Oberschöneweide

Oberschöneweide
Quarter of Berlin
Industrial buildings over the Spree river
Coat of arms
Oberschöneweide
Location of Oberschöneweide in Treptow-Köpenick and Berlin
Coordinates: 52°27′43″N 13°30′54″E / 52.46194°N 13.51500°ECoordinates: 52°27′43″N 13°30′54″E / 52.46194°N 13.51500°E
Country	Germany
State	Berlin
City	Berlin
Borough	Treptow-Köpenick
Founded	1598
Area
• Total	6.18 km^2 (2.39 sq mi)
Population (2008-06-30)
• Total	17,094
• Density	2,800/km^2 (7,200/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	(nr. 0909) 12459
Vehicle registration	B

Oberschöneweide (Upper Schöneweide) is a German locality (Ortsteil) within the Berlin borough (Bezirk) of Treptow-Köpenick. It is, with Niederschöneweide (Lower Schöneweide), part of the geographic area of Schöneweide. Until 2001 it was part of the former borough of Köpenick.

History

First mentioned in 1598 as Schöne Weyde, it became an industrial town at the end of the 19th century. In 1920 it merged into Berlin with the "Greater Berlin Act". On April 16, 1945, during the Battle of Berlin (one of the last battles of World War II in Europe), before the German troops left Oberschöneweide, they tried to stop Red Army at the bridges "Kaisersteg" and "Treskowbrücke". On April 24 the zone was in the hands of the 8th Guards Army of the Soviet Union. Between 1949 and 1990 it was part of East Berlin, and all the industries were converted into Volkseigener Betrieb (VEB), the state-owned enterprises.^[1]

Geography

Located in the south-eastern side of the city and crossed by the river Spree, Oberschöneweide borders with the localities of Plänterwald, Baumschulenweg, Niederschöneweide, Köpenick, Karlshorst and Rummelsburg (both in Lichtenberg district). Its urban park is the Wuhlheide, in which is located the ridable miniature railway Berliner Parkeisenbahn (BPE), used during the East German period by the Young Pioneer Organisation.

Culture

The Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft (HTW - translated as University of Applied Sciences for Engineering and Economy), the youngest and largest University of Applied Sciences of Berlin, has the Campus Wilhelminenhof ^[2] located in Oberschöneweide.

Transport

The locality is served, as urban rail, by the S-Bahn line S3, at Wuhlheide station, partly located in Köpenick. Located by the southern shore of the Spree in Niederschöneweide, it is the station of Schöneweide. The locality is also served by the tramway lines M17, 21, 27, 37, 63 and 67. At Wilhelmstrand, by the river, it is a short ferry service (line F11) that links it to Baumschulenstraße, in Baumschulenweg.

Photogallery

• 
  The centrum of the quarter
• 
  The old Kaisersteg in 1900
• 
  A BPE train in Wuhlheide
• 
  Wilhelmstrand ferry station
• 
  The Christ church
• 
  The new Kaisersteg
• 
  The new Treskowbrücke
• 
  A factory on the Spree

Personalities

• Emil Rathenau (1838–1915)
• Walther Rathenau (1867–1922)

References

1. (German) Historical infos about Oberschöneweide
2. (German) Infos about the Campus Wilhelminenhof on HTW website

Literature

• Judith Uhlig: "Köpenick – Geschichte der Berliner Verwaltungsbezirke". Stapp Verlag 1997, ISBN 3-87776-077-5
• Hans-Jürgen Rach: "Die Dörfer in Berlin". VEB Verlag für Bauwesen, Berlin 1988 ISBN 3-87776-211-5

External links

Media related to Oberschöneweide at Wikimedia Commons

• (German) Oberschöneweide page on www.berlin.de