geor ...

(born 1947), German construction worker, co-founder of the German organization Movement 2 June and author *

Gregor Gysi Gregor Florian Gysi (; born 16 January 1948) is a German attorney, former president of the Party of the European Left and a prominent politician of The Left (''Die Linke'') political party. He belonged to the reformist wing of the governing So ...

(born 1948), German politician (SED, The Linke) * Katja Lange-Müller (born 1951), German writer *

Gesine Lötzsch Gesine Lötzsch (; born 7 August 1961) is a German politician of the left-wing party '' Die Linke'' ("The Left"). In 2010, with Klaus Ernst, she was elected president of the party. Biography Born at Berlin-Lichtenberg in what then was East ...

(born 1961), German politician (SED, The Linke) *

Annett Fleischer Annett Fleischer (born 21 June 1979 in East Berlin) is a German presenter and actress. Fleischer was born in East Berlin growing up as an only child in the districts of Lichtenberg and Hoppegarten. After graduation from high school in 1999, sh ...

(born 1979), German actress *

Alexander Fehling Alexander Fehling (born 29 March 1981) is a German film and stage actor. He is best known for portraying Staff Sgt. Wilhelm in the 2009 Quentin Tarantino World War II film ''Inglourious Basterds'' and Jonas Hollander in the Showtime original se ...

(born 1981), German actor * Christoph Sydow (1985–2020), German journalist * Daniel Siebert (born 1984), German football referee *

Patrick Hausding Patrick Hausding (born 9 March 1989) is a German diver. At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, with his teammate Lars Rüdiger, Hausding won a bronze medal in the men's synchronized 3 metre springboard competition. However, he did not repeat ...

(born 1989), German diver

References

External links

* *
Official homepage

Official homepage of Berlin

Event- und Informationportal of Berlin Lichtenberg
{{Authority control Districts of Berlin Former boroughs of Berlin sv:Lichtenberg