Culture and night life in east Berlin
Prenzlauer Berg is in many respects one of the most typical parts of Berlin, with laregely intact tenement housing from the building boom of the late 19th century. But it has a population which represents a fascinating mixture of the city's past and its future, and anyone interested in vitality and variety will find this is right for them.
History
Some 150 years ago, Prenzlauer Berg was largely open land just to the north of the historical city, but by the start of the 20th century it had become one of the most densely populated districts of Berlin. The main cause for this rapid growth was the rapid industrialisation in Germany, and the need to provide housing for the growing workforce in the capital city. The basis for the development was provided by the radial sewerage system introduced by the city's chief engineer James Hobrecht. Five storey tenement buildings with inner yards and a mixture of housing and small businesses were typical for this working class district, which was not as badly affected by the bombing and fighting in the Second World War as other parts of the city.
The housing policies of East Germany concentrated on constructing new, pre-fabricated housing settlements, and much of Prenzlauer Berg, which had the Berlin Wall as one of its boundaries, was neglected for decades. In the 1970s, part of the district was declared a GDR "model development zone", and in the course of preparations for Berlin's 750th Anniversary in 1987 the Husemannstrasse was given a makeover.
Through the 1970s and 1980s the district was a gathering point for the dissident "Intelligentsia" of East Germany, and it became a symbol for another way of life within the GDR system. Following the reunification of the city, the cheap rents attracted waves of young people to the district and it went through a period of upheaval in which it established its current reputation as a trend-setter district with an avant-garde artistic community, offering a pulsating night-life and a good portion of social-romanticism.
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Prenzlauer Allee
Mauerpark
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