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Boroughs and neighborhoods of Berlin

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The districts and neighbourhoods of Berlin

Berlin is divided into boroughs or districts (Bezirke) for administration. The boroughs are further divided into neighborhoods (Ortsteile) which are officially recognised but have no administrative bodies of their own. Neighborhoods typically have strong identities that sometimes pre-date their inclusion into the modern boundaries of Berlin. These function differently to other subdivisions in Germany because of the dual status of Berlin as both a city and a federated state of Germany in its own right.

Since 2001, Berlin has been made up of twelve districts, each with its own administrative body. However because Berlin is a single municipality (Einheitsgemeinde), its districts have limited power, acting only as agencies of Berlin's state and city governments as laid out in the Greater Berlin Act of 1920. The districts are financially dependent on state donations, as they neither possess any taxation power nor own any property. This is contrast to municipalities and counties in other German states, which are territorial corporations (Gebietskörperschaften) with autonomous functions and property.

Each district is administered by a representatives' assembly (Bezirksverordnetenversammlung), directly elected by proportional representation, and a district board (Bezirksamt) led by a district mayor (Bezirksbürgermeister), elected by the assembly representatives. The district board is in charge of most administrative matters affecting its residents, but its decisions can be revoked by the Berlin Senate. The district mayors form a council of mayors (Rat der Bürgermeister) led by the city's governing mayor, which advises the Berlin Senate.

History

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Main article: Greater Berlin Act
Berlin boroughs (borders as of 1987) over the four occupation sectors of Berlin (1945-1990)
The 23 former boroughs of Berlin (1990–2000)
Residents without a migration background in Berlin on 31 December 2020 by district

Each borough is made up of several officially recognized subdistricts or neighborhoods (Ortsteile in German, sometimes called quarters in English). The number of neighborhoods that form a borough varies considerably, ranging from two (Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg) to fifteen (Treptow-Köpenick). These neighborhoods typically have a historical identity as former independent cities, villages, or rural municipalities that were united in 1920 as part of the Greater Berlin Act, forming the basis for the present-day city and state. The neighborhoods do not have their own governmental bodies but are recognized by the city and the boroughs for planning and statistical purposes. Berliners often identify more with the neighborhood where they live than with the borough that governs them. The neighborhoods are further subdivided into statistical tracts, which are mainly used for planning and statistical purposes. The statistical tracts correspond roughly but not exactly with neighborhoods recognized by residents.

When Greater Berlin was established in 1920, the city was organized into twenty boroughs, most of which were named after their largest component neighborhood, often a former city or municipality; others, such as Kreuzberg and Prenzlauer Berg, were named for geographic features. Minor changes to borough boundaries were made in 1938. After World War II, Berlin was divided into four sectors, with the Western sectors controlled by the United States, Britain, and France, and the Eastern sector controlled by the Soviet Union.

In 1961, the SED built the Berlin Wall to divide the city, effectively separating West Berlin from East Berlin and the rest of East Germany. Three new boroughs were created in East Berlin: Marzahn was split off from Lichtenberg in 1979, Hohenschönhausen from Weissensee in 1985, and Hellersdorf from Marzahn in 1986. In 1989, the Berlin Wall fell, and the city was reunified. This marked the end of the Cold War and the beginning of a new era in Berlin's history.

After reunification, Berlin underwent a process of rapid transformation, as the city worked to rebuild and modernize its infrastructure and economy. Many new businesses and cultural institutions were established, and the city became a center of creativity and innovation.

By 2000, Berlin comprised twenty-three boroughs, as three new boroughs had been created in East Berlin. Today Berlin is divided into twelve boroughs (Bezirke), reduced from twenty-three boroughs before Berlin's 2001 administrative reform.

Boroughs

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An administrative reform in 2001 merged all but three of the existing boroughs into the current 12 boroughs, as listed below.[1] The three boroughs that were not affected were Spandau, Reinickendorf and Neukölln, as the population of each was already exceeding 200,000.

