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36-513: Lichtenberg ( German: [ˈlɪçtn̩ˌbɛʁk] ) is the eleventh borough of Berlin , Germany . In Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it absorbed the former borough of Hohenschönhausen . The district contains the Tierpark Berlin in Friedrichsfelde , the larger of Berlin's two zoological gardens. During the period of Berlin's partition between West and East, Lichtenberg was

72-517: A mural crown : 3 towers in red bricks with the coat of arms of Berlin in the middle. Most of the coats of arms of current boroughs have changed some elements in their field : Some of them have created a "fusion" of themes of the merged Bezirke (Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, Lichtenberg, Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Tempelhof-Schöneberg); others have modified their themes taken from one of the two (or more) former merged boroughs (Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, Marzahn-Hellersdorf, Mitte and Treptow-Köpenick). Only

108-611: A council of mayors ( Rat der Bürgermeister ) led by the city's governing mayor, which advises the Berlin Senate. Each borough is made up of several officially recognized subdistricts or neighborhoods ( Ortsteile in German, sometimes called quarters in English). The number of neighborhoods that form a borough varies considerably, ranging from two ( Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg ) to fifteen ( Treptow-Köpenick ). These neighborhoods typically have

144-727: A former city or municipality; others, such as Kreuzberg and Prenzlauer Berg , were named for geographic features. Minor changes to borough boundaries were made in 1938. After World War II, Berlin was divided into four sectors, with the Western sectors controlled by the United States, Britain, and France, and the Eastern sector controlled by the Soviet Union. In 1961, the SED built the Berlin Wall to divide

180-498: A formerly independent suburb). The council was headed by a Lord Mayor, or Oberbürgermeister . Lord Mayor Heinrich Sahm , elected in 1931, remained in office, and joined the NSDAP in November 1933, but resigned in 1935. His power totally depended on Julius Lippert , on 25 March 1933 appointed as Prussian State Commissioner for Berlin. So Berlin was de facto under the ultimate governance of

216-404: A full-time borough council ( Bezirksamt ), consisting of five councilors ( Bezirksstadträte ) and headed by a borough mayor ( Bezirksbürgermeister ). The BVV assembly is directly elected by the borough's population and therefore acts as a borough parliament , though it is officially part of the executive . It elects the members of the borough council, checks its daily administration, and

252-486: A historical identity as former independent cities, villages, or rural municipalities that were united in 1920 as part of the Greater Berlin Act , forming the basis for the present-day city and state. The neighborhoods do not have their own governmental bodies but are recognized by the city and the boroughs for planning and statistical purposes. Berliners often identify more with the neighborhood where they live than with

288-603: A merely advisory vote in those parliaments. On the model of the two Hanseatic city-states within the Federal Republic, Hamburg and Bremen , the Berlin Senate, chosen by the parties represented in the Berlin parliament, was established to perform the functions of a state government, with each of its members heading a department, equivalent to a state ministry, and a Regierender Bürgermeister ( Governing or Executive Mayor ) at its head and one Bürgermeister as his/her deputy. In

324-593: A process of rapid transformation, as the city worked to rebuild and modernize its infrastructure and economy. Many new businesses and cultural institutions were established, and the city became a center of creativity and innovation. By 2000, Berlin comprised twenty-three boroughs, as three new boroughs had been created in East Berlin . Today Berlin is divided into twelve boroughs ( Bezirke ), reduced from twenty-three boroughs before Berlin's 2001 administrative reform. An administrative reform in 2001 merged all but three of

360-613: Is Köpenick (34.9 km or 13.5 sq mi), the smallest one is Hansaviertel (53 ha or 130 acres). The most populated is Neukölln (154,127 inhabitants in 2009), the least populated is Malchow (450 inhabitants in 2008). Note that the coats of arms shown for localities in the tables below are historical and no longer in official use, having lost their validity upon incorporation into Greater Berlin or new districts. Berlin Senate The Senate of Berlin ( German : Senat von Berlin; unofficially: Berliner Senat )

396-513: Is a single municipality ( Einheitsgemeinde ), its districts have limited power, acting only as agencies of Berlin's state and city governments as laid out in the Greater Berlin Act of 1920 . The districts are financially dependent on state donations, as they neither possess any taxation power nor own any property. This is contrast to municipalities and counties in other German states, which are territorial corporations ( Gebietskörperschaften ) with autonomous functions and property. Each district

