Spandau () is the westernmost of the 12

boroughs 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 A ...

() of

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 ...

, situated at the confluence of the Havel and

Spree Spree may refer to: Geography * Spree (river), river in Germany Film and television * '' The Spree'', a 1998 American television film directed by Tommy Lee Wallace * ''Spree'' (film), a 2020 American film starring Joe Keery * "Spree" (''Numbers ...

rivers and extending along the western bank of the Havel. It is the smallest borough by population, but the fourth largest by land area.

Overview

Modern industries in Spandau include metalworking, and chemical and electrical factories. BMW Motorrad's Spandau factory made all BMW's motorcycles from 1969 until final assembly plants were added in Rayong, Thailand in 2000, and Manaus, Brazil in 2016. , Spandau's seat of government, was built in 1913. Other landmarks include the Renaissance-era Spandau Citadel, the 1848 St. Marien am Behnitz Catholic church designed by

August Soller Johann August Karl Soller (14 March 1805 – 6 November 1853) was a Prussian, and later, German architect.

, and Spandau arsenal. That arsenal's

Spandau machine gun The ''Maschinengewehr'' 08, or MG 08, was the German Army's standard machine gun in World War I and is an adaptation of Hiram S. Maxim's original 1884 Maxim gun. It was produced in a number of variants during the war. The MG 08 served during W ...

inspired the slang ''Spandau Ballet'' to describe dying soldiers on barbed wire during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, and later was applied to the appearance of Nazi war criminals at Spandau Prison. In 1979, the English New Romantic band Spandau Ballet again re-purposed the term for its name.

History

The history of Spandau begins in the 7th century or 8th century, when the Slav

Heveller The Hevelli or Hevellians/ Navellasîni (sometimes ''Havolane''; german: Heveller or ''Stodoranen''; pl, Hawelanie or ''Stodoranie''; cs, Havolané or ''Stodorané'') were a tribe of the Polabian Slavs, who settled around the middle Havel river ...

first settled in the area and later built a fortress there. It was conquered in 928 by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

King

Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the N ...

, but returned to Slavic rule after the rebellion of 983. In 1156, the

Ascanian The House of Ascania (german: Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ''Schlos ...

Earl Albrecht von Ballenstedt ("Albrecht the Bear") took possession of the region. 1197 marked the first mention as ''Spandowe'' in a deed of Otto II, Margrave of Brandenburg – thus forty years earlier than the

Cölln Cölln () was the twin city of Old Berlin ( Altberlin) from the 13th century to the 18th century. Cölln was located on the Fisher Island section of Spree Island, opposite Altberlin on the western bank of the River Spree, until the cities ...

part of

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 a ...

Berlin. Spandau was given city rights in 1232. During Ascanian rule the construction of Spandau Citadel began, which was completed between 1559 and 1594 by Joachim II of Brandenburg. In 1558 the village of Gatow became part of Spandau. In 1634, during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of batt ...

, Spandau was surrendered to the

Swedes Swedes ( sv, svenskar) are a North Germanic ethnic group native to the Nordic region, primarily their nation state of Sweden, who share a common ancestry, culture, history and language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countr ...

. In 1806, after the Battle of Jena and Auerstedt,

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

troops under

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

took possession of the city and stayed there until 1807. In 1812, Napoleon returned, and the Citadel was besieged the following year by

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

n and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

n troops. From 1849 the poet and revolutionary

Gottfried Kinkel Johann Gottfried Kinkel (11 August 1815 – 13 November 1882) was a German poet also noted for his revolutionary activities and his escape from a Prussian prison in Spandau with the help of his friend Carl Schurz. Early life He was born at Ober ...

was an inmate of Spandau town prison, until he was freed by his friend

Carl Schurz Carl Schurz (; March 2, 1829 – May 14, 1906) was a German revolutionary and an American statesman, journalist, and reformer. He immigrated to the United States after the German revolutions of 1848–1849 and became a prominent member of the new ...

in the night of 6 November

1850 Events January–June * April ** Pope Pius IX returns from exile to Rome. ** Stephen Foster's parlor ballad " Ah! May the Red Rose Live Alway" is published in the United States. * April 4 – Los Angeles is incorporated as a city ...

. Before

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Spandau was a seat of large government cannon foundries, factories for making gunpowder and other munitions of war, making it a centre of the arms industry in the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

. It was also a garrison town with numerous barracks, home of the 5th Guard Infantry Brigade and the 5th Guard Foot Regiment of the German Army. In 1920, Spandau (whose name had been changed from ''Spandow'' in 1878) was incorporated into Greater Berlin as a borough. After

World War II 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, it was part of the

British sector British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

of West Berlin. Spandau Prison, which had been rebuilt in 1876, was used to house

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

war criminals given custodial sentences at the Nuremberg Trials. After the death of Spandau Prison's last inmate, Rudolf Hess, in 1987, it was completely demolished by the Allied powers and later replaced by a

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually Anchor tenant, anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant pedestrian zone, a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that ...