Borough Bundestag constituency Population
31 December 2023 		Area
in km2 		Density
per km2 		Map
Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf Berlin-Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf
(excluding Charlottenburg-Nord and the neighbourhood of Kalowswerder) 		343,081 64.72 5,301 The 12 Bezirke of Berlin
Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg Berlin-Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg – Prenzlauer Berg East 293,454 20.16 14,556
Lichtenberg Berlin-Lichtenberg 311,881 52.29 5,964
Marzahn-Hellersdorf Berlin-Marzahn-Hellersdorf 291,948 61.74 4,728
Mitte Berlin-Mitte 397,134 39.47 10,062
Neukölln Berlin-Neukölln 330,017 44.93 7,345
Pankow Berlin-Pankow
(excluding Prenzlauer Berg east of Prenzlauer Allee) 		424,307 103.01 4,119
Reinickendorf Berlin-Reinickendorf 268,792 89.46 3,005
Spandau Berlin-Spandau – Charlottenburg North 257,091 91.91 2,797
Steglitz-Zehlendorf Berlin-Steglitz-Zehlendorf 310,446 102.50 3,029
Tempelhof-Schöneberg Berlin-Tempelhof-Schöneberg 355,868 53.09 6,703
Treptow-Köpenick Berlin-Treptow-Köpenick 294,081 168.42 1,746

Coats of arms

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The mural crown of the coats of arms of Berliner Bezirke

All the coats of arms of Berliner boroughs (the current as of the ones in the period 1990 to 2001) have some common points: The shield has a Spanish form and the coronet is represented by a mural crown: 3 towers in red bricks with the coat of arms of Berlin in the middle.

Most of the coats of arms of current boroughs[2] have changed some elements in their field: Some of them have created a "fusion" of themes of the merged Bezirke (Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, Lichtenberg, Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Tempelhof-Schöneberg); others have modified their themes taken from one of the two (or more) former merged boroughs (Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, Marzahn-Hellersdorf, Mitte and Treptow-Köpenick). Only the unchanged boroughs of Neukölln, Reinickendorf and Spandau have not changed their field. The coat of arms of Pankow was created with a new design in 2008, having been the only district without an emblem for 7 years.


Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf
Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg
Lichtenberg
Marzahn-Hellersdorf
Mitte
Neukölln
Pankow
Reinickendorf
Spandau
Steglitz-Zehlendorf
Tempelhof-Schöneberg
Treptow-Köpenick

Administration and politics

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The borough government is part of the two-tier administration of the Berlin city-state, whereby the Senate and its affiliated agencies, institutions, and municipal enterprises form the first tier of the so-called Hauptverwaltung (central administration). In the second tier, the boroughs enjoy a certain grade of autonomy—though in no way comparable to the German Landkreise districts or independent cities, nor even to the local government of a common municipality as a legal entity, as according to the Berlin Constitution the legal status of the city as a German state itself is that of a unified municipality (Einheitsgemeinde). The power of the borough governments is limited and their performance of assigned tasks is subject to regulatory supervision by the Senate.

Nevertheless, the twelve self-governing boroughs have constitutional status and are themselves subdivided into two administrative bodies: each is governed by the borough assembly (Bezirksverordnetenversammlung, BVV) and a full-time borough council (Bezirksamt), consisting of five councilors (Bezirksstadträte) and headed by a borough mayor (Bezirksbürgermeister). The BVV assembly is directly elected by the borough's population and therefore acts as a borough parliament, though it is officially part of the executive. It elects the members of the borough council, checks its daily administration, and is able to make applications and recommendations. The twelve borough mayors regularly meet in the Council of Mayors (Rat der Bürgermeister), led by the city's Governing Mayor; the council answers to and advises the Senate.

The localities have no local government bodies, and the administrative duties of the former locality representative, the Ortsvorsteher, were taken over by the borough mayors.

State election party votes by constituency

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People who live in the former West Berlin tend to vote for the CDU and the SPD, While voters in the former East Berlin tend to vote for Linke and the AfD.

