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41-494: It is located in central Kreuzberg . The area has a bad reputation for the relatively high, mainly drug-related crime rate, instances of which have recently become quite rare in most other parts of the district. The original Kottbusser Tor was a southern city gate of Berlin ; the road through the gate led via the Neukölln suburb to the town of Cottbus . The station on the first U-Bahn line from Potsdamer Platz to Stralauer Tor

82-509: A stele with a bust of Robert Zeller , lord mayor of Berlin between 1892 and 1898. The bust got lost in the last war. On the northern slope of the Kreuzberg the park also included one of Berlin's then five playgrounds for children. After in 1910 the Prussian military fiscus had sold its parade ground on Katzbachstraße to the city its Garden Director Albert Brodersen (*1857-1930*) extended

123-419: A confidant foreman started modelling and constructions for the park. The city parliament only approved Mächtig's altered waterfall designs on 25 March 1891. Using the topography of a former sand pit Mächtig designed a highland-like waterfall on the northern slope of the Kreuzberg directed in its axis towards Großbeerenstraße, named after the homonymous battle . For the waterfall Mächtig used pieces of rock from

164-688: A large portion of the population being Ashkenazi Jews . Central to Kreuzberg Jewish life was the Fraenkelufer Synagogue , with a capacity of 2,000. This synagogue was destroyed during Kristallnacht , as were numerous Jewish businesses and property. The vast majority of Kreuzberg's Jews were deported to their deaths between 1942 and 1944 by the Nazis during The Holocaust , and their houses and businesses were seized and given to ethnic Germans. The Jewish Museum Berlin stands in Kreuzberg, and many Stolpersteine can be seen on Kreuzberg streets, commemorating

205-546: A rather short history. It was formed on 1 October 1920 by the Greater Berlin Act , which provided for the incorporation of suburbs and the reorganisation of Berlin into twenty boroughs. The eastern Friedrichsvorstadt, the southern Friedrichstadt , the western and southern Luisenstadt , and the Tempelhofer Vorstadt were merged into the new sixth borough of Berlin, first named Hallesches Tor . On 27 September 1921,

246-556: A result, housing was of low quality, but cheap, which made the borough greatly attractive to immigrants. Starting in the late 1960s, increasing numbers of students, artists, and immigrants began moving to Kreuzberg. Enclosed by the Berlin Wall on three sides, the area became famous for its alternative lifestyle and its squatters , especially the SO36 part of Kreuzberg. Starting in 1987, there have been violent riots in SO36 on Labour day. After

287-539: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Kreuzberg Kreuzberg ( German pronunciation: [ˈkʁɔʏtsbɛʁk] ) is a district of Berlin , Germany. It is part of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough located south of Mitte . During the Cold War era, it was one of the poorest areas of West Berlin , but since German reunification in 1990, it has become more gentrified and

328-656: Is bounded by the river Spree in the east. The Landwehrkanal flows through Kreuzberg from east to west, with the Paul-Lincke-Ufer street running alongside it. Other characteristics are the old U-Bahn line of the present-day U1, Görlitzer Park in the SO36 district, and Viktoriapark on the slope of Kreuzberg hill in SW 61 . Kreuzberg is divided into 2 zones ( Ortslagen ): In contrast to many other areas of Berlin, which were villages before their integration into Berlin, Kreuzberg has

369-726: Is further adorned by sculptures and monuments. At the lower pond of the waterfall, opposite to the end of Großbeerenstraße, Ernst Herter 's bronze sculpture Der seltene Fang (i.e. The rare haul) was erected in 1896, displaying - with barely concealed erotic allusions - a fisherman struggling to get hold of a mermaid in his net. In the late 1890s six herms of „poets and singers of German patriotism“ have been raised, to wit Ernst Moritz Arndt (1899 by Hans Latt), Heinrich von Kleist (1898 by Karl Pracht), Theodor Körner (1899 by Ernst Wenck), Friedrich Rückert (1899 by Ferdinand Lepcke), Max von Schenkendorf (1899 by Alfred Reichel) and Ludwig Uhland (1899 by Max Kruse ). However, only three of

