Wannsee () is a locality in the southwestern Berlin borough of

Steglitz-Zehlendorf Steglitz-Zehlendorf () is the sixth Boroughs of Berlin, borough of Berlin, formed in Berlin's 2001 administrative reform by merging the former boroughs of Steglitz and Zehlendorf, Berlin, Zehlendorf. Home to the Free University of Berlin, the Be ...

, Germany. It is the westernmost locality of Berlin. In the quarter there are two lakes, the larger '' Großer Wannsee'' (Greater Wannsee) and the '' Kleiner Wannsee'' (Little Wannsee), located on the

Havel The Havel () is a river in northeastern Germany, flowing through the States of Germany, states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt. The long Havel is a right tributary of the Elbe. However, the direct distance from ...

and separated by the Wannsee Bridge. The larger of the two lakes covers an area of and has a maximum depth of . The municipality is the location of the compound where the mass extermination of Europe's Jewish population, known as the "

Final Solution The Final Solution or the Final Solution to the Jewish Question was a plan orchestrated by Nazi Germany during World War II for the genocide of individuals they defined as Jews. The "Final Solution to the Jewish question" was the official ...

", was planned and approved at the Wannsee Conference in early 1942 by the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

's highest-ranking officials, including

Reinhard Heydrich Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich ( , ; 7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a German high-ranking SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of the Holocaust. He held the rank of SS-. Many historians regard Heydrich ...

and

Adolf Eichmann Otto Adolf Eichmann ( ;"Eichmann"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; 19 March 1906 – 1 Ju ...

Geography

Overview

At the western rim of the Wannsee locality the Glienicke Bridge connects it with the city of

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

. The late neoclassical Glienicke Palace as well as the Pfaueninsel are nearby. Since 1990 these palaces and parks have formed part of the

Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin () are a group of palace complexes and extended landscaped gardens located in the Havelland region around Potsdam and the German capital of Berlin. The term was used upon the designation of the cultural ensem ...

UNESCO

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

. The locality is centred on the ancient village of Stolpe, known to exist in 1299. The locality also includes the districts of Kohlhasenbrück (named after the 1811 novella '' Michael Kohlhaas'' by Heinrich von Kleist) and

Steinstücken Steinstücken (; ), with approximately 300 residents, is a small outlying neighborhood of the Wannsee district in the Berlin borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf. From the division of Germany in 1949 until a connecting corridor was created in 1971&nda ...

, which in

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

days became famous as a tiny

exclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...

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 ...

within the GDR.

Großer and Kleiner Wannsee

Wannsee lake is a bathing and recreation spot for western Berlin. The Strandbad Wannsee, an open-air lido with one of the longest inland beaches in Europe and a nudist area, was built in 1929–1930 after a concept by architect Richard Ermisch. Situated on the eastern shore of the lake it is officially part of the Nikolassee locality.

History

Jagdschloss Glienicke von Babelsberg aus Juli 2014 - panoramio

The history of Wannsee as an attractive suburb of Berlin began when "Great Elector" Frederick William of Brandenburg ordered the construction of a hunting lodge, the Jagdschloss Glienicke. The castle remained the hunting lodge of the Hohenzollern family for generations, and was rebuilt and expanded several times. Today, the castle houses an institute for social education. In 1793, the Prussian king Frederick William II, a descendant of Frederick William, acquired the island Pfaueninsel (German: "

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

Island") in the Havel river and had the Pfaueninsel castle built for himself and his mistress Wilhelmine Enke in 1794–1797. Jagdschloss Glienicke and Pfaueninsel castle are both part of the UNESCO

. On 21 November 1811, German writer Heinrich von Kleist shot himself on the shore of the ''Kleiner Wannsee'' and, at her bidding, his lover, Henriette Vogel. A memorial marks the site. Klein-Glienicke Schloss Gartenhof nach Nordwest

Klein-Glienicke Schloss Gartenhof nach Nordwest

Glienicke Palace ( German: ''Schloss Glienicke'') was designed in

neoclassical style Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassici ...

Karl Friedrich Schinkel Karl Friedrich Schinkel (13 March 1781 – 9 October 1841) was a Prussian architect, urban planning, city planner and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed b ...

for Prince Carl of Prussia in 1826. It used to be the summer palace of the prince. Together with the Russian style ensemble ''Nikolskoe'' around the church Ss. Peter and Paul (German: St. Peter und Paul) on the top of a hill on the banks of the Havel river, it also belongs to the UNESCO

. ''Nikolskoe,'' consisting of the church, a cottage, a school and a cemetery, was established from 1813 to 1837 at the suggestion by a Russian Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, the daughter of King Frederick William III of Prussia. Her brother Prince Carl, constructor of Glienicke Palace, was buried in the church after his death. Today the church is especially popular for weddings and the cottage is housing a restaurant. The Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee, the second oldest

yacht club A yacht club is a boat club specifically related to yachting. Description Yacht clubs are mostly located by the sea, although there some that have been established at a lake or riverside locations. Yacht or sailing clubs have either a mar ...

in Germany, was established in October 1867 on a small wooden shack by River

. In 1877 it moved to its present location at the edge of the lake. In 1909,

Max Liebermann Max Liebermann (20 July 1847 – 8 February 1935) was a German painter and printmaker, and one of the leading proponents of Impressionism in Germany and continental Europe. In addition to his activity as an artist, he also assembled an important ...

