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Areas Overview

Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg.

This borough was formed in 2001 by merging the former boroughs of Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg. During partition the boundary between the original separate boroughs formed part of the division between the Soviet and American sectors of Berlin with Friedrichshain in the Soviet sector and Kreuzberg in the American sector. When built in 1961 "The Wall", followed a line along this division between the two boroughs.

Pre-War Friedrichshain (pop 117,000) was a key industrial zone with a large residential area, it had a population of nearly 350,000 in the 1930's. The industrial area of Friedrichshain was targeted, more than any other area of Berlin, by allied bombers during the war and left with large swathes of destroyed industrial areas. After the war the ruins were never fully re-developed and some areas have only recently been redeveloped.

The most notable building project still in existence in Friedrichshain is the 2.2 km long Karl Marx Allee, (Together with Frankfurter Allee it was originally named Stallinallee when it was built in the 50's).

The "Allee" was laid out in the distinctive "Wedding Cake Style" with detached blocks set back a little and surrounded by commercial and leisure facilities within wide pedestrian zones. Its architecture is strongly reminiscent of the Soviet-era boulevards seen in Moscow.

The "Allee" was the scene of the 1953 uprising, when increasing work quota's imposed from Moscow led to protests throughout East Germany that were only put down with Soviet intervention.

In 1990 the "Allee" underwent renovation and the preserved buildings from the Soviet era became protected monuments.

The "Oberbaum-City" industrial area has been one of the largest redevelopment projects to be completed in recent years and has provided over 2000 jobs in the district.

Following the industrial expansion of Berlin in the late 19th century there was a major development of cheap housing in Kreuzberg (pop 150,000) to accommodate this new workforce. This is an area known for its high density of population, in the late 19th century the population density in Kreuzberg was over 60,000 residents/km². This persisted well into the early years of the 20th century, many current Kreuzberg buildings originate from this period of time contributing to the typically small size of residential units that the district is known for. Following partition Kreuzberg was in a very isolated position to the far end of the Western Sector and was almost completely surrounded by the wall with predominantly very poor neighborhoods Kreuzberg became the primary location for immigrants arriving from abroad.

What's happening in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg?

Friedrichshain shows a wider rent spread than any other borough in Berlin. It is an area with a young low income population which makes it liable to more dramatic changes in rent and sales prices which are currently low and have seen minimal change. An area to benefit more as other regions reach full occupancy and mitte prices increase. Friedrichshain is home to numerous design and media companies including MTV Central Europe. It is known for its many bars, clubs, pubs, and cafes, concentrated in the vicinity of Simon-Dach-Straße and Boxhagener Platz. While Friedrichshain was in East Berlin following re-unification there was a migration of the "Squat" culture into Friedrichshain, particularly around Rigaer Straße. There are major restoration works under way in Friedrichshain which is developing at a fast pace but it still has large areas of vacant brown-field development space.

Kreuzberg has sometimes been called the largest Turkish city outside of Turkey due to the large intake of Turkish immigrants who settled here dating back to before re-unification. While there is still a very large Turkish community in Kreuzberg this is not the case across all of Kreuzberg. The up-market areas such as the Bergmann Kiez and Wrangel Kiez areas have become home to a cosmopolitan crowd of students, young professionals and young couples.

In the eastern part of Kreuzberg the streets have an almost oriental flair. Streets like the Oranienstraße are full of restaurants and bars, offering food from many places of the world. Kreuzberg has some problems with gang criminality whose origins can be found in the troubles in the Middle East. Since the fall of the "Wall" Kreuzberg finds itself back in the middle of the city. While The area still has social problems parts of the borough have become more attractive as a residential area for the prosperous lawyers, doctors and other professionals, who have moved here. Kreuzberg has one of the youngest populations of all European city boroughs and statistically its "population has twice been completely exchanged in the last two decades".

The most recent authoritive survey for the area appears to dramatically underestimate the volume of flats for sale in the borough, with less than 50 flats for sale according to the GSW/JLL October 2007 survey. Contradicting this, the largest on-line property listing www.ImmobilienScout24.de currently shows over 400 properties for sale. This unexplained deviation could herald a change in investor confidence in the area or a large number of new properties nearing completion, neither of which would appear to be the case. With the population turnover statistics quoted above it would be expected that at any time there are a lot of properties changing hands in the area.

