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Areas Overview

Mitte.

The old East Berlin borough of Mitte was combined with the West Berlin boroughs of Wedding and Tiergarten in the 2001 borough reorganisation to form the new borough of "Mitte". However, local residents still refer to their location by their original neighborhood names and in Berlin "Mitte" generally refers to the area of the original pre 2001 East Berlin District of Mitte. As the new borough is a mix of both East and West Berlin it contains much of the central area where the "Wall" lay, there was a significant amount of re-building to be done in areas which were mostly left vacant for nearly 30 years.

Most of Berlin's historic centre is in "Greater Mitte" with all the most important tourist sites within the borough or adjacent to it. As it happened most of the internationally known Berlin Museum's in Mitte were within East Berlin and consequentially suffered for many years from lack of investment in the fabric of the buildings. Since re-unification there has been a major investment in these attractions and in particular the gem that is Museum Island. Major development is currently being carried out in the "Under den Linden to Brandenburg Gate" area where a new underground line is nearing completion. The Districts of Mitte are, Mitte, Moabit, Hansaviertel, Tiergarten, Wedding and Gesundbrunnen.

Mitte (pop 80,000) was historically at the centre of the development of Berlin. The first developments in Berlin were in the 17th century on the elevated sandbanks around "Spreeinsel" (Spree-island) where the river Spree splits. It was originally built around a fishing community that had developed there. Close to this area are some of the oldest remaining buildings of Berlin including the "Rote Rathaus" (Red Town Hall) and the Nikolaiviertel with the oldest church in Berlin. There are no remnants of the old city walls however there location is maintained in the names of older areas such as the Brandenburg Gate on the western limits of the city in the direction of the city of Brandenburg. The area of Mitte extends east to Alexanderplatz and was completely developed before the war and partition left large areas of it partially destroyed or vacant.

Following construction of the Berlin Wall it became the representative centre of the capital of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) with many government buildings, such as State Council and Foreign Ministry building. With the fall of the wall and re-unification the district is again the seat of government and parliament, with various state and federal facilities, and headquarters of the leading organization of politics, economy and culture. There are more attractions here than anywhere else in the city. While Berlin is seen as a city with a wide distribution of local focal points (referred to typically as Kieze locations - a Berlin term referring to "neighborhood) Mitte still exhibits all the characteristics of a "City Centre". Since re-unification Mitte has seen major redevelopment of the vacant areas created by partition and restoration of almost all of the old housing stock. The recently completed Potsdamer Platz development known as "The Sony Centre" has marked the complete re-development of this infamous "no mans land".

Moabit (pop 70,0000) was seen as an historically left wing area with large wroking class residential areas and was within West Berlin during partition, the area is built around a large waterway system. The population in the district was seen dramatic chages over time growing from less than 30,000 late in the 19th century to nearly 200,000 within thirty years. During the rapid population growth that accompanied the industrialization of the late 19th and early 20th century the district came to adapt the division of Alt (Old)- Moabit and Neu (New)- Moabit. The population of the district has declined steeply since the peak of its industrial past and has now stabalised at less than 50% of the peak levels.

The district retains some light industry including a large Siemens site and the AEG Turbine Factory. With the fall of the Berlin Wall Moabit's location has changed from a border district of West Berlin to a central district in the reunited city. The central railway station of Berlin, the Hauptbahnhof, is located on the eastern edge of Moabit. One of the most interesting Kieze areas of Moabit is "Stephankieze", close to the newly opened Hauptbahnhof, which contains the well preserved "Gründerzeit" quarter where nearly 90% of the historic buildings are intact.

Hansaviertel (pop 6000) is a small area defined by the sweep of the river Spree. It was earmarked for development after the war with a new building style which would be less intensive and include plenty of green spaces. A competition for the design of the development was held in 1952 which resulted in the construction of 35 developments based on the designs of internationally renowned architects including Alvar Aalto, Egon Eiermann, Walter Gropius, Arne Jacobsen, Oscar Niemeyer and Max Taut. The residential developments included a total of 1160 residential units with a relaxed mix of high rise and low buildings around the center on Hansaplatz. The whole area became a significant horticultural site with large green areas designed by international experts to create a tranquil zone with space for both recreation and play.

Tiergarten (Pop 13,000) mostly includes the parkland area of the same name in the south west of Greater Mitte. Early in the 19th century the district saw the emergence of residential houses which were home to the rich and powerful of Berlin.

Albert Speer laid out the plans for the redevelopment of the Imperial Capital in the western part of the district.

