Rote Insel (literally, ''Red Island'') is the name colloquially given to a

neighborhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neigh ...

in the

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 of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

capital,

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. As such, the neighborhood is part of Berlin's 7th administrative

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 ...

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 ...

Overview

On the Berlin city map, the

is located within a distinctive triangle bordered by railway lines in the southwestern corner of the

city center A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms that exist in ...

. The large trenches dug to accommodate the tracks for trains and light-rail make crossing one of the many bridges that span the tracks, and that form the area into an "island", the only ways to access this part of Schöneberg. Its comparative isolation from the adjoining parts of Berlin is why the area is considered insular. Its peculiar history is indicative of the sharp contrasts with which modern

German history The concept of Germany as a distinct region in Central Europe can be traced to Julius Caesar, who referred to the unconquered area east of the Rhine as ''Germania'', thus distinguishing it from Gaul. The victory of the Cherusci, Germanic tribes ...

since 1871 abounds. Up until the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, roughly half of the Island's territory was marked by its extensive use by the

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n army, whereas the other half was a distinctively working-class residential district, dominated by voters of left-wing parties (hence the "red"). As the Island survived the allied air raids during

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 ...

virtually intact, it has managed to maintain much of its distinctive flavor. The neighborhood is populated by residents from varied ethnic backgrounds, with an unobtrusive Bohème charm, but lacking the mannerisms typical of the "hipper" quarters of post- reunification Berlin. The best known person from the neighborhood is

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however, Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

, who was born in ''Leberstrasse 65'' (then called ''Sedanstrasse'') on December 27, 1901. The actress and singer

Hildegard Knef Hildegard Frieda Albertine Knef (; 28 December 19251 February 2002) was a German actress, singer, and writer. She was billed in some English-language films as Hildegard Neff or Hildegarde Neff. Early years Hildegard Knef was born in Ulm in 19 ...

, lived in the same street where Dietrich was born, in Leberstrasse 33. Both women are very much a part of the local folklore of the island. Alfred Lion, the co-founder of the American

Blue Note Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue no ...

jazz record label, was also born in the neighborhood. Rote Insel Schoeneberg.jpg, View over Rote Insel Gasometer Berlin Schöneberg 2011.jpg , Landmark and industrial monument: a

gasometer A gas holder or gasholder, also known as a gasometer, is a large container in which natural gas or town gas (coal gas or formerly also water gas) is natural gas storage, stored near atmospheric pressure at room temperature, ambient temperatures. ...

Gotenstraße7.JPG , Birthplace of Alfred Lion Marlene Dietrich Birth House Panorama 2012-07-28 small.tiff , Birthplace of Marlene Dietrich Berlin_Cheruskerpark-design_plan-2.svg , Extension of the "Cherusker Park" at the south end of Rote Insel.

External links

* {{coord, 52, 29, 02, N, 13, 21, 44, E, region:DE-BE_type:city(13000), display=title Zones of Berlin Tempelhof-Schöneberg