410-477: Is known for its arts scene. The borough is known for its large percentage of immigrants and descendants of immigrants, many of whom are of Turkish ancestry . As of 2006, 31.6% of Kreuzberg's inhabitants does not have German citizenship. Kreuzberg is known for its diverse cultural life and experimental alternative lifestyles, and is an attractive area for many. However, some parts of the district are still characterized by higher levels of unemployment. Kreuzberg

451-560: Is situated on the Tempelhofer Berge range, forming the northern slope of the ground moraine Teltow Plateau , overlooking the glacial valley with Berlin's city centre. The major landmark of the park is a cast iron monument of 1815 dedicated by King Frederick William III of Prussia to the liberation wars (Befreiungskriege) fought at the end of the War of the Sixth coalition against France in

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492-671: The Neoclassical Prussian National Monument for the Liberation Wars by architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel was inaugurated at the top of the 66 m (217 ft) promontory west of the road to Tempelhof , then known as Tempelhofer Berg or Runder Berg (i.e. Tempelhof or round hill). The king renamed the hill Kreuzberg after the Iron Cross ( Eisernes Kreuz) at the top of the monument, in September 1921 it became

533-465: The Organisation Todt , also employing Soviet forced labourers else held captive at Blücherplatz, started driving five tunnels into the northern Kreuzberg slope from Kreuzbergstraße. The semi-completed tunnels were meant and used as air-raid shelters , while constructions continued until February 1945. On 30 January 1944 British bombs left behind a wake of devastation leading from one block north up

574-718: The Senate of Berlin and cultivated by the adjacent market garden, the other one established in summer 2006 within the Victoria Quarter on the southern slope of the Kreuzberg hill . However, only the old vineyard provides for the local "Kreuz-Neroberger" wine, gained from vines donated by Kreuzberg's twin towns Wiesbaden (1968) and Ingelheim am Rhein (1975), as well by the Bergstraße county (1971 and 1973) and from Bad Bergzabern (1985). About 600 bottles are pressed each year. In 1821

615-512: The Viktoriapark , built in commemoration of the Napoleonic Wars . Except for its northernmost part—the quarter Friedrichstadt (established at the end of the 17th century)—today's Kreuzberg was a very rural place until well into the 19th century. This changed when, in the 1860s, industrialization caused Berlin to grow rapidly. This called for extensive housing—much of which was built exploiting

656-467: The 24 m (79 ft) down to the small lower pond. Between 1898 and the First World War the waterfall was electrically illuminated at night shining in light resembling Bengal fire . However, the operation of the waterfall was interrupted between 1914 and 1935, and again 1938 and 1961. On the occasion of the festive days firemen reflooded the idle waterfall for one day (19 August 1955) by pumping

697-468: The 3-metre tall (9.8 ft) herms (Kleist, Rückert, and Uhland) survived the Second World War. Since 1989 their marble originals are preserved in the court of Leibniz High School, while aluminum replicas were posted at their original locations, with Rückert's replica meanwhile stolen. In 1904 a further monument was added, located southeasterly of the lower waterfall bassin. Otto Lessing had created

738-742: The American bombing by over a thousand aircraft on 3 February 1945. In remembrance of the old tradition, the Axel Springer press company erected its German headquarters at Kochstraße again, right next to the Berlin Wall . In July 1945, most of the then district was assigned to the American Sector. After the Berlin Wall was built, the most important transit location to East Berlin was Checkpoint Charlie . After World War II, Kreuzberg's housing rents were regulated by law which made investments unattractive. As

779-736: The Giant Mountains and boulders . Whereas some authors claim the Kreuzberg waterfall was modelled on the Zackel Falls in then Steinbach (renamed Kamieńczyk after 1945) in Lower Silesia , Nungesser is doubting that. Another opinion is that it was modelled on another waterfall in the Giant Mountains, the Hainfall , renamed after 1945 into Podgórna Falls . Also the Wolfsschlucht (lit. wolf's gully), designed into another exploited sand pit east of