. Gatow airfield, in the south of the district, was used by the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

during the post-war Allied occupation, most notably during the

Berlin Airlift The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, ro ...

. Since 1995 the airfield has been the Gatow Museum of Military History.

Geography

Outside Berlin, Spandau borders the districts () of

Oberhavel Oberhavel is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the northern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Its neighbouring districts are (clockwise from the north): Mecklenburg-Strelitz in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the districts of Uckermark and Barnim, the ''Bund ...

to the north, and

Havelland Geographically, the Havelland is the region around which the River Havel flows in a U-shape between Oranienburg to the northeast and Rhinow to the northwest. The northern boundary of the Havelland is formed by the River Rhin and the Rhin Canal. ...

to the west, and the city of Potsdam,

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 squ ...

, to the southwest. Within Berlin, it borders the boroughs of Steglitz-Zehlendorf to the south,

Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf () is the fourth borough of Berlin, formed in an administrative reform with effect from 1 January 2001, by merging the former boroughs of Charlottenburg and Wilmersdorf. Overview Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf covers the ...

to the east, and Reinickendorf to the northeast. Its land area of is the fourth-largest of the twelve boroughs.

Subdivisions

Spandau Borough is divided into nine quarters (): * Spandau * Haselhorst * Siemensstadt * Staaken * Gatow *

Kladow Kladow () is the southernmost district of the Borough of Spandau in Berlin, Germany. Geography Located approximately 17 Km from central Berlin (Charlottenburg), the district of Kladow is bordered by the District of Gatow to the north, by the Have ...

* Hakenfelde * Falkenhagener Feld * Wilhelmstadt

Demographics

As of 2010, Spandau had a population of 223,962, the smallest of the twelve boroughs of Berlin. 62,000 of those were migrants or other non-ethnic Germans, comprising 27% of Spandau's population.

Politics

District council

The governing body of Spandau 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,

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, Carola Brückner , 31,250 , 27.7 , 5.5 , 17 , 3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) , align=left, Frank Bewig , 30,714 , 27.2 , 1.5 , 16 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) , align=left, Elmas Wieczorek-Hahn , 13,460 , 11.9 , 4.3 , 7 , 3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Alternative for Germany (AfD) , align=left, Andreas Otti , 11,516 , 10.2 , 5.8 , 6 , 3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Free Democratic Party (FDP) , align=left, Matthias Unger , 8,464 , 7.5 , 1.1 , 4 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, The Left (LINKE) , align=left, Lars Leschewitz , 6,104 , 5.4 , 0.2 , 3 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Tierschutzpartei , align=left, Aida Spiegeler Castañeda , 5,063 , 4.5 , New , 2 , New , - , colspan=8 bgcolor=lightgrey, , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Die PARTEI , align=left, , 2,235 , 2.0 , 0.4 , 0 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, dieBasis , align=left, , 1,743 , 1.5 , New , 0 , New , - , , align=left, We are Berlin , align=left, , 1,222 , 1.1 , New , 0 , New , - , , align=left, Voter Initiative Social Spandau , align=left, , 677 , 0.6 , 0.8 , 0 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Ecological Democratic Party , align=left, , 296 , 0.3 , New , 0 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Liberal Conservative Reformers , align=left, , 138 , 0.1 , New , 0 , New , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 112,882 ! 98.6 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 1,577 ! 1.4 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 114,459 ! 100.0 ! ! 55 ! ±0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 177,874 ! 64.3 ! 5.0 ! ! , - , 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. Carola Brückner of the SPD was elected mayor on 4 November 2021. Since the 2021 municipal elections, the composition of the district government is as follows:

Sports

The

Wasserfreunde Spandau 04 The Wasserfreunde Spandau 04 is a swimming club in Spandau, Berlin, Germany. The club is known for the water polo team, which has won a record number of German championships with 37, as well as German Cups (31) and Super Cups (17). In Europea ...

have traditionally been an immensely powerful water polo team. They have been the most successful ball sports team in Europe with 85 national and international titles. Hagen Stamm, longtime captain of the team, was German champion fourteen times in a row from 1979 to 1992, and winner of the German cup twelve times and won the European Cup in 1982, 1985, 1986 and 1989. He is currently the president of the association (as of 2020). The team's home games do not take place in the district, but in the Sportzentrum Schöneberg. For 2027, the team plans to move to the then newly constructed arena in Spandau. In 1939, LSV Spandau won the title of the first

German basketball championship The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) ( English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the highest level league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL seas ...

, which was won by a clear 47:16 victory over

Bad Kreuznach Bad Kreuznach () is a town in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a spa town, most well known for its medieval bridge dating from around 1300, the Alte Nahebrücke, which is one of the few remaining bridges in t ...

