Mitte (locality)

History

Mitte comprises the historic center of Berlin (Altberlin and Cölln). Its history thus corresponds to the history of the entire city until the early 20th century, and with the Greater Berlin Act in 1920 it became the first district of the city. It was among the areas of the city most heavily damaged in World War II.

Following a territorial redeployment by the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom that reshaped the borders of West Berlin's British Sector in August 1945, the western part of Staaken became in effect as of 1 February 1951 an exclave of Mitte, then still a borough of East Berlin. This ended on 1 January 1961, when western Staaken was incorporated into then East German Falkensee, which had already been under its de facto administration since 1 June 1952.

Between 1961 and 1990, Mitte, one of the most important boroughs of East Berlin but close to all three western sectors of the city, was almost surrounded by the Berlin Wall. One of the most important border crossings was Checkpoint Charlie, near Kreuzberg.

Geography

Position

Situated in central Berlin and mostly in its old town, it is traversed by the river Spree. It borders the localities (Ortsteile) of Tiergarten, Moabit, Wedding, Gesundbrunnen (all in Mitte district), Prenzlauer Berg (in Pankow district), Friedrichshain, and Kreuzberg (both in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district).

Subdivision

Mitte is subdivided into 13 zones or neighborhoods (Stadtviertel) (the numbers refer to the map above right):

• Cölln (1)
  • Museum Island (1a)
  • Fisher Island (1b)
• Alt-Berlin (2)
  • Nikolaiviertel (2a)
• Friedrichswerder (3)
• Neukölln am Wasser (4)
• Dorotheenstadt (5)
• Friedrichstadt (6)
• Luisenstadt (7)
• Stralauer Vorstadt (8)
• Alexanderplatz (9)
• Spandauer Vorstadt (10)
  • Scheunenviertel (10a)
• Friedrich-Wilhelm-Stadt (11)
• Oranienburger Vorstadt (12)
• Rosenthaler Vorstadt (13)

Sister cities

• Japan Higashiōsaka, Japan
• Israel Holon, Israel

Main sights

Buildings and structures

• Alte Nationalgalerie
• Altes Museum
• Altes Stadthaus
• Berlin Cathedral
• Berlin Palace with the Humboldt Forum
• Berlin State Opera
• Berliner Ensemble
• Brandenburg Gate
• Bode Museum
• Bundesrat of Germany
• Checkpoint Charlie
• Deutscher Dom
• Fernsehturm Berlin
• Fotografiska Berlin
• Französischer Dom
• Friedrichstadt-Palast
• Friedrichswerder Church
• Humboldt University
• James Simon Gallery
• Kino Babylon
• Konzerthaus Berlin
• Kunsthaus Tacheles
• Marienkirche
• Neue Synagoge
• Neues Museum
• Nikolaikirche
• Palast der Republik
• Pergamon Museum
• Reich Air Ministry
• Rotes Rathaus
• St. Hedwig's Cathedral
• Sophienkirche
• Staatsratsgebäude
• Stadtschloß

Places, squares and streets

• Alexanderplatz
• Bebelplatz
• Bernauer Straße
• Friedrichstraße
• Gendarmenmarkt
• Karl-Marx-Allee
• Leipziger Straße
• Lustgarten
• Marx-Engels-Forum
• Molkenmarkt
• Museum Island
• Nikolaiviertel
• Oranienburger Straße
• Pariser Platz
• Potsdamer Platz
• Schloßplatz
• Unter den Linden
• Voßstraße
• Wilhelmplatz
• Wilhelmstraße
• Zietenplatz

Photogallery

File:Braniborská brána.jpg|Brandenburg Gate File:Neptunbrunnen and Fernsehturm (8330762719).jpg|Fernsehturm File:Rotes Rathaus.jpg|Rotes Rathaus File:Alexanderplatz in Berlin - Panorama.jpg|Alexanderplatz File:Berlin Unter den Linden Potsdamer Platz.jpg|Unter den Linden File:Frontansicht des Hauptgebäudes der Humboldt-Universität in Berlin.jpg|Humboldt University of Berlin File:Berlin Naturkundemuseum 2.jpg|Museum für Naturkunde File:PotsdamerPlatz Vogelperspektive 2004 1.jpg|Potsdamer Platz File:Pergamonmuseum Front.jpg|Pergamon Museum File:2023 Berliner Dom - Westfassade -- 01.jpg|Berlin Cathedral File:Berlin Staatsoper Zuschauerraum 2.jpg|Inside Berlin State Opera File:FW Nikolaikirche (Berlin).JPG|Nikolaikirche File:Mitte Nikolaikirchplatz-001.jpg|Nikolaiviertel File:Berliner Schloss (August 2023).jpg|Berlin Palace with the Humboldt Forum File:Bode Museum.jpg|Museum Island File:Berlin Bebelplatz asv2018-05 img1.jpg|St. Hedwig's Cathedral File:Berlin Neue Synagoge 2005.jpg|Neue Synagoge File:Gendarmenmarkt Berlin 2009.JPG|Gendarmenmarkt with Französischer Dom and Konzerthaus File:Berlin Deutscher Dom Apel.jpg|Deutscher Dom File:Berlin Kunsthaus Tacheles.jpg|Kunsthaus Tacheles File:Checkpoint Charlie Berlin.jpg|Checkpoint Charlie on Friedrichstrasse File:Berlin Sophie Gips Hof1.jpg|Sophie-Gips-Höfe File:Exterior of Fotografiska Berlin.jpg|Fotografiska Berlin

Transportation

Mitte is served by S-Bahn lines S5, S7, S75, S9 (both on Berlin Stadtbahn); S1, S2, S25, and U-Bahn lines U2, U5, U6 and U8, as well as numerous tram and bus lines.

People

who live(d) in Mitte

• Detlef D! Soost, German choreograph
• Lars Eidinger, German actor
• Magda Goebbels, German nazi, died at Wilhelmstraße
• Joseph Goebbels, German nazi politician, died at Wilhelmstraße
• Kate Hall, Danish singer and moderator
• Adolf Hitler, German Nazi politician, died in Berlin-Mitte at Wilhelmstraße
• Christopher Trimmel, Austrian football player
• Claudia Mehnert, German actress
• Marius Müller-Westernhagen, German singer
• Angela Merkel, German chancellor (part of her life)
• Katarina Witt, German icedancer (part of her life)

References

References

1. {{Population Germany
2. {{in lang. de [http://www.berlin.de/ba-mitte/bezirk/ortsteile/mitte.html Historical infos about Mitte]