Friedrichshain: the people's park, cafes and boutiques
Friedrichshain, a former working-class district in the east of Berlin, is now a fashionable and popular place among wealthy Germans. It is known for its numerous bars, clubs, pubs and cafes concentrated around Simon-Dach-Straße and Boxhagener Platz.
An independent district before the administrative reform of 2001, today the area is part of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district. The Friedrichshain People's Park also known as the “Friedrich's Grove” gave the district its name. The park was named after King Frederick II of Prussia. The district stretches from the Friedrichshain city park in the north to the Spree River in the south.
Friedrichshain is considered a successful example of Berlin's gentrification, when a degraded urban area is redeveloped and attracts wealthier residents. This happened with the once working district of Friedrichshain, where factories and plants were located. It has become a respectable place, which is now chosen by wealthy people. Thus, apartment prices in Friedrichshain are quite high and average 5,250 euro per square metre, according to the Immowelt’s data for April 2022.
From 411,000 €
Completion in: 2024.II Total of 160 apartments
1,175,000 €
Total area 149 m² 2 bedrooms
1,250,000 €
Total area 143 m² 2 bedrooms
1,500,000 €
Total area 155 m² 3 bedrooms
420,000 €
Total area 59 m² 1 bedroom
530,000 €
Total area 70 m² 2 bedrooms
706,000 €
Total area 96 m² 3 bedrooms
345,000 €
Total area 65 m² 2 bedrooms
There are several historical quarters on the Friedrichshain district’s territory: the Stralau outskirts, Boxhagen, Stralau, Samariterviertel, the eastern part of Königsstadt, as well as the Friedrichsberg colony. Until 1920, the area was divided by the city limits, as the names of the Frankfurt Gate and Oberbaumbrücke remind of.
In 1945, the area was greatly damaged by bombing and street fighting. Frankfurter Allee was almost completely destroyed. In the GDR, the alley was restored and given a new name — Stalinalle. It is renowned for its Stalinist buildings, nicknamed “palaces for workers.” In 1961, the alley was renamed Karl-Marx-Allee. Nowadays, Karl-Marx-Allee is under state protection as an architectural monument.
Friedrichshain Volkspark is a popular recreation area for locals. The famous “Fountain of Fairy Tales” is located here. It was built in 1913 according to the architect Ludwig Hoffmann’s design. Part of the Berlin Wall has been turned into an open-air gallery called East Side Gallery.
Friedrichshain People's Park (Volkspark Friedrichshain)
Friedrichshain was the first city park of Berlin. The foundation of the park in 1840 was dedicated to the centenary of the coronation of Frederick II. The park was named in his honour.
The original idea to set up a vast park in a densely populated area of the city was put forward by Peter Lenné, the director of Berlin’s royal parks. The project was implemented by his student, Johann Heinrich Gustav Meyer, who later became the director of the Berlin Gardens.
The recreation area of 49 hectares is designed in the style of an English landscape park. In the centre of the flowerbed stands a 4-metre column with a bronze bust of King Frederick II. The park is on the list of protected historical monuments.
The main attraction of the park is the “Fountain of Fairy Tales”, built in 1913 by the Berlin city architect Ludwig Hoffmann. Among the numerous sculptures of the heroes of folk and literary tales are Hansel and Gretel, Puss in Boots, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
There are two hills in the park, which were formed after the Second World War on the site of blown up anti-aircraft bunkers. Mountains of rubble were covered with earth, then the trees and shrubs were planted. This is how the Big Bunker Hill (Großer Bunkerberg) with a height of 78 metres and the Small Bunker Hill (Kleiner Bunkerberg) with a height of 48 metres appeared in the park.
There is a Japanese garden on the bank of a large pond. The Japanese pavilion is located nearby. Inside the pavilion is the World Peace Bell, which was presented to Berlin in 1989 as a symbol of the fight against the threat of nuclear war.
The park has an open-air stage made back in 1950. In the summer, plays are staged here, films are shown and concerts are held. There are also many pavilions, playgrounds, fountains, ponds, cafes and restaurants in the park.
In Friedrichshain Park, sports are actively supported and practised. There is a football field, volleyball and basketball courts, table tennis tables, skateboard areas, rollerblading tracks and climbing walls. In the winter, children's favourite pastime is sledding down the hills.
The Alley of Karl Marx (Karl-Marx-Allee)
Karl-Marx-Allee is a boulevard in the urban areas of Mitte and Friedrichshain, famous for its monumental residential buildings in the style of socialist classicism, built in the GDR in the 1950s.
The project of the alley was developed by seven architects. Among them was the future chief architect of Berlin, Hermann Henselman, who later supervised the construction of the Berlin TV Tower.
Initially, the alley was called “Great Frankfurter Street” (Große-Frankfurter-Straße). In 1949, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Stalin, it was renamed “Stalin's alley” (Stalinallee). However, in 1961, after the debunking of Stalin's cult of personality, the alley received its current name Karl-Marx-Allee.
Karl-Marx-Allee was conceived as a monumental wide street, worthy of the capital status of Berlin. Marches and parades were held here, and residential buildings were called “palaces for workers.” The street development is similar in style to the main building of the Moscow University and the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw.
The design of Stalinist buildings on Karl-Marx-Allee differed sharply from the modernist development of the ruined Hansaviertel quarter in West Berlin constructed at the same time. The rivalry of these two architectural designs had quickly turned into a rivalry between two social systems: Karl-Marx-Allee and Hansaviertel became showcases of East and West Berlin.
After the reunification of Germany in 1990, residential buildings on Karl-Marx-Allee were sold to several investors who carried out expensive renovation work. Today it is a sought-after and very prestigious property. Since 1990, Berliners have been discussing restoring the former historical name of the alley as Grosse-Frankfurter-Straße.
East Side Gallery
The East Side Gallery is the largest surviving piece of the Berlin Wall in the Friedrichshain district, which has become an open-air art gallery.
After the reunification of East and West Berlin, the Berlin Wall was turned into an art object. In 1990, a section of the wall along the Spree from Ostbahnhof to Oberbaumbrücke featured artistic depictions of recent political events. The city authorities decided to invite the artists to paint the wall and provide them with paints.
The east side of the Berlin Wall now has 106 paintings. 118 artists from 21 countries took part in this work. One of the most famous works is the kiss shared between Leonid Brezhnev and Erich Honecker, drawn by Moscow artist Dmitry Vrubel. This particular painting still attracts many tourists, who often queue to take pictures against its background.
At 1,316 metres long, the East Side Gallery is considered the world's largest open-air gallery with a permanent exhibition. In 1991, the gallery was recognised as a historical monument; it is currently under state protection.
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