, head of the Berlin Secession, had a villa built at the western shore of the Wannsee. His widow was forced to sell it to the '' Deutsche Reichspost'' in 1940. Today, the property is a museum in honor of the painter. Especially worth seeing is the garden, which was a popular Liebermann motif. Haus der Wannsee-Konferenz 02-2014

In 1928, a large

shooting range A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, venue, or field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice, or competitions. Some shooting ranges are operated by milita ...

was established in the Düppel woods near the Berlin city limits. It was the site of the shooting events of the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

. A golf course hosted the running section of the

modern pentathlon The modern pentathlon is an Summer Olympics, Olympic multisport that consists of five events: fencing (one-touch épée followed by direct elimination), freestyle swimming, obstacle course racing, Laser pistol (sport), laser pistol shooting, and ...

at the same games. 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 ...

, it was used by the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

as the "Rose Range" firing compound. In 1994, the shooting range was returned to Germany by the Allies, and is today used by the DEVA institute. On 20 January 1942, senior Nazi officials met at the Wannsee Villa (built 1914–1915) to ensure the cooperation of the major government organizations in "the organizational, logistical and material steps for a

final solution The Final Solution or the Final Solution to the Jewish Question was a plan orchestrated by Nazi Germany during World War II for the genocide of individuals they defined as Jews. The "Final Solution to the Jewish question" was the official ...

of the Jewish question in Europe" - the extermination of the Jews of Europe. The event, presided over by

and conducted by

Adolf Eichmann Otto Adolf Eichmann ( ;"Eichmann"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; 19 March 1906 – 1 Ju ...

, has since become known as the Wannsee Conference. Today, the building serves as a memorial and education centre.

Transport

Wannsee is served by the

Berlin S-Bahn The Berlin S-Bahn () is a rapid transit railway system that services the reigon in and around Berlin, the capital city of Germany. It has been in operation under the name since December 1930, having been previously called the special tariff are ...

lines S1, as terminus, and S7, at the Berlin-Wannsee railway station. It is also a stop of some long-distance trains as well as of RegionalExpress and

RegionalBahn The ''Regionalbahn'' (; lit. Regional train; abbreviated ''RB'') is a train categories in Europe, type of Regional rail, local passenger train (stopping train) in Germany. It is similar to the Regionalzug (R) and Regio (Swiss railway train), R ...

trains of

Deutsche Bahn (, ; abbreviated as DB or DB AG ) is the national railway company of Germany, and a state-owned enterprise under the control of the German government. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). DB was fou ...

and

Transdev Germany Transdev Germany is the largest private operator of passenger buses and trains in Germany. It is a subsidiary of Transdev. History In 1997, Aktiengesellschaft für Industrie und Verkehrswesen was purchased by a Veolia Transport, CGEA Group (60% ...

. Wannsee is also linked to Kladow by Berlin ferry line F10.

Education

The '' Japanische Internationale Schule zu Berlin'', a Japanese international school, is in Wannsee.Home page
'' Japanische Internationale Schule zu Berlin''. Retrieved on 2 January 2014 The American Academy in Berlin is located on Lake Wannsee.

People

* Philipp Franck, painter *

Götz George Götz George (; 23 July 1938 – 19 June 2016) was a German actor, the son of actor couple Berta Drews and Heinrich George. His arguably best-known role is that of Duisburg detective Horst Schimanski in the TV crime series ''Tatort''. Early lif ...

, actor, childhood in Wannsee * Otto Erich Hartleben, writer *

, painter * Berthold Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, resistance fighter, Tristanstraße 8–10 *

Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg Claus Philipp Maria Justinian Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (; 15 November 1907 – 21 July 1944) was a German German Army (1935–1945), army officer who is best known for his 20 July plot, failed attempt on 20 July 1944 to assassinate Adolf ...

, resistance fighter * Arthur Scherbius, inventor, lived from 1924–1929 in Wannsee * Arnold von Siemens (1853-1918), entrepreneur * Hermann von Siemens (1885-1986), entrepreneur

References

External links

1936 Summer Olympics official report.
Volume 2. pp. 817–36.

* {{Authority control Localities of Berlin * Venues of the 1936 Summer Olympics Olympic modern pentathlon venues Olympic shooting venues * The Holocaust