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Friedenau () is a locality (''Ortsteil'') within the
borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, 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 ...
(''Bezirk'') of
Tempelhof-Schöneberg Tempelhof-Schöneberg () is the seventh borough of Berlin, formed in 2001 by merging the former boroughs of Tempelhof and Schöneberg. Situated in the south of the city it shares borders with the boroughs of Mitte and Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg in ...
in Berlin, Germany. Relatively small by area, its population density was the highest in the city.


Geography

Friedenau is part of the southwestern suburbs, right at the border with the inner city
Schöneberg Schöneberg () is a locality of Berlin, Germany. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a separate borough including the locality of Friedenau. Together with the former borough of Tempelhof it is now part of the new borough of Te ...
district, separated by the Berlin Ringbahn and the BAB 100 motorway (''Stadtring''). It borders the
Wilmersdorf Wilmersdorf () is an inner-city locality of Berlin which lies south-west of the central city. Formerly a borough by itself, Wilmersdorf became part of the new Boroughs of Berlin, borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf following Berlin's 2001 admin ...
locality to the west and
Steglitz Steglitz () is a boroughs and localities of Berlin, locality of the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough in Southwestern Berlin, the capital of Germany. is derived from the Slavic languages, Slavic name for the European goldfinch, similar to the German . ...
to the south. The streets and squares are laid out according to a geometric
urban design Urban design is an approach to the design of buildings and the spaces between them that focuses on specific design processes and outcomes based on geographical location. In addition to designing and shaping the physical features of towns, city, ...
with an almost complete assembly of ''
Gründerzeit The (; ) was a period of Economic history of Europe (1000 AD–present), European economic history in mid- and late-19th century German Empire, Germany and Austria-Hungary between Industrialization in Germany, industrialization and the great P ...
'' buildings, which survived the
bombing of Berlin in World War II Berlin, the capital of Germany, was subject to 363 air raids during the Second World War. It was bombed by the RAF Bomber Command between 1940 and 1945, the United States Army Air Forces' Eighth Air Force between 1943 and 1945, and the French ...
.


Urban planning

The characteristic feature of Friedenau its Carstenn layout, named after urban developer Johann Anton Wilhelm von Carsten. This symmetrical layout consists of an avenue dividing a circular road, which is demarcated by four
town square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...
s. Some streets in Friedenau were named after rivers in Alsace-Lorraine to commemorate the annexation of this region into the
German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
. The majority of Friedenau's buildings date to the early 20th century. Therefore, the architectural styles are almost uniform. 185 buildings are protected as cultural heritage sites. More recent development does not necessarily match the surrounding cityscape, since the reconstruction efforts after
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, especially in the earlier years, gave little consideration to the preservation of architectural uniformity.


