Berlin Property Portal

and welcome to BerlinPropertyPortal.com.
t: +35 314 43 3237
t: +44 787 503 1517
t: +49 152 242 11524

Areas Overview

Lichtenberg.

The extended borough was formed in 2001 when the former boroughs of Lichtenberg and Hohenschönhausen were combined with the name of the older borough of Lichtenberg being used as the name of the post 2001 borough. All of the area within the borough has been part of Greater Berlin since the original boundary changes of 1920 that mostly define modern Berlin. The area saw a dramatic increase in its population in the early years of the 20th century as the industrialization of Berlin gathered pace. The districts of the borough were all within the area of East Berlin during partition and it was a key area for both the East Berlin and GDR leadership. Over time the districts of the borough have seen many boundary changes and the creation of completely new districts including the division of Hohenschönhausen into Alt (Old) - Hohenschönhausen and Nue (New) - Hohenschönhausen where there has been significant development in recent years.

There is a high proportion of "Plattenbauten" (Pre-Fab Concrete) buildings in the borough and the area had suffered from poor investment in the local infrastructure prior to reunification. A major renovation program has now been completed on the run-down residential developments that dominated the borough. Infrastructural improvements which have been carried out recently include a number of new commercial center, upgraded recreational and leisure facilities and greater investment in the local environment. This has resulted in a definite improvement in the image of the borough and stopped the decline in the population that had occurred since reunification when residents moved to other more desirable areas of the city or left Berlin completely. The population had decreased from 286,000 (based on the combined population of the two pre 2001 boroughs that makes up the new borough) to the 257,600 seen when the population of the borough bottomed out in 2004.

The districts of Lichtenberg are, Friedrichsfelde, Karlshorst, Alt-Lichtenberg, Falkenberg, Malchow, Wartenberg, Neu-Hohenschönhausen, Alt-Hohenschönhausen, Fennpfuhl and Rummelsburg.

Friedrichsfelde (pop 51,500) is a relatively newly created district that was one a burial area, it is predominantly residential character with many residents living in "Plattenbauten" style housing. The Zoo Friedrichsfelde is one of the largest animal parks in Europe. The district has a fine restored Castle, the Schloss Friedrichsfelde.

The Splanemann settlement dating from the late 1920's in the south of Friedrichsfelde was the first use of Plattenbauten (Pre-Fab Concrete) construction in Germany. While this type of building is mostly seen in the high rise developments of East Berlin dating from the late 1960's and 1970's the Splanemann development consisted of only 2 and 3 story buildings.

Part of the development was destroyed during the war. In the years up to re-unification further development occurred in the north of the district in the Frankfurter Allee area with both new build and restoration of some older properties.

Karlshorst, (Pop 21,200) was the location of an early racecourse and still has a noted Trotting-Track. Original development in the district consisted of Villa and Cottage developments with much of this centred on Lehndorff Str, some of the fine villas in the district were destroyed during the war. The area around the Müggelsee in Köpenick, which borders on Karlshorst, was a popular early recreational area and the residential colony in Karlshorst quickly became one of the most popular suburbs of the capital, It was often referred to as "Dahlem of the East". In the 1920's a rural housing scheme of two-to four-family houses with gardens and stables for small animals was built in the area. On the night of the 9th May 1945 during the final Battle for Berlin the unconditional surrender of the German Wehrmacht was signed in Karlshorst .

This building served until as headquarters of the Soviet military administration in Germany (SMAD) until 1949, the final departure of all Soviet presence was in 1994. Today the building is the site of the German-Russian Museum. After the war Karlshorst became a prohibited area where soviet military personnel and their families lived. In the 1950's the first experimental large block of concrete buildings with interchangeable components, and various floor plans and facades was built between Marksburg Castle and Ilse Str. in the north of the district. Since re-unification Karlshorst has developed as a popular residential area with many new residential projects with single-and two-family houses.

Alt-Lichtenberg, (Pop 32,500), the original district, from which the borough gets its name, has its origins in the settlement of Czech immigrants to the area. The name was later transferred to the residential and commercial area south of the Frankfurter Allee. By 1910 the district had nearly 70,000 residents.

When it was incorporated into the City in 1920 Lichtenberg was by far the most urbanized area east of Berlin and had over 140,000 residents.

The industrial base of the district remained in place until the fall of the wall when most of the industrial plants closed.

During the war almost half the buildings in the district were destroyed or badly damaged. In the 1970's development occurred around Frankfurter-Allee including the longest residence in East Berlin.

The Ministry for State Security of the GDR (The Stasi) was located between Frankfurter Allee and Narmannenstraße, it was stormed by demonstrators during the fall of the wall. After re-unification the large building complex was modernised for public use. Development in the district since 2000 includes an urban project south of Frankfurter Allee, this new neighbourhood is centred around Schulze-Boysen-Straße.

