Grunewald

This article is about the locality in Germany. For other uses, see Grunewald (disambiguation).
Grunewald
Quarter of Berlin

Mansions on Hundekehlsee
Grunewald

Coordinates: 52°29′00″N 13°16′00″E / 52.48333°N 13.26667°E / 52.48333; 13.26667Coordinates: 52°29′00″N 13°16′00″E / 52.48333°N 13.26667°E / 52.48333; 13.26667
Country Germany
State Berlin
City Berlin
Borough Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf
Founded 1880
Area
 • Total 22.3 km2 (8.6 sq mi)
Population (2008-06-30)
 • Total 10,014
 • Density 450/km2 (1,200/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes (nr. 0404) 14193
Vehicle registration B

Grunewald is a locality (Ortsteil) within the Berliner borough (Bezirk) of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Famous for the homonymous forest, until 2001 administrative reform it was part of the former district of Wilmersdorf.

Geography

The locality is situated in the western side of the city and is separated from Spandau by the river Havel. It borders with the localities of Westend, Halensee, Schmargendorf, Wilhelmstadt, Gatow (both in Spandau district), Nikolassee, Zehlendorf and Dahlem (all three in Steglitz-Zehlendorf district). The Grunewald forest is 10 km away from Berlin (Germany's capital).

History

Origin of the name

The name derives from the Grunewald hunting lodge of 1543, the oldest preserved castle in Berlin, which is, however, officially located on the grounds of the adjacent Dahlem locality. It was erected in an Early Renaissance style by order of Elector Joachim II Hector of Brandenburg and named Zum Gruenen Wald, the umlaut spelt with a following <e> instead of a diacritic as depicted above the main entrance. A corduroy road leading from the Berlin Stadtschloss to the lodge was laid out, which later would be known as the Kurfürstendamm boulevard.

Overview

Grunewald hunting lodge, oil on canvas, Wilhelm Barth, 1832

The neighbourhood developed out of a so-called "mansion colony" at the western end of the Kurfürstendamm. Promoted by Otto von Bismarck the upper class of Berlin from 1880 on discovered Grunewald as an attractive site for living, which was incorporated into Greater Berlin in 1920. Today, the social structure of Grunewald is still influenced by these origins. The Rot-Weiss Tennis Club, home of the WTA Tour German Open, has been located in the district since 1897.

On June 24, 1922 Foreign Minister of Germany Walther Rathenau was assassinated by ultra-nationalist radicals of the Organisation Consul in a curve of the main street called Koenigsallee. A memorial stone marks the scene of the crime.

Since 1981 the Grunewald district is the home of the Institute for Advanced Study, Berlin. It also houses the embassies of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Qatar, Kuwait, Laos, Luxembourg, the Republic of Macedonia, Poland, Serbia and Turkey.

Within the Grunewald forest is the artificial Teufelsberg hill, once a listening station of the US National Security Agency. At the shore of the Havel the Grunewaldturm, built by Franz Heinrich Schwechten in 1898, offers panoramic views of the Havelland region.

The Deportation Memorial

Memorial plaque, Berlin-Grunewald station

Between October 1941 and February 1945 more than 50,000 Jews were deported by Nazis to extermination camps from the Grunewald freight railway station and murdered. Nowadays, memorials from the district of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf and the Deutsche Bahn ("Gleis 17") commemorate this dark spot in Grunewald's history. The area is accessible by the Berlin-Grunewald station.

Notable residents

Transportation

Grunewald has access to the Berlin S-Bahn network at the Berlin-Grunewald station (lines S7).

Grunewald Forest

Main article: Grunewald (forest)

The forest of Grunewald,[1] located mainly in the quarter but also in Nikolassee, Zehlendorf, and in a minor percentage in Dahlem and Westend is, with 3,000 ha, the greatest green area in the city of Berlin.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Grunewald". Berlin.de. 2013-05-03. Retrieved 2014-03-13.


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