History

In 1871 it was founded as an affluent
commuter town A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
on the estates of the former Deutsch-
Wilmersdorf Wilmersdorf () is an inner-city locality of Berlin which lies south-west of the central city. Formerly a borough by itself, Wilmersdorf became part of the new Boroughs of Berlin, borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf following Berlin's 2001 admin ...
manor. The German name ''Friedenau'', referring to ''Frieden'' (peace) and the suffix ''-au'' meaning
floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river. Floodplains stretch from the banks of a river channel to the base of the enclosing valley, and experience flooding during periods of high Discharge (hydrolog ...
s (hence "floodplain of peace"), was proposed by Hedwig Hähnel, wife of the architect Hermann Hähnel, in memory of the 1871 Peace of Frankfurt, which ended the
Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
. It was adopted by Mr. Hähnel, then the director of the ''Landerwerb- und Bauverein auf Actien'' (inc.), which developed the real estate in the area. When in 1874 the area constituted as an independent municipality within the
Province of Brandenburg The Province of Brandenburg () was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1947. Brandenburg was established in 1815 from the Kingdom of Prussia's core territory, comprised the bulk of the historic Margraviate of Brandenburg (excluding Altmark) and ...
, the denotation had already been established and became the official municipal name. Friedenau opened its own non-denominational municipal cemetery, today's Städtischer Friedhof III, which soon grew too small. So in 1909 Friedenau bought a tract of land in Güterfelde (today a component of Stahnsdorf) as additional graveyard, with the first burial taking place in 1913. Friedenau's municipal construction councillor Hans Altmann designed for the cemetery a mourning chapel, an office, a gardener's house, a flower shop, benches and a fountain as well as a net of paths replicating the streets net in Friedenau. Since June 1913 the cemetery was accessible via the so-called cemetery train line ending at ''Stahnsdorf station''. Friedenau joined with the town of
Schöneberg Schöneberg () is a locality of Berlin, Germany. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a separate borough including the locality of Friedenau. Together with the former borough of Tempelhof it is now part of the new borough of Te ...
in 1920 – under the latter's name – as the former 11th administrative borough of Greater Berlin. In the short time from 29 April to 30 June 1945, when the
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
occupied all Berlin, it was a borough in its own right, until it was reunified with Schöneberg as one borough within the American Sector of
West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...
. The Güterfelde cemetery, since 1920 called ''Forest Cemetery of Schöneberg'' was operated since 1935 by Berlin's Borough of Wilmersdorf, called ''Wilmersdorf Forest Cemetery Güterfelde'' (). After 1945 the cemetery happened to be in the Soviet Zone of Occupation and later in the
German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
(East Germany), thus with the increasing Eastern interdiction of West Berlin the cemetery grew inaccessible for the Friedenauers. On 5 April 1986 a bomb exploded at the La Belle discothèque in a former cinema on Hauptstraße 78, killing a Turkish woman and two U.S. servicemen and injuring numerous people. A plaque marks the site.


Notable people

Friedenau has always been home to creative artists, especially of authors. Prominent residents include: *
Max Bruch Max Bruch (6 January 1838 – 2 October 1920) was a German Romantic Music, Romantic composer, violinist, teacher, and conductor who wrote more than 200 works, including three violin concertos, the first of which has become a staple of the violin ...
, composer, Albestraße 3, *
Hans Magnus Enzensberger Hans Magnus Enzensberger (11 November 1929 – 24 November 2022) was a German author, poet, translator, and editor. He also wrote under the pseudonyms Andreas Thalmayr, Elisabeth Ambras, Linda Quilt and Giorgio Pellizzi. Enzensberger was regarde ...
, poet and writer, Fregestraße 19, *
Max Frisch Max Rudolf Frisch (; 15 May 1911 – 4 April 1991) was a Swiss playwright and novelist. Frisch's works focused on problems of identity (social science), identity, individuality, Moral responsibility, responsibility, morality, and political commi ...
, architect and writer, Sarrazinstraße 8, *
Günter Grass Günter Wilhelm Grass (; 16 October 1927 – 13 April 2015) was a German novelist, poet, playwright, illustrator, graphic artist, sculptor, and recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was born in the Free City of Danzig (now Gda ...
, writer,
Nobel laureate in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in th ...
, Niedstraße 13, * Georg Hermann, writer, Bundesallee 68 and 108 (at that time ''Kaiserallee'') and Stubenrauchstraße 5, *
Theodor Heuss Theodor Heuss (; 31 January 1884 – 12 December 1963) was a German liberal politician who served as the first president of West Germany from 1949 to 1959. His civil demeanour and his cordial nature – something of a contrast to German nati ...
, the later President of Germany, Fregestraße 80, * Kurt Hiller, writer, Hähnelstraße 9, *
Hannah Höch Hannah Höch (; 1 November 1889 – 31 May 1978) was a German Dada artist. She is best known for her work of the Weimar Republic, Weimar period, when she was one of the originators of photomontage. Photomontage, or fotomontage, is a type of collag ...
, artist, Büsingstraße 16, * Uwe Johnson, writer, Niedstraße 14 and Stierstraße 3, *
Erich Kästner Emil Erich Kästner (; 23 February 1899 – 29 July 1974) was a German writer, poet, screenwriter and satirist, known primarily for his humorous, socially astute poems and for children's books including ''Emil and the Detectives'' and '' Lisa an ...
, writer Niedstraße 5 (with his secretary Elfriede Mechnig), *
Karl Kautsky Karl Johann Kautsky (; ; 16 October 1854 – 17 October 1938) was a Czech-Austrian Marxism, Marxist theorist. A leading theorist of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the Second International, Kautsky advocated orthodox Marxism, a ...
, politician, Saarstraße 14, * Heinrich Klemme, film studio founder and director (The Pamir, 1959) * Adam Kuckhoff, writer, resistance fighter, Wilhelmshöher Straße 18, * Friedrich Luft, drama critic, Bundesallee 74, *
Rosa Luxemburg Rosa Luxemburg ( ; ; ; born Rozalia Luksenburg; 5 March 1871 – 15 January 1919) was a Polish and naturalised-German revolutionary and Marxist theorist. She was a key figure of the socialist movements in Poland and Germany in the early 20t ...
, philosopher and economist, Cranachstraße 58, *
Herta Müller Herta Müller (; born 17 August 1953) is a Romanian-German novelist, poet, essayist and recipient of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature. She was born in Nițchidorf (; ), Timiș County in Romania; her native languages are German and Romanian. Si ...
, writer,
Nobel laureate in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in th ...
, Menzelstraße 2, * Bernd Pohlenz, cartoonist, Rotdornstraße,Interview - Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung March 1990. *
Rainer Maria Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was an Austrian poet and novelist. Acclaimed as an Idiosyncrasy, idiosyncratic and expressive poet, he is widely recognized as ...
, lyric poet, Rheingaustraße 8, * Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, painter, Niedstraße 14 and Stierstraße 3, * Walter Trier, drawer and illustrator, Elsastraße 2, *
Kurt Tucholsky Kurt Tucholsky (; 9 January 1890 – 21 December 1935) was a German journalist, satire, satirist, and writer. He also wrote under the pseudonyms Kaspar Hauser (after the Kaspar Hauser, historical figure), Peter Panter, Theobald Tiger and Ignaz Wr ...
, satirist and writer, Bundesallee 79 (former ''Kaiserallee'').