Votes for parties by state election year (Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin)
Party overview: CDU (gray), PDS or The Left (purple), SPD (red), AfD (blue), The Greens (green), FDP (yellow)

Neighborhoods

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As of 2012, the twelve boroughs are made up of a total of 97 officially recognized neighborhoods or localities (Ortsteile). Almost all of these are further subdivided into several other zones (defined in German as Ortslagen, Teile, Stadtviertel, Orte etc.). The largest Ortsteil is Köpenick (34.9 km2 or 13.5 sq mi), the smallest one is Hansaviertel (53 ha or 130 acres). The most populated is Neukölln (154,127 inhabitants in 2009), the least populated is Malchow (450 inhabitants in 2008).[3]

Note that the coats of arms shown for localities in the tables below are historical and no longer in official use, having lost their validity upon incorporation into Greater Berlin or new districts.

(01) Mitte
Locality Area
in km2 		Population
as of 2008 		Density
inhabitants per km2 		Map
(0101) Mitte 10.70 79,582 7,445
(0102) Moabit 7.72 69,425 8,993
(0103) Hansaviertel 0.53 5,889 11,111
(0104) Tiergarten 5.17 12,486 2,415
(0105) Wedding 9.23 76,363 8,273
(0106) Gesundbrunnen                                 6.13 82,729 13,496
(02) Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg
Locality Area
in km2 		Population
as of 2008 		Density
inhabitants per km2 		Map
(0201) Friedrichshain                                   9.78 114,050 11,662
(0202) Kreuzberg 10.40 147,227 14,184
(03) Pankow
Locality Area
in km2 		Population
as of 2008 		Density
inhabitants per km2 		Map
(0301) Prenzlauer Berg 11.00 142,319 12,991
(0302) Weißensee 7.93 45,485 5,736
(0303) Blankenburg 6.03 6,550 1,086
(0304) Heinersdorf 3.95 6,580 1,666
(0305) Karow 6.65 18,258 2,746
(0306) Stadtrandsiedlung Malchow             5.68 1,166 205
(0307) Pankow 5.66 55,854 9,868
(0308) Blankenfelde 13.40 1,917 144
(0309) Buch 18.20 13,188 727
(0310) Französisch Buchholz 12.00 18,766 1,560
(0311) Niederschönhausen 6.49 26,903 4,145
(0312) Rosenthal 4.90 8,933 1,823
(0313) Wilhelmsruh 1.37 7,216 5,267
(04) Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf
Locality Area
in km2 		Population
as of 2008 		Density
inhabitants per km2 		Map
(0401) Charlottenburg 10.60 118,704 11,198
(0402) Wilmersdorf 7.16 92,815 12,963
(0403) Schmargendorf 3.59 19,750 5,501
(0404) Grunewald 22.30 10,014 448
(0405) Westend 13.50 37,883 2,800
(0406) Charlottenburg-Nord                         6.20 17,327 2,795
(0407) Halensee 1.27 13,966 10,997
(05) Spandau
Locality Area
in km2 		Population
as of 2008 		Density
inhabitants per km2 		Map
(0501) Spandau 8.03 33,433 4,164 District map of Spandau
(0502) Haselhorst 4.73 13,668 2,891
(0503) Siemensstadt 5.66 11,388 2,012
(0504) Staaken 10.90 41,470 3,810
(0505) Gatow 10.10 3,908 386
(0506) Kladow 14.80 13,628 922
(0507) Hakenfelde 20.40 26,337 1,292
(0508) Falkenhagener Feld                         6.88 34,778 5,056
(0509) Wilhelmstadt 10.40 37,080 3,558
(06) Steglitz-Zehlendorf
Locality Area
in km2 		Population
as of 2008 		Density
inhabitants per km2 		Map
(0601) Steglitz 6.79 70,555 10,391
(0602) Lichterfelde                                       18.20 78,338 4,300
(0603) Lankwitz 6.99 40,385 5,778
(0604) Zehlendorf 18.80 57,902 3,075
(0605) Dahlem 8.36 14,966 1,784
(0606) Nikolassee 19.61 15,899 811
(0607) Wannsee 23.68 9,044 382
(0608) Schlachtensee 4.05 10,573 2,611
