(''German'': "Barn Quarter") is a neighborhood of Mitte in the centre of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. It is situated to the north of the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

Altberlin area, east of the ''Rosenthaler Straße'' and '' Hackescher Markt''. Until the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

it was regarded as a slum district and had a substantial Jewish population with a high proportion of migrants from Eastern Europe.

History

The name derives from several barns erected here outside the city walls in 1672 by order of Elector Frederick William of Brandenburg. The barns were used to store hay for use at a large cattle market at nearby Alexanderplatz. In 1737

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Frederick William I of Prussia required Berlin Jews to settle here. Prior to World War I, the Berlin

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

(''Magistrat'') redeveloped parts of the area. Since then the core of the neighborhood is the triangular

Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, formerly the Bülowplatz, is a square in Berlin-Mitte, Germany. History The square is dominated by the Volksbühne and by the Karl-Liebknecht-Haus, the headquarters of the German Left Party. The party's predecessor, the ...

, former ''Bülowplatz'', where on 9 August 1931 the Communist and later Stasi Executive

Erich Mielke Erich Fritz Emil Mielke (; 28 December 1907 – 21 May 2000) was a German communist official who served as head of the East German Ministry for State Security (''Ministerium für Staatsicherheit'' – MfS), better known as the Stasi, from 1957 u ...

shot two police officers. Mielke fled to Moscow shortly afterwards and did not face trial for the murders until 1992. Since German reunification the Scheunenviertel, together with the neighbouring

Spandauer Vorstadt Spandauer Vorstadt ("Spandauer suburb", formerly also called Spandauer Quarter or Spandauer Viertel) is a historic district in what is now the Mitte district of Berlin. Geography The Spandauer neighborhood is bordered in the south by the Spr ...

, has become a fashionable district popular with younger people. Note that Scheunenviertel is often mistakenly used as a synonym for Berlin's Jewish quarter. Jewish cultural and commercial life was, however, centered on the neighboring

, where the New Synagogue and other Jewish establishments are located. The Nazis had applied the term ''Scheunenviertel'' to both of the neighborhoods in order to damage the Jewish neighborhood of Spandauer Vorstadt's reputation.

Sights

Volksbühne The Volksbühne ("People's Theatre") is a theater in Berlin. Located in Berlin's city center Mitte on Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz (Rosa Luxemburg Square) in what was the GDR's capital. It has been called Berlin's most iconic theatre. About The Vol ...

theatre at Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz by

Oskar Kaufmann Oskar Kaufmann (2 February 1873 – 8 September 1956) was a Hungarian architect. He was an expert in construction and design and was active in Berlin beginning in 1900. Among his best-known works are the Krolloper, the Hebbel Theater and the , ...

and

Franz Metzner Franz Metzner (18 November 1870, Wscherau, near Plzeň – 24 March 1919, Berlin) was an influential German sculptor, particularly his sculptural figures integrated into the architecture of Central European public buildings in the Art Nouveau / ...

, 1914 * Karl-Liebknecht-Haus, 1912, former seat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Germany (''Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands''), now headquarters of The Left party (''Die Linke'') * "Babylon" Cinema by

Hans Poelzig Hans Poelzig (30 April 1869 – 14 June 1936) was a German architect, painter and set designer. Life Poelzig was born in Berlin in 1869 to Countess Clara Henrietta Maria Poelzig while she was married to George Acland Ames, an Englishman. Uncerta ...

, 1929, a location of the annual

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...

* Old Garrison Cemetery (''Alter Garnisonsfriedhof''), dedicated about 1706, burial site of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Ludwig Adolf Wilhelm von Lützow (1782–1834), writer

Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué Friedrich Heinrich Karl de la Motte, Baron Fouqué (); (12 February 1777 – 23 January 1843) was a German writer of the Romantic style. Biography He was born at Brandenburg an der Havel, of a family of French Huguenot origin, as evidenced in ...

(1777–1843), field marshal Karl Friedrich von dem Knesebeck (1768–1848) and theologian

Emil Frommel Emil Frommel (1828–1896) was a German pastor and author, born at Karlsruhe. He studied at Halle upon Saale, Erlangen, and Heidelberg, held several pastorates, served as army chaplain in the Franco-German War of 1870–1871 and in 1872 was appoin ...

(1828–96). * Museum of Otto Weidt's Workshop. Located in the workshop of Otto Weidt, who, as owner of the workshop, employed deaf and blind Jews during World War II. His employees were protected from deportation thanks to him. He provided them with forged IDs and hid Jewish families in his studio. The atelier, where historical documents and letters are on display, is open to visitors.

References

{{Authority control Zones of Berlin History of Berlin Mitte Historic Jewish communities Jews and Judaism in Berlin

History

Sights

See also

References