During World War II almost all the premium properties in the district were completely destroyed. Today, there are only a few remnants of the older buildings, Villa von der Heydt and Matthäuskirche.

Wedding(pop 70,0000) was part of West Berlin during partition and was traditionally seen as one of the least desirable city centre areas. At the end of the 19th Century Wedding became a principle residential area for the growing working class attracted to the area by rapid industrialisation. High density tenement developments were built by speculators looking to cater for the many new residents that were drawn to the area, many of these tenements still remain. At the time of the Weimar Republic Wedding was a stronghold of the working parties and known as Red Wedding, in 1929 a bloody clash between police and demonstrators from the area left many people dead and injured. The current properties of Wedding typically consisted of monolithic housing blocks from after the war or older buildings which have generally missed out on re-development many of which are without modern bathrooms or central heating.

Gesundbrunnen (pop 80,0000) again was in West Berlin during partition. It was originally an agricultural area with a mill and a local spring water source. Development here at the end of the 18th Century was aimed for the new bourgeois around Badstraße where gardens, restaurants and theatre's originally existed. From the middle of the 19th Century Industrialization completely changed the character of the district. Rapid industrial growth led to intensive residential developments for the mostly working-class residents of the district. Properties in the area suffered from low investment and only in recent years has there been an effort to upgrade the quality of residential areas.

What's happening in Mitte?

In old Mitte the improvement in the property market is very noticeable with good demand at the high end of the rental/sale market. Old Mitte is one of the areas of Berlin that has benefited most from the increase in the city centre population. High quality properties are in demand and achieve high rents with correspondingly high sales prices providing the direct neighborhood is good.

Some dramatic new developments are under construction in Mitte to take advantage of the demand for high end properties in the centre of Berlin. A current development with townhouse's of up to 230 m², Loft apartments from 66 to 291 m² and penthouses of up to 544 m² has a price estimate in the region of 5000 Euro/m² which shows the strength of the top end of the market for new build in Mitte.

The profile of properties in the district is a mix of some flagship new builds in the city centre, Grand Altbau style multi-family houses and some new build dating from before and after re-unification.

In Wedding and Gesundbrunnen there are high levels of unemployment and high levels of residents living on social welfare. Foreigners make up a high percentage of the population resulting in a multi-cultural environment with a strong Turkish and Arabic presence. There is a vibrant artists' community in Wedding with many informal galleries/studios which have been established to show their works.

Due to Moabit's proximity to the new Government District, many new buildings are being built there, such as for example the Federal Ministry of the Interior. In general properties in Moabit are mid market style and quality as there are not many high end altbau or new build up-market residential units in Moabit. In general the realatively cheap good quality housing close to the centre of the city make this an attractive area for investment.

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).With a definite positive trend to the centre and south of Berlin the borough of Mitte is probably set to benefit most from growth in city centre rents and property prices. As a non-homogeneous borough trends in Mitte will vary from neighborhood to neighborhood. The upward trend should be driven by the well establish demand for accommodation in central Berlin, there will still be a drag on the market in pockets of the borough with high levels of tenants on social welfare (this is most evident in Wedding-Gesundbrunnen).

Poorer quality properties which have a dominant profile of tenants paying very low rents will find it difficult to get onto the growth phase due to strong tenant rights and the unwillingness of these tenants to move to suburban areas where equivalent cheap accommodation is still available.

Residents who rent property at very low rates close to the city centre will use the strong tenant rights to stay where they are. As the discrepancy between current market rates and those paid by long term tenants increases the turnover of tenants on low rents could completely stop.

The condition of these properties will naturally deteriorate as they do not benefit from adequate repair and maintenance. While some renovation costs can be passed on to tenants as increased rents the increases generally do not in any way compensate for the investment made.

Where owners of buildings have managed to get out of the Low/Social Rent Trap it should be possible to take advantage of the increased rental rates in the area with corresponding increases in property values. Rent levels within the borough will then end up varying dramatically from building to building. More risk tolerant investors will probably still be tempted to invest in these low yielding properties.

These low yielding properties will maintain the wide spread on rents being paid in the borough. While the areas of Wedding undergo this slow re-development and change the absence of many of the social problems evident in its equivalent southern neighborhood of Neukölln should underpin the overall price growth in the district.

Moabit should consolidate its position as the mid market location close to the city centre and be a particularly good medium to long term investment location.