Falkenberg, (pop 1,100) in the extreme north east of the district has mostly remained undeveloped. In the 1930's there area around Gehrensee Str adjacent to Hohenschönhausen saw some residential development.. Since re-unification there has been an increase in industrial development in the area.

Malchow (pop 13,000) is spread around the area of Malchowersee which operated as a fish farm until the 1960's. In the 1930s Malchow expanded with the developments at Margarethenhöhe northeast of Malchow and by an industrial area south of the Malchowersee. After the war the area developed as an agricultural production location, this is still seen through its home for the Humboldt Universities Department of Crop Sciences. Since 1998 a large landscaped park with numerous play and sports areas, lawns, picnic sites and a network of hiking, cycling and horse riding has been developed in the east of the district.

Wartenberg (Pop 2,500) was originally a village with rural residential and agricultural developments.

The houses and stable buildings of the original village are now classified as a historical monument. The developments in the 1920's to the north-east of the village were originally designated as "New Wartenberg".

Agricultural production was a key industry of the area during socialist period, industrial scale mushroom production was started.

The residential mix in the district is 1970's multi-family buildings and some newly built single and two family houses near the old village centre. Since 2001 a new town centre was developed south of the old village centre and is located near Grevesmühlener Str.

Neu-Hohenschönhausen, (Pop 55,000) was created in 2002 from parts of the local areas Malchow, Wartenberg and Falkenberg which were attractive settlements consisting of single-family, twin and Multi-family houses. The area the new district occupies was primarily in agricultural use up until the developments of the 1980's. The main developments in the district occurred from 1982 to 1989, the initial infrastructural development included upgrading of the streets followed by an extension of the tram line from Gehrenseestraße.

From 1984 to 1989 the main residential development of the district was carried out. The residential development extended to about 33,000 homes based on variations of the "Plattenbauten" construction format. In recent times nearly all of these properties have been extensively renovated with a modern twist including colourful facades, balconies and glass modern building entrances. The residential units are varied with a lot of green spaces and good children's recreational space. The district is popular with young families and has many new schools, playgrounds, a library, galleries, sports and recreational facilities. The Linden Centre is the focus of the new district and is located around Zingster Str and Prerower Platz. The Linden Centre has been developed since re-unification and includes a shopping centre, local service businesses and a multiplex cinema.

Alt-Hohenschönhausen, (Pop 42,000). The district is centred on an old village centre dating from the end of the 19th Century. The old town centre is noteworthy for the stark contrast between old and new with some original village houses and a modern skyscraper development. Early development around the Orankesee and northwest of Konrad Wolf Str. included attractive town houses, villas, single-and multi-family houses, the surviving older properties in the district have seen major refurbishment in recent times. The 1920s saw investment in sport and recreational facilities in the district including a warm-water baths, a nursery, a large public library a swimming pool and several sports facilities. In the late 1920's the first-Bruno Taut settlement was built around Malchower Weg mainly in the form of double houses. In the 1930's small apartments with defined residential lines and green garden courtyards were built.

In the late 1970's a new development was built north of Landsberger Allee with accommodation for about 18,000 people. Since the 1980s high-rise buildings residential complexes at Hansastraße and Large-Leege Str. with further developments in the south of the district on both sides of the Landsberger Allee reaching into Lichtenberg. Much of the district was put to agricultural use during socialist rule with over 90% of land in public ownership, the agricultural base of the district was maintained up until the 1970's. Intimidation of agricultural workers in the 1950's led to many leaving the area and moving west until construction of the wall in 1961 stopped the movement. At this time the district was still very rural in character with typical small and medium sized local companies. The district saw a dramatic decease in its population towards the end of the 1990's due to the absence of a good local infrastructure. There has been some improvement in recent years with developments such as the new shopping centre "Storchenhof". In 2002 the Mies van der Rohe house at the upper Seestraße was re-opened after reconstruction.

Fennpfuhl, (Pop 31,000) is a modern residential area located south of Landsberger Allee and adjacent to the premium residential area of Prenzlauer Berg. The Fennpfuhl center, with its core at the Anton-Saefkow-Platz, was based on a higher class of "Plattenbau" development with efforts made to integrate water features within the environs of the developments, there was at this time 50,000 residents in the district. Very little was preserved of the original old buildings of the area, those that remain include, some old houses close to Erich Kuttner Str. some at Alfred Jung Str. and residential buildings on the north side of the Möllendorffstraße. Development in the social centre includes residential high-rise buildings with shops, a swimming pool, a sports hall and a department store.

After re-unification the infrastructure of the district was significantly improved with a number of major shopping centres and office developments. By the end of the 1990's "The Housing Co-Operative Lichtenberg" (WGLi) completed renovation of most of the older properties in the district.