A detailed discussion on the range of properties in the borough and issues relating to renovation and re-development is available in the Property Types section.

Future Trends

(Anecdotal based rather than data based).Its location close to the town centre, good living environment, large number of creative enterprises and intimate local infrastructure make the quarter attractive for younger people.

The attractiveness of the entire district Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg for students will probably be maintained in the medium term.

Due to the density of population and lack of space for easy family life the area losses its young families to other more friendly family areas. This can be self perpetuating as migration from the borough of these younger Berlin families results in lower rates of native German speaking children in the local schools reducing their appeal to these families.

The Kreuzberg side of the River Spree will probably be the area in the borough to see earliest re-development and with the best short-term potential. New development has been a little slow and earlier developments, for example at Paul Lincke, have provided good quality desirable accommodation however, its partial isolation is holding back prices somewhat. Good quality investment properties still need a relatively attractive residential environment with good infrastructure in order to attract foreign investors.

The borough has the lowest priced properties in Berlin, apartments in some neighbourhoods of the borough start at 700 euro/m2. With the highest rate of single-person households in the city, rates of up to 65% are quoted for some neighbourhoods, demand for smaller flats is much greater here. This resident profile should be considered when investing in some parts of the borough. Matching investment with the types of properties most in demand in these areas is important.

There is some discussion that Friedrichshain could be the new Prenzlauer Berg however the existing property profile is quite different than that which was retained in Prenzlauer Berg before its re-development. The area's current youthful resident profile has an inherent "energy" which could quickly build momentum as investor's target, residential, retail, leisure and entertainment investment to take advantage of the opportunities this presents.

With an "Owner Occupancy" rate of approximately 4% the borough has one of the lowest rates in Berlin and has probably one of the lowest rates anywhere in Europe for such a large residential area. As an area almost exclusively dedicated to the rental market the fluidity of the population will be maintained. Developments in property rental rates are the best indicator of what's happening within the Borough. For more information on "Owner Occupancy Rates" visit our Graphs of Economic Performance page.

Landmarks and Attractions

Volkspark Friedrichshain is a well maintained park in which has attractive grounds, a number of lakes, ponds and fountains as well as several different children's playgrounds. The Märchenbrunnen is the park's most original element, with fountains designed as fairytale characters. Oberbaumbrücke, arguably the most beautiful bridge in Berlin, is the only connection between Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg. Karl-Marx-Allee and its landmark towers the "Frankfurter Tor", Simon-Dach-Straße, Boxhagener Platz, Samariterviertel and the Berlin Ostbahnhof.

MTV Europe is located on the Spree Riverbank in Friedrichshain.

The East Side Gallery in Friedrichshain, is a 1.3km stretch of the Berlin Wall that was decorated with graffiti after East and West were united (prior to this, it was impossible for people to even get remotely close to the wall).

The Gallery consists of approximately 100 different paintings on the original wall by artists from all over the world.

This is the last remaining stretch of the wall and remains a popular attraction. It is possibly the largest open air gallery in the world.

Kreuzberg Oranienstrasse and Bergmannstrasse are prominent streets full of shops, cafes and restaurants. Görlitzer Park on Wiener Str. is famous for the Turkish families barbecuing on summer weekends, failed contemporary art and relaxed atmosphere of students. Checkpoint Charlie Museum is one of the most visited museums in Berlin. The museum stands not far from the world famous Checkpoint Charlie and is a lasting reminder of the many attempts of East Germans to cross over to the West. The museum uses a blend of photographs and film to illustrate the fascinating history of the Berlin Wall and the reality of life in East and West Berlin during the years of partition. At the retained Checkpoint the tourist experience is probably a little tacky with US soldiers posing for photos for cash. The Jewish Museum Berlin, designed by American architect Daniel Libeskind, is one of the principle attractions in the area due in no small part to the unorthodox design of the building itself. Inside the museum visitors will find a comprehensive collection of fascinating artefacts documenting the lives of ordinary Jewish people living in Germany between 1848 and 1919.

Neighbourhood Areas of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg

Friedrichshain, Kreuzberg.