. After 1945, the association was dissolved.

Notable people

Bela B. Dirk Albert Felsenheimer (born 14 December 1962),''Die Ärzte. Ein überdimensionales Meerschwein frisst die Erde auf'', p. 80 better known under his stage name Bela B (formerly Bela B.), is a German musician, songwriter, actor and author, b ...

(born 1962), musician * Hans Berndt (1913–1988), football player * Helmut Bonnet (1910–1944), athlete * Käthe Heinemann (1891–1975), pianist *

Robert Hoyzer In early 2005, German football was overshadowed by the discovery of a €2 million match fixing scandal centered on second division referee Robert Hoyzer, who confessed to fixing and betting on matches in the 2. Bundesliga, the DFB-Pokal (German ...

(born 1979), football referee * Käthe Itter (1907–1992), actress * Paul Kellner (1890–1972), swimmer *

Henning Alexander von Kleist Henning Alexander von Kleist (1676/77–1749) was an 18th-century Prussian field marshal. He fought in the War of Spanish Succession, the Great Northern War, and in the Wars of Austrian Succession. In particular, his actions at the Battle of Mo ...

(1707–1784), Governor of Spandau citadel, died there *

Rosa Lindemann Rosa Lindemann (née Liesegang, 21 February 1876 – 13 June 1958) was a German communist and member of the German resistance to Nazism. She was born in Spandau, her family moved to Moabit when she was a child. She married Karl Lindemann in 1895, ...

(1876–1958), communist *

Arthur Löwenstamm Arthur Löwenstamm (also spelt Loewenstamm) (20 December 1882– 22 April 1965) was a Jewish theologian, writer and rabbi in Berlin and in London, where he came in 1939 as a refugee from Nazi Germany. He was the last rabbi of the Jewish ...

(1882–1965),

Spandau Synagogue Spandau Synagogue ("Synagoge Spandau") was a synagogue at 12 Lindenufer in the Old Town area of Spandau, Berlin, Germany. It was also known as Spandauer Vereinssynagoge (i.e. Spandau private synagogue). The synagogue was built in 1894–95 and ...

's first and only rabbi from 1917 to 1938 * Moriz von Lyncker (1853–1932), Prussian officer and Chief of the Military Cabinet of Kaiser Wilhelm II *

Christian Friedrich Neue Christian Friedrich Neue (19 December 1799, Spandau – 14 July 1886, Stuttgart) was a German classical philologist. He obtained his education in Berlin as a student of philologist August Boeckh. Beginning in 1820, he taught classes at Sch ...

(1789–1886), philologist * Oliver Petszokat (born 1978), better known by his stage name Oli.P, singer, actor and TV presenter * Hans von Plessen (1841–1929), Prussian Colonel-General * Ivan Rebroff (1931–2008), singer *

Erna Sack Erna Dorothea Luise Sack (née Weber; 6 February 18982 March 1972) was a German coloratura soprano, known as the German Nightingale for her high vocal range. Biography Erna Weber was born in Spandau, Berlin. As a child, her voice attracted attenti ...

(1898–1972), coloratura soprano, known as the German Nightingale for her high vocal range. *

Sıla Şahin Sıla Şahin-Radlinger (née Şahin, born 3 December 1985) is a German actress, best known for her portrayal of Ayla Özgül in the German soap opera ''Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten''. German ''Playboy'' Şahin-Radlinger posed nude for the G ...

(born 1985), actress *

Richard Schulze-Kossens Richard Schulze-Kossens (2 October 1914 – 3 July 1988, born "Richard Schulze") was a Nazi Party member and SS commander during the Nazi era. Before and during World War II, he served as a personal adjutant to foreign minister Joachim von Ribb ...

(1914–1988), SS commander during the Nazi era * Franz Hermann Troschel (1810–1882), zoologist *

Carl Albert Weber Carl Albert Weber (13 January 1856, Spandau – 11 September 1931, Bremen) was a German botanist. He specialized in studies of original bog vegetation, the botanical composition of peat and on the developmental history of peatlands. Biography ...

(1856–1931), botanist *

Kai Wegner Kai Wegner (born 15 September 1972) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who served as a member of the Bundestag, the German federal parliament, from 2005 to 2021. In 2019, he became the chairman of the CDU in Berlin. ...

(born 1972), politician of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU)

Twin towns – sister cities

Spandau is twinned with: * Ashdod, Israel (1968) * Asnières-sur-Seine, France (1959) * İznik, Turkey (1987) *

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...

, United Kingdom (1959) * Nauen, Germany (1988) * Siegen, Germany (1952) * Siegen-Wittgenstein, Germany (1952)

References

External links

Official homepage

Official homepage of Berlin

"Unterwegs in Spandau": Sehenswürdigkeiten, News, Veranstaltungshinweise und Berichte aus Spandau
{{Authority control Districts of Berlin Former boroughs of Berlin