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432-584: Is able to make applications and recommendations. The twelve borough mayors regularly meet in the Council of Mayors ( Rat der Bürgermeister ), led by the city's Governing Mayor ; the council answers to and advises the Senate. The localities have no local government bodies, and the administrative duties of the former locality representative, the Ortsvorsteher , were taken over by the borough mayors. People who live in

468-491: Is administered by a representatives' assembly ( Bezirksverordnetenversammlung ), directly elected by proportional representation, and a district board ( Bezirksamt ) led by a district mayor ( Bezirksbürgermeister ), elected by the assembly representatives. The district board is in charge of most administrative matters affecting its residents, but its decisions can be revoked by the Berlin Senate . The district mayors form

504-427: Is that of a unified municipality ( Einheitsgemeinde ). The power of the borough governments is limited and their performance of assigned tasks is subject to regulatory supervision by the Senate. Nevertheless, the twelve self-governing boroughs have constitutional status and are themselves subdivided into two administrative bodies: each is governed by the borough assembly ( Bezirksverordnetenversammlung , BVV) and

540-635: Is the executive body governing the city of Berlin , which at the same time is a state of Germany . According to the Constitution of Berlin the Senate consists of the Governing Mayor of Berlin and up to ten senators appointed by the governing mayor, two of whom are appointed (deputy) mayors. The Senate meets weekly at the Rotes Rathaus (Red Town Hall). The Brandenburg municipalities of Alt-Berlin and Cölln had received town privileges in

576-695: The Berlin Blockade , the Soviet sector, which became known as East Berlin (and the capital of the German Democratic Republic as of October 1949) and the three western sectors (British, French, and U.S.) were functionally separated following the attempted Communist putsch in Berlin's city government in September 1948 (a situation formalised in the Four Power Agreement on Berlin of 1971). Under

612-520: The Prussian reforms of 1808 until 1933, Berlin (expanded to Greater Berlin in 1920) was governed by a Magistrat (compulsorily dissolved by Nazi act on 15 March 1933), which was the executive committee of the Stadtverordnetenversammlung (city council; last convened on 27 June 1933) and was represented in each of the boroughs of Berlin by a local office (usually housed in the town hall of

648-414: The 13th century and from 1307 on shared a common administration, but were divided after the elector subjected the city (following the idea of divide and rule ) and made it his residential city in 1448. King Frederick I of Prussia by resolution finally had both towns, and three later founded adjacent cities, merged and elevated to the "Royal Capital and Residence City of Berlin" as of 1 January 1710. From

684-633: The 1950 constitution the maximum number of senators was 16, then each elected by the parliament, but the first Senate had 13. Thus, following the Hanseatic tradition, the Lord Mayor was only primus inter pares as he and the senators had an elected mandate, therefore the Lord Mayor could not dismiss any senator. Senators could however be removed from their seats by the Parliament. Until 1990 all elected Mayors and Senators had to have their positions confirmed by

720-618: The Allied commanders of West Berlin. Since both the building then used as the town hall of Berlin, (the Neues Stadthaus  [ de ] ), and the Rotes Rathaus (which had been destroyed and was not rebuilt until 1956) were in East Berlin, the Senate met at the former town hall of Schöneberg , Rathaus Schöneberg . During the transition to a reunified Germany in 1990, a new Magistrat

756-691: The Berlin SPD to hold a referendum on whether to merge with the Communist party to form a unified single party of the left, the Socialist Unity Party , as realised under pressure in the Soviet occupation zone of Germany, and the members voted against the merger. This was unacceptable to the Soviets, who engineered the establishment of an alternative city council in the sector under their direct control. Following

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792-603: The Nazi regime. After the defeat of Nazi Germany , Berlin was to be under the ultimate governance of the Allied Kommandatura . However, in the election of 20 October 1946, the city elected an SPD -majority Stadtverordnetenversammlung and an SPD mayor ( Otto Ostrowski , resigned 1947). The second elected SPD mayor, the devoted anti-communist Ernst Reuter , was vetoed by the Soviet commander, so Louise Schroeder (SPD) officiated as only acting lord mayor. The Western allies permitted

828-597: The Stasi. Additionally, Lichtenberg is the location of the German-Russian Museum , the historical venue of the unconditional surrender of the German armed forces (Wehrmacht) on 8 May 1945 . The population is ethnically diverse, and has a significant Vietnamese community. Lichtenberg is divided into 10 localities: The historic village of Lichtenberg together with neighbouring Friedrichsfelde , Karlshorst , Marzahn , Biesdorf , Hellersdorf , Kaulsdorf and Mahlsdorf

