Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg
In the past 15 years, the neighbouring districts of Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg have come to represent the emerging face of modern Berlin. When the Wall fell in 1989, the city’s social focus quickly shifted towards the East and these two areas became a nucleus for political regeneration and post-Reunification celebrations. As an embittered GDR population fled to greener grass on the other side of the fence, a disaffected West Berlin youth moved in. Houses were left empty with sheets on beds and water still hot in the kettles. Squatters claimed space and the parties started. And they continue – and Berlin’s biggest concentration of bars and clubs can be found here. Admittedly many are short-lived, but there’s a sense of youthful vibrancy that seems determined never to die.
Geographically Mitte (‘middle’) lies in the centre of the city; it was the sand islands on this particular stretch of the Spree that initially gave birth to Berlin. As it’s the meeting-point between East and West, government buildings, theatres, the opera house and many major museums are all based here. The bourgeois avenues of Friedrichstraße and Unter den Linden (named after the Linden trees that line the grand street) feature elements of Berlin’s chequered history, from the Brandenburg Gate and Checkpoint Charlie to the Jewish quarter of Scheunenviertel. The Museuminsel (built in the late 18th century) contains five of the city’s most important museums.
The area around Hackescher Markt and Scheunenviertel is characterized by a special type of housing known as ‘Hinterhöfe’. The pedestrian passageways that run through these courtyards are now home to innumerable cafés, galleries and clothes stores – many hidden from the street. Once an area of squats and anarchic activity, gentrification has since taken root in Mitte, which is now a thriving media district. The last remaining squat structures can be found at Tacheles. Dominated by the Fernsehturm (known to locals affectionately as the ‘Alex’), Alexanderplatz is a hub of activity and Berlin’s entry point for travellers by train. It has also become a symbol for the capital’s new eastward-leaning identity.
Cross the graphic design studios and young boutiques of Torstraße to enter the bohemian and peaceful district of Prenzlauer Berg. Unlike Mitte, the tourist industry has yet to make itself felt here – this is East Berlin at its most characteristic. Once a Gründerzeit, residential district for the working class, the area is now home to actors, artists and young families. Surprisingly, Prenzlauer Berg has the highest birth rate of any one place in Europe and it’s not uncommon to see trendy young mums pushing state-of-the-art pushchairs along the cobbled roads. As it remained largely unscathed by the bombs of World War II, many of its beautiful townhouses remain intact and these pleasant leafy streets are a popular destination for a Sunday stroll.
Known as Berlin’s café district, Prenzlauer Berg has a distinctly European feel. The area around Kollwitzplatz and the Wasserturm is particularly popular. Once a meeting-point for drug-dealers, the Helmholzplatz now hosts a high concentration of reputable bars and cafés. Fans of street art should take a look at graffiti pieces on the walls of the community centre – the work of several international artists. Severe fashion statements are made on the ultra-hip Kastanienallee – a street responsible for the image of cool Berlin portrayed in our style press.