820-646: The Victoria Park by 7.5 hectares (19 acres) to altogether 16 hectares (40 acres) between 1913 and 1916. The extension included the layout of a playing field, the present-day Willy Kressmann Stadium, homeground of the Türkiyemspor Berlin football club. In 1925 a vivarium was opened, first hosting a roe deer , soon a roe family, further goats. After the erection of more premises for animals between 1930 and 1931 birds, badgers, foxes, and reptiles were kept. Besides these native species also two monkeys were kept. All

861-451: The animals - except of the birds - died in the war. The Victoria Park was included in the Nazi plans for rebuilding Berlin, but only preparations materialised. Ernst Sagebiel oriented his Tempelhof Airport building towards the monument on the Kreuzberg so that the central hall's front on the forecourt of the airport and one edge of the monument's octagonal groundplan are parallel. As seen from

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902-434: The borough assembly of Hallesches Tor decided to rename the borough after the homonymous hill . Kreuzberg, literally meaning 'cross hill', is the point of the highest elevation in the Kreuzberg locality, which is 66 m (217 ft) above sea level. The hill is traditionally a place for weekend trips. It received its name from the 1821 Prussian National Monument for the Liberation Wars by Karl Friedrich Schinkel within

943-479: The city parliament until 29 March 1886 to decide for laying out a park. On 14 December 1887 Berlin acquired 8.5 ha (21 acres) of unbuilt land from several owners, mostly north and west of the monument. Right adjacent to the south was the Tivoli brewery (est. 1857, merged into Schultheiss as of 1891, closed in 1993), and in the east and northeast villas had developed quite close to the monument. Some built-up parcels on

984-433: The course of the Napoleonic Wars . It provides an excellent viewpoint over much of the central and southern portions of the city. In summer an artificial waterfall originates at the foot of the monument and continues down the hillside to the intersection of Großbeerenstraße and Kreuzbergstraße. A historic wine-growing area, today the park is neighbouring two small vineyards, one in the northeast founded in 1968 and owned by

1025-519: The dire needs of the poor, with widespread land speculation. Many of Kreuzberg's buildings originate from that time. They were built on the streets laid out in the Hobrecht-Plan in an area that came to be known architecturally as the Wilhelmine Ring . Far into the 20th century, Kreuzberg was the most populous of Berlin's boroughs even in absolute numbers, with more than 400,000 people, although it

1066-661: The epicenter of LGBTQ life and arts in Berlin. Kreuzberg is home to the Schwules Museum , established in the 1980s and dedicated to preserving, exhibiting, and discovering queer history, art, and culture. Viktoriapark The Viktoriapark (English: Victoria Park ) is an urban park in the locality of Kreuzberg in Berlin , Germany . It opened in 1894 and is named after the British princess and later Queen of Prussia Victoria . It

1107-439: The fall of the Berlin Wall, Kreuzberg suddenly found itself in the middle of the city again. The initially cheap rents and the high concentration of 19th-century housing made some parts of the borough more attractive as a residential area for a much wider (and richer) variety of people. Today, Kreuzberg has one of the youngest populations of all European city boroughs; statistically, its population has been completely swapped twice in

1148-416: The finest new-wave venues in the world. There has also been a significant influence stemming from African-American and hip hop culture on Kreuzberg's youth and the area has become a centre for rap and breakdance within Berlin. Though the majority of Kreuzberg's residents are of German or Turkish descent , some identify more with (African-)American or other cultures. Hip hop was largely introduced to

1189-520: The last two decades. Berlin's 2001 administrative reform combined Kreuzberg with Friedrichshain to form the new borough of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg . Since the two areas are linked only by a single bridge over the Spree River, the Oberbaumbrücke , this combination seemed awkward to many residents. The two areas not being able to agree on a common location for the future borough's city hall,

1230-415: The monument today's Platz der Luftbrücke in front of the airport opens as a square, encircled by buildings of similar heights except for the taller central hall of the airport (mostly realised). The then planned axis consisting of a promenade and series of waterfalls cascading down the Kreuzberg hill towards the square was never realised, the interjacent block of houses remained untouched. In summer 1944