864-426: The borough that governs them. The neighborhoods are further subdivided into statistical tracts, which are mainly used for planning and statistical purposes. The statistical tracts correspond roughly but not exactly with neighborhoods recognized by residents. When Greater Berlin was established in 1920, the city was organized into twenty boroughs, most of which were named after their largest component neighborhood, often

900-578: The city, effectively separating West Berlin from East Berlin and the rest of East Germany. Three new boroughs were created in East Berlin: Marzahn was split off from Lichtenberg in 1979, Hohenschönhausen from Weissensee in 1985, and Hellersdorf from Marzahn in 1986. In 1989, the Berlin Wall fell, and the city was reunified. This marked the end of the Cold War and the beginning of a new era in Berlin's history. After reunification, Berlin underwent

936-569: The completion of reunification on 3 October 1990, the MagiSenat became a unified Berlin Senate, no longer depending on Allied confirmation. The new Senate was reduced to a maximum of 8 members, and senators are now appointed by the Governing Mayor (1995 amendment of the constitution). There are now two Deputy Mayors. The senate meets in the room in the Red Town Hall which was originally created for

972-412: The existing boroughs into the current 12 boroughs, as listed below. The three boroughs that were not affected were Spandau , Reinickendorf and Neukölln , as the population of each was already exceeding 200,000. All the coats of arms of Berliner boroughs (the current as of the ones in the period 1990 to 2001) have some common points: The shield has a Spanish form and the coronet is represented by

1008-537: The first tier of the so-called Hauptverwaltung (central administration). In the second tier, the boroughs enjoy a certain grade of autonomy—though in no way comparable to the German Landkreise districts or independent cities , nor even to the local government of a common municipality as a legal entity, as according to the Berlin Constitution the legal status of the city as a German state itself

1044-623: The former West Berlin tend to vote for the CDU and the SPD, While voters in the former East Berlin tend to vote for Linke and the AfD. As of 2012, the twelve boroughs are made up of a total of 97 officially recognized neighborhoods or localities ( Ortsteile ). Almost all of these are further subdivided into several other zones (defined in German as Ortslagen, Teile, Stadtviertel, Orte etc.). The largest Ortsteil

1080-727: The location of the headquarters of the Stasi , the East German state security service. Prior to the establishment of the GDR it housed the main office of the Soviet Military Administration in Berlin, and before that it was an officers' mess of the Wehrmacht . The complex is now the location of the Stasi Museum . The Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial is on the site of the main remand prison of

1116-572: The new constitution of West Berlin which came into force on 1 September 1950, Berlin was defined as a state of the Federal Republic of Germany ; however, due to the Allied veto, its representatives in the federal parliament (and later in the European Parliament ) were not directly elected by the citizenry, but appointed by the Berlin parliament ( Abgeordnetenhaus ) and had no voting power, but

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1152-729: The results were as follows: The district mayor ( Bezirksbürgermeister ) is elected by the Bezirksverordnetenversammlung, and positions in the district government ( Bezirksamt ) are apportioned based on party strength. Michael Grunst of the Left was elected mayor on 16 December 2016. Since the 2021 municipal elections, the composition of the district government is as follows: Lichtenberg is twinned with: Boroughs of Berlin Since 2001, Berlin has been made up of twelve districts, each with its own administrative body. However because Berlin

1188-453: The unchanged boroughs of Neukölln, Reinickendorf and Spandau have not changed their field. The coat of arms of Pankow was created with a new design in 2008, having been the only district without an emblem for 7 years. The borough government is part of the two-tier administration of the Berlin city-state , whereby the Senate and its affiliated agencies, institutions, and municipal enterprises form

1224-655: Was elected in East Berlin and a Senate appointed in West Berlin, and they jointly governed as a Landesregierung aus Senat und Magistrat (state government of Senate and Magistrat, known popularly as the MagiSenat ), which initially met in alternate weeks at the Schöneberg town hall and the Red Town Hall. The Oberbürgermeister (East) and the Regierender Bürgermeister (West) similarly headed the government jointly. With

1260-510: Was incorporated as the 17th borough of Berlin by the 1920 Greater Berlin Act . In the 1970s, the East German government had large pre-fabricated high-rise housing estates ( Plattenbau ) built in the east of the Lichtenberg borough. This area was separated off and became the new borough of Marzahn, which included Biesdorf, Hellersdorf, Kaulsdorf and Mahlsdorf in 1979. In 1986, this district in turn

1296-410: Was split into the two boroughs of Marzahn and Hellersdorf in 1986, and again merged as Marzahn-Hellersdorf by the 2001 administrative reform. The governing body of Lichtenberg 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

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