(07) Tempelhof-Schöneberg
Locality Area
in km2 		Population
as of 2008 		Density
inhabitants per km2 		Map
(0701) Schöneberg                                       10.60 116,743 11,003 District map of Tempelhof-Schöneberg
(0702) Friedenau 1.65 26,736 16,204
(0703) Tempelhof 12.20 54,382 4,458
(0704) Mariendorf 9.38 48,882 5,211
(0705) Marienfelde 9.15 30,151 3,295
(0706) Lichtenrade 10.10 49,451 4,896
(08) Neukölln
Locality Area
in km2 		Population
as of 2008 		Density
inhabitants per km2 		Map
(0801) Neukölln 11.70 154,127 13,173 District map of Neukölln
(0802) Britz 12.40 38,334 3,091
(0803) Buckow 6.35 38,018 5,987
(0804) Rudow 11.80 41,040 3,478
(0805) Gropiusstadt                                       2.66 35,844 13,475
(09) Treptow-Köpenick
Locality Area
in km2 		Population
as of 2008 		Density
inhabitants per km2 		Map
(0901) Alt-Treptow 2.31 10,426 4,513 District map of Treptow-Köpenick
(0902) Plänterwald 3.01 10,618 3,528
(0903) Baumschulenweg 4.82 16,780 3,481
(0904) Johannisthal 6.54 17,650 2,699
(0905) Niederschöneweide                           3.49 10,043 2,878
(0906) Altglienicke 7.89 26,101 3,308
(0907) Adlershof 6.11 15,112 2,473
(0908) Bohnsdorf 6.52 10,751 1,649
(0909) Oberschöneweide 6.18 17,094 2,766
(0910) Köpenick 34.90 59,201 1,695
(0911) Friedrichshagen 14.00 17,285 1,233
(0912) Rahnsdorf 21.50 8,891 414
(0913) Grünau 9.13 5,482 600
(0914) Müggelheim 22.20 6,350 286
(0915) Schmöckwitz 17.10 4,117 240
(10) Marzahn-Hellersdorf
Locality Area
in km2 		Population
as of 2008 		Density
inhabitants per km2 		Map
(1001) Marzahn 19.50 102,398 5,240 District map of Marzahn-Hellersdorf
(1002) Biesdorf 12.40 24,543 1,973
(1003) Kaulsdorf 8.81 18,732 2,126
(1004) Mahlsdorf 12.90 26,852 2,075
(1005) Hellersdorf                                         8.10 72,602 8,963
(11) Lichtenberg
Locality Area
in km2 		Population
as of 2008 		Density
inhabitants per km2 		Map
(1101) Friedrichsfelde 5.55 50,010 9,011 District map of Lichtenberg
(1102) Karlshorst 6.60 21,329 3,232
(1103) Lichtenberg 7.22 32,295 4,473
(1104) Falkenberg 3.06 1,164 380
(1106) Malchow 1.54 450 292
(1107) Wartenberg 6.92 2,433 352
(1109) Neu-Hohenschönhausen                   5.16 53,698 10,407
(1110) Alt-Hohenschönhausen 9.33 41,780 4,478
(1111) Fennpfuhl 2.12 30,932 14,591
(1112) Rummelsburg 4.52 17,567 3,887
(12) Reinickendorf
Locality Area
in km2 		Population
as of 2008 		Density
inhabitants per km2 		Map
(1201) Reinickendorf 10.50 72,859 6,939 District map of Reinickendorf
(1202) Tegel 33.70 33,417 992
(1203) Konradshöhe 2.20 5,997 2,726
(1204) Heiligensee 10.70 17,641 1,649
(1205) Frohnau 7.80 17,025 2,183
(1206) Hermsdorf 6.10 16,503 2,705
(1207) Waidmannslust 2.30 10,022 4,357
(1208) Lübars 5.00 4,915 983
(1209) Wittenau 5.87 22,696 3,866
(1210) Märkisches Viertel                             3.20 35,206 11,002
(1211) Borsigwalde                             2.03 6,432 3,168

See also

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References

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  1. ^ (in German) Boroughs, Localities, and Statistical Tracts from Berlin's Statistical Office Archived January 27, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ (in German) Coats of arms of Berliner boroughs on www.berlin.de Archived April 14, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ (in German) Statistics for Berliner Ortsteile
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