Rummelsburg (Pop 10,000) is located on the west side of the borough close to the river Spree. The district saw rapid growth in residential and industrial buildings starting in the 1880's. Residential development mostly occurred in the northwest of the district on the site of an old fishing village with industrial development mostly in the south-east of the district. It was the location for the foundation of the AG Anilinfabrikation (Agfa) photographic film company. A coal-fuelled electricity generation plant was built here in the 1920's and was the largest and most modern coal-fired power plant in Europe. The district stretches to Rummelsburger lake which in the 1920's saw the development of open air river baths at the Köpenicker Chaussee, the baths were equipped with a diving tower and four pools. Following re-unification the residential areas have seen refurbishment and redevelopment while industrial sites contaminated under socialist government have undergone major decontamination.

What's happening in Lichtenberg?

Lichtenberg would not be considered one of the nicer borough's in the city with a dominant concrete theme throughout it with housing stock dating mostly from the period it was part of the GDR. Much of Lichtenberg's housing stock is made up of the "Plattenbauten" (Pre-Fab Concrete) type of apartment buildings. These properties have generally been refurbished to a good standard in recent years and offer a fine balance between quality of neighbourhood and price which has made it a popular area for young families.

Vacancy rates for residential properties in the borough are close to the Berlin average. Rental costs have gone down in recent years, as with much of Berlin, however the decrease within the borough has mostly stopped with rates now at their predicted minimum level The quoted rental rates for the borough are almost uniform, 5.3 to 5.4 Euro/m2, implying a very homogeneous property stock in the borough, however on the other hand quoted sales figures, ranging from 1000 to 3000 Euro/m2, are the widest of any borough in Berlin. The implications are that yield for some properties is very low and there is a low rental ceiling. It is more likely that rents for the small exclusive areas of the borough, such as Karlshorst, have not been caught by rental surveys and have not registered due to higher owner occupancy and much lower tenant turnover in this exclusive small community.

Overall there has been a small increase in property prices within the borough which reflects the general trend in Berlin with investors betting on no further deterioration in rents while accepting the present trend towards decreasing net rental yields.

East of Ostkreuz station there is an area of Pre-World War I apartment housing bordering onto Friedrichshain which is quite pleasant and has potential for future development.

In Karlshorst the neighbourhood's rich character and greater wealth results in quite a different market from the rest of Lichtenberg, the properties here mostly consist of Pre-World War I apartment buildings and villas.

The location of the borough on the eastern outskirts of the city yet close to good road connections has made it an attractive area for small industrial development and it has many good quality small industrial units located on the outskirts of the borough close to main transport links.

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

Future Trends

(Anecdotal based rather than data based).Based on the general property in the area rental rates and sales prices are likely to be market followers rather than market leaders with the exception of the up-market Karlshorst neighbourhood. Opportunities mostly exist for smaller investors to enter the market with the many cheap properties that are available here.

As rental rates increase quicker in other boroughs Lichtenberg is liable to become more popular with tenants who cannot afford to live elsewhere in the city. The rapid increase in rental rates in the central area of Berlin will force many tenants who may have traditionally preferred a central location to move to the borough. Expect quite a reduction in vacancy rates in the medium term which will help counter lower yields for investors in particular in Multi-Family residential buildings.

This is not a borough that is expected to see any dramatic changes in its property market, it has neither a premium geographic location nor has it any particularly attractive up and coming "Hip Kieze" neighbourhoods. It should compensate with good long term rental performance and is very much a buy and hold area.

With an "Owner Occupancy" rate of less than 5% the borough has one of the lowest rates in Berlin and significantly below the Berlin average. The rate of owner occupancy, apart from in the small select areas mentioned above, is likely to remain low in the borough while it remains an area dominated by younger low income families attracted by the low rental rates. For more information on "Owner Occupancy Rates" and other general analysis data visit our Graphs of Economic Performance page.

Landmarks and Attractions

Lichtenberg is somewhat lacking in tourist attractions and important landmarks: Worth seeing are the Hohenschönhausen Memorial Centre (Stasi prison museum). The Tierpark, Berlin's "other" zoo, the larger of Berlin's two zoological parks. The Mies van der Rohe designed "landhaus lemke" which was built in 1932 for Karl Lemke, owner of an art institute and manager of a Berlin printing works. It is the last house which Mies van der Rohe built in Germany before he moved to America in 1938.

Neighbourhood Areas of Lichtenberg

Friedrichsfelde, Karlshorst, Alt-Lichtenberg, Falkenberg, Malchow, Wartenberg, Neu-Hohenschönhausen, Alt-Hohenschönhausen, Fennpfuhl and Rummelsburg.