Hohenschönhausen

Hohenschonhausen was from 1985 until the merger with Lichtenberg in 2001, an independent district of Berlin. It was named after the district of the same name until 2002, today's Old - Hohenschonhausen. Under Hohenschonhausen itself is often only the built since the 1980s understood development area, which accounts for the area of the district New Hohenschonhausen today.

Location

The district was located in the north- east of Berlin and bordering on the former districts Weissensee, Prenzlauer Berg, Lichtenberg and Marzahn and on the Barnim district. The style of the line of the border resembled a knight head, which is used frequently as a nod to the past as a manor.

History

The village Hohenschonhausen existed since about 1230, the first official mention was made in the years 1352 or 1356. Initially, the town was not contiguous particularly from the surrounding villages Malchow, Wartenberg and Falkenberg, but the closer proximity to Berlin favored a rapid growth in late 19th and early 20th century.

1920 Hohenschonhausen was supported by the Greater Berlin Act, a district of the 18th Berlin district of Weissensee. After the eponymous district is the largest in the district with about 5,300 inhabitants. With the Weissensee district area later fell after the war in the Soviet sector, and thus shared the history of the GDR.

By the end of the 1970s Hohenschonhausen could preserve its rural character, although the development bore fruit and an urban appearance left. However, the village continued to show its original structure with several farms and crofts.

The first prefabricated buildings built in the years 1972-1975 between the Wartenberg and Falkenberger road to 1978 created the new houses along the Landsberger Allee, 1984 in the vicinity of the village center. Two years previously ran the preparatory work for the development area Hohenschonhausen North, later the district of Neu- Hohenschonhausen, ie the construction of roads, sewers and the power supply. The actual prelude to the housing took place in the presence of the Chairman of the GDR State Council Erich Honecker on 9 February 1984. Until October 5, 1989 started in the area, along Falk Chaussee 29,630 housing for around 90,000 people.

Even more during the construction in full swing, hit the Politburo of the SED Central Committee in January 1985 the formation of an independent municipality Hohenschonhausen ago. On 11 April of the same year the Berlin City Council took the decision to this effect. On September 1, 1985, the districts Hohenschonhausen, Wartenberg, Falkenberg and the eastern part of Malchow from the Weissensee district were eventually spun off and merged as an independent municipality Hohenschonhausen. At the same time the district of Weissensee Pankow districts Heiner village, Karow and Blankenburg were, as this would otherwise have consisted only of a district further attributed. The district had at the end of a population of 67 045 inhabitants.

The further development focused preliminary indication of the development area. Besides the 30,000 homes a number of shops, restaurants, schools, recreational facilities, excellent connections by public transport in Berlin's city center and, not least under own initiative Hohenschönhauser created himself, even parks. The center of the district formed the Prerower square with the trading house that later had to give way to the Linden Centre.

Population

In the early years the district was characterized by a rapid population growth, which was funded primarily by the influx of young families. At the turn Hohenschonhausen could, with around 120,000 inhabitants make up 9.2 percent of the total population of East Berlin.

After German reunification, the population increased initially until 1994, this year it reached its historic high of 119 686 inhabitants. Within ten years, it shrank then, however, by more than 10,000 to an estimated 105,000 today. The decrease is due primarily to the exodus of young families who inhabited the district in the first years of its existence, while often elderly people do not leave the district. The result is that the average age now is now almost 40 years compared with a value around the turn of the millennium with an average age of approximately 25 years.

Education

Hohenschonhausen was at its founding in 1985, one of the youngest districts of East Berlin. Correspondingly high so was the number of students and thus also of the schools in the district. 1992 alone there were 28 elementary schools, along with another 13 secondary schools. The Borough Assembly this year went even assuming that the number of students would rise continuously until the year 2000, precisely because of the young population structure. As a result, the Berlin Senate approved the construction of four new schools in the years 1993 to 1998 at the Wartiner Street (Gymnasium), Darßer road ( comprehensive school ), Prendener road ( comprehensive school ) and at the Ahrens Chaussee (Gymnasium) were built.

The predicted crowd at the schools, however, failed to materialize; the families moved to one in other districts or entirely away from Berlin, and on the other side was the birth rate compared with the values ​​of drastically reduced in 1989. In 1987 to around 2500 births counted, the number fell to 537 in 1993, and in subsequent years they settled at around 800 per year. This decline in population made ​​itself noticeable by now that the schools no pupil income, but a vacancy was recorded. As a solution was proposed, individual schools to merge, and then tear down the unneeded school buildings. This process continues today yet.

Attractions

Although Hohenschonhausen one of the rather less well-known parts of the city, the former district is home to some of the city 's best-loved attractions. The village center along the main road has the Tabor church, the Hohenschonhausen castle and the old town hall in the oldest buildings. South of the village center are located on the Genslerstraße the memorial Berlin- Hohenschonhausen in which up to 1989 the headquarters of the Stasi remand prison was housed. By far the most famous building located in a residential area, however, the Mies van der Rohe house, which was designed by the architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in the early 1930s. Today, located in the landmark status restored brick building, an exhibition center of modern art. Next to the house there was the guest of Erich Mielke and next to the former home of his son.

Next Malchow outside the villages Wartenberg, Malchow and Falkenberg are mostly known for their village churches or other older buildings, in that too, as it is related to the writer Theodor Fontane. Opened in 2002, the shelter Berlin is also one of the attractions of the former district and is often used because of its futuristic architecture as a backdrop for feature films, which, in turn, the level of awareness of the building is increased.

Traffic

Road transport is based primarily on the historically grown streets, especially the main road, the Konrad- Wolf -Straße, the Falkland Chaussee and the streets connecting them. The network of public transport, especially the Berlin tram is also aligned afterwards. The central points, and thus are the greatest burden in the rush hour, the section of road between Wartenberg Malchower road and main road and the road junction at Prerower place.