The "in" areas of Mitte and parts of Tiergarten will benefit most from the bias to central living. Landmark "New Build" residential developments in these areas will dramatically change average rental values in the area (typical rents currently being asked for this type of property are 12 to 15 euro/m2 against a quoted average of 6.3).

The 8% increase in average rental rates for the borough implies that with rents on low income and social housing in poorer neighborhoods increasing slowly than rental increases of significantly more than 8% must be occurring in the premium neighborhoods of the borough.

This area will probably see the highest rate of new build as the higher rental rates achievable make it one of the few areas where new build is financially viable.

With an "Owner Occupancy" rate of less than 5% the borough has one of the lowest rates in Berlin and is significantly below the average owner occupancy rates of other city centre areas in Germany. Re-development of properties in poorer areas and more up market "New Build" in the "Mitte" neighbourhood will change the resident profile of the borough. The average income level would be expected to increase at a higher rate than elsewhere in Berlin with an accompanying increase in "Owner occupancy rates". With most departments of the federal government now based within the borough this should be a further driver for change. For more information on "Owner Occupancy Rates" and other general analysis data visit our Graphs of Economic Performance page.

Landmarks and Attractions

The borough contains the highest concentration of attractions in Berlin. The principle museum/gallery area of Berlin is located at the Museum Island complex in old Mitte.

The Museum Island contains: The Old Museum which is the oldest of the museums dating from 1830 it was here that Frederick William III displayed his large collection of antiques to the public. This collection is now in part exhibited in the Old Museum again.

The New Museum located behind the Old Museum was completed in 1859 it was nearly destroyed in World War II (only some of the outer walls remained) and is presently being restored.

The Old National Gallery was completed in 1876 to host a collection of 19th century art donated by banker Joachim H. W. Wagener and was reopened in 2001 following total restoration.

The Bode Museum was first opened in 1904, it is located at the northern tip of the island and re-opened in October 2006 following its renovation. The last of the museums is the Pergamon Museum which was completed in 1930.

Other attractions include the Holocaust Memorial, dedicated in 2005 on the 60th anniversary of the fall of the Nazi regime and the end of World War II. It is designed to commemorate the murder of six million European Jews at the hands of Hitler and his forces. The Victory Column (Siegessäule) was constructed to celebrate the military successes of Prussia over Denmark. In 1938 Hitler moved it from its place in front of the Reichstag to the centre of Tiergarten where it stands today. Berlin's Zoological Garden is one of the city's major tourist attractions and is, in fact, home to more species, from wild to domesticated animals, than any other zoo in the world (Home to the world famous "Cute Knut," who's mother ignored him and his brother, who later died. and was reared by Zoo officials themselves).

The nightlife and social areas of Mitte are mostly located in an area north of the spree from Friedrichstr on the eastern end, along Oranienburger Str, and Hackescher Market to Alexanderplatz and north until it meets Prenzlauer Berg on the north east of the borough.

The Brandenburg Gate, this is one of the main symbols of Berlin, it is the only remaining gate through which people used to enter Berlin. The Brandenburg Gate was commissioned by Friedrich Wilhelm II to represent peace and was designed by Karl Gotthard Langhans. The main architectural design of this landmark hasn't changed since it was first constructed in 1791. Ironically the gate was incorporated into the Berlin wall during the years of Communist government. The Brandenburg gate is probably the most well-known landmark in Berlin.

To the north of the Brandenburg Gates is the Reichstag building. Following a complete renovation by Sir Norman Foster this former Head Quarters of the German Parliament is now home to the Bundestag (the lower Parliament).

In 1918 the German Republic was announced from the balcony of this impressive landmark. The building is perhaps most famous as being the centre of Hitler's dictatorship government. During the Cold War the Reichstag was in West Berlin.

Russiche Botschaft (Russian Embassy), a vast wedding cake of a building, built between 1949-1951 in the best Stalinist style and meant to symbolise the importance of the Soviet Union in East German affairs.

The "Fernsehturm" (Television Tower) dating from pre-unification is one of the tallest structures in Europe and is probably the most notable element in the city skyline. The television tower overlooks Alexanderplatz is a bustling shopping area with some large retail units and market stalls however the area itself is a little soul-less.

The former Lehrter Bahnhof which was renovated and expanded into the new central station and renamed Berlin Hauptbahnhof, this is Europe's largest railway station. Both north-south and east-west trains coming to Berlin cross at the station on two different levels.

Neighbourhood Areas of Mitte

Mitte, Moabit, Hansaviertel, Tiergarten, Wedding, Gesundbrunnen.