1271-579: The monument, followed the homonymous example in Adersbach/Adršpach in the Giant Mountains. On 14 October 1893 the waterfall ran for the first time on trial. Gas motors in a neighbouring machine house (now the venue hall of the restaurant in the Villa Kreuzberg , the former engineer's home, an ensemble built 1892–1893 by Hermann Blankenstein ) pumped up the water. Since summer 1894 13,000 L (2,900 imp gal) per minute are cascading

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1312-536: The murdered Jews who lived in the area. In addition to housing, Kreuzberg was also an industrial center of Berlin. The "export quarter" along Ritter Street consisted of many profitable small businesses, and the "press quarter" along Koch Street ( Friedrichstadt ) was the home of most of Germany's large newspapers, as well as the Ullstein , Scherl , and Mosse book publishers. Both industrial quarters were almost entirely destroyed by air raids during World War II , with

1353-450: The name giver of the Kreuzberg borough created by the 1920 Greater Berlin Act . The monument comprised only a small plot of land measuring about 2,839.83 m (30,567.7 sq ft). The surrounding fields were private real estate. As the surrounding area incorporated into Berlin in 1861 as Tempelhofer Vorstadt had become a densely built-up suburb, in 1879 Guido von Madai , president of

1394-408: The occasion of the elevation of the monument ideas appeared to lay out a park around it. Two years later the design of a park was put out to tender. Hermann Mächtig (*1837-1909*), since 1877 Berlin's city garden director, handed in a design, already using the name Victoria Park, in honour of Princess Victoria of Great Britain and Ireland , Prussian and German crown princess consort. However, it took

1435-546: The present location in Friedrichshain was decided by flipping a five- Mark coin. Kreuzberg has historically been home to Berlin's punk rock movement as well as other alternative subcultures in Germany. The SO36 club remains a fixture on the Berlin music scene. It was originally focused on punk music and in the 1970s was often frequented by Iggy Pop and David Bowie . In those days, the club rivalled New York's CBGB as one of

1476-490: The royal police, decreed a maximum height of buildings in the adjacent streets to uphold the visibility of the monument. The year before it had been elevated through a basement structure of 8 m (26 ft). The ordinance, however, was annulled by the groundbreaking 1882 "Kreuzberg judgement" of the Prussian Royal administrative court , stating that the police had exceeded its authority to ensure public security . On

1517-514: The southern side of Kreuzbergstraße had been bought and the houses there were demolished in order to gain open access. On 28 June 1888 the city parliament decided for Mächtig's design, who had to exchange his plans for exuberant water cascades by a more naturalistic waterfall . So Mächtig and the sculptor Albert Manthe travelled through the Giant Mountains visiting natural waterfalls to get inspired. Having returned Mächtig himself assisted by

1558-432: The water uphill with their fire fighting devices replacing the war-ravaged pumphouse. Mächtig's park design, using the natural and anthrogenous topography of the Kreuzberg hill, resulted in the current mountainesque character with varied landscape forms, forested steep slopes, tiny terraces, outlooks, sodded hillsides, interrupted by trees and bushes and connected by paths, ramps, serpentine switchbacks and stairs. The park

1599-578: The youth of Kreuzberg by the children of American servicemen who were stationed nearby until the reunification of Germany . The art collective Berlin Kidz who are known for their pichação influenced graffiti , parkour , and train surfing are from the Kreuzberg area. The Carnival of Cultures , a large annual festival, celebrates different cultures and heritages with colourful street parades and festivities including street entertainment, food, arts and craft stalls, music, and art. Kreuzberg has long been

1640-400: Was and still is geographically the smallest. As a result, with more than 60,000 people per square kilometer (160,000 people/sq mi), Kreuzberg had the highest population density in Berlin. Kreuzberg became a district of migration during the late 19th century when Berlin began growing rapidly as an economic and cultural hub. Before World War II, it was home to a diverse population, with

1681-544: Was opened on 18 February 1902 on a viaduct above Skalitzer Straße. When the U8 was built in 1926, a new two-level station was constructed 100 metres (330 ft) westwards to allow both lines to meet in one location, and the original station was demolished. It was directly hit on 26 February 1945. This article about a railway station in Berlin is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Berlin U-Bahn -related article

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