Transport

Friedenau has access to the
Berlin U-Bahn The Berlin U-Bahn (; short for , "underground railway") is a rapid transit system in Berlin, the capital and largest city of Germany, and a major part of the city's public transport system. Together with the Berlin S-Bahn, S-Bahn, a network of ...
network at Innsbrucker Platz station ( U4) as well as at
Bundesplatz The Bundesplatz (literally: the "Federal Square") is the Government Plaza in Bern, the ''de facto'' capital city of Switzerland. It is situated in the Old City of Bern, the medieval city center of Bern. It is part of the Innere Neustadt which ...
, Friedrich-Wilhelm-Platz and Walther-Schreiber-Platz ( U9).
S-Bahn The S-Bahn ( , ), , is a hybrid urban rail, urban–suburban rail system serving a metropolitan region predominantly in German language, German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit syst ...
service is available at the Bundesplatz and Innsbrucker Platz stations of the '' Ringbahn''. The nearby Friedenau station of the S1 line is actually situated in neighbouring
Schöneberg Schöneberg () is a locality of Berlin, Germany. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a separate borough including the locality of Friedenau. Together with the former borough of Tempelhof it is now part of the new borough of Te ...
. The locality can also be reached via Bundesautobahn 100 (''Stadtring'') at ''Wexstraße'' and ''Innsbrucker Platz'' junctions and by Bundesautobahn 103 (''Westtangente''), also
Bundesstraße 1 The Bundesstraße 1 (abbr. B1) is a German federal highway running in an east-west direction from the Dutch border near Aachen to the Polish border at Küstrin-Kietz on the Oder River. History The road developed from an ancient east-wester ...
, at ''Saarstraße''.


See also

* Städtischer Friedhof III


References

{{Authority control Localities of Berlin *