Neukölln
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| Area: | 44.93 km² |
| Inhabitants: | 305,979 (2007) |
| Population density: | 6,810 inhabitants per km² |
| Website: | (German) official homepage |
| Politics | |
| Mayor of Borough: | Heinz Buschkowsky (SPD) |
| Parliament of Borough (BVV): | SPD 21, CDU 17, Alliance '90/The Greens 6, FDP 3, The Left Party.PDS 3, The Greys 3, NPD 2 (last election 2006) |
Neukölln is the eighth borough of Berlin, located in the southeastern part of the city. It features many Gründerzeit buildings and has one of the highest percentage of immigrants in Berlin.
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[edit] History
When first mentioned in 1360 the village was called Richardsdorf and owned by the Order of St. John; hence the coat of arms of the current city borough bears the Maltese cross.
In 1737 Frederick William I of Prussia let Moravians from Bohemia settle in the area, then called Rixdorf. They built their own church and houses off the village centre along the road to Berlin, today called Richardstraße. The new bohemian village was granted its own constitution in 1797.
When both parts of the village were reunited in 1874 the place had 8,000 inhabitants, growing to 15,000 the next year.
On May 1, 1899 the area, then the largest village of Prussia, became an independent city and acquired its current name in 1912 after the Old Cölln part of medieval Berlin. Its independence ended in 1920 when it was made part of Greater Berlin.
From 1966 to 1975 the Gropiusstadt was built, a "Trabantenstadt" or city-within-a-city housing estate, designed by architect Walter Gropius. Comparable in concept to La Defense in Paris, it has over 60,000 inhabitants.
[edit] Localities of the Neukölln borough
- Neukölln
- Britz
- Buckow
- Rudow
- Gropiusstadt
[edit] Individuals associated with Neukölln
- Horst Buchholz, actor, born December 4, 1933, died March 3, 2003 in Berlin
- Alexander Hacke, musician, born October 11, 1965 in Neukölln
- Jutta Limbach, legal academic, born March 27, 1934 in Neukölln
- Inge Meysel, actress, born May 5, 1910 in Neukölln, died July 10, 2004 in Bullenhausen, Seevetal
- Mady Rahl, actress, born March 3, 1915 in Neukölln
- Lotte Ulbricht, wife of East German leader Walter Ulbricht, born April 19, 1903 in Neukölln, died March 27, 2002 in Berlin.
[edit] References in popular culture
- "Neuköln" (deliberately spelt with one 'l') is an instrumental piece by David Bowie, the ninth track on his 1977 album "Heroes".
- The last track of Miss Kittin's first solo album I Com is called "Neukölln 2".
[edit] Twin cities
[edit] External links
- (German) Official Homepage
- (German) WebTV from Berlin, Neukoelln
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