Steglitz

Steglitz is a locality of the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough in the south-west of Berlin, the capital of Germany. The locality also includes the neighbourhood of "Südende".

History

While one Knight Henricus of Steglitz was already mentioned in a 1197 deed, the village of Steglitz was first mentioned in the 1375 "Landbuch" of Emperor Charles IV, at this time also ruler of the Brandenburg Electorate.

Steglitz witnessed the construction of the first paved Prussian country road, in 1792. The former village profited largely from its location on the Imperial Highway "Reichsstraße 1", today "Bundesstraße 1", which follows a trading route that dates back to the Middle Ages. The old "Reichsstraße" used to stretch from the far West of Germany through Aachen and Cologne to Berlin, then went on eastward to end some two hundred miles northeast of Königsberg in East Prussia. The village of Steglitz also received an economic boost with the construction of the "Stammbahn" line of the Prussian state railways in 1838, which ran between Berlin and Potsdam. The Steglitz area was included in the southern line of Berlin's rail and transit systems from around 1850.

The southwestern surroundings of Berlin saw considerable change in the second half of the 19th century when luxurious residential areas were developed in the neighbouring villages of Lichterfelde and later Dahlem. Lichterfelde West and East, founded by the entrepreneur Johann von Carstenn were developed as so called "Villekolonien", settlements entirely made up of mansion houses or villas. In the east the settlement of "Südende" (South End) was founded in 1873. In Steglitz proper a major shopping area developed around the "Schlosstrasse", catering also for the wealthy villages of Lichterfelde and Dahlem. In 1901 the first Wandervogel youth group was founded in the basement of the Steglitz town hall.

Steglitz was incorporated into the city of Greater Berlin in 1920 together with the neighbouring villages. From 1920 to 2000 the administrative district IX was called "Bezirk" Steglitz. In Berlin's 2001 administrative reform the Berlin southwestern area was united in the newly created borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf, with its expensive residential developments today the most affluent of the twelve Berlin boroughs.

Points of interest

*Gutshaus Steglitz (Steglitz Manor), a Neoclassical building designed by David Gilly in 1801, which since 1921 housed the small "Schlossparktheater", one of the former Berlin state theatres, that nevertheless finally closed in 2006 [http://www.suedwestweb-berlin.de/struktur/b_indiv/steglitz_gutshaus_02.jpg]
*The Schlossstrasse, the second largest shopping area in Berlin after Kurfürstendamm and Tauentzienstraße, including "Forum Steglitz", one of Germany's first shopping malls opened in 1970
*Neo-Gothic Steglitz town hall, erected in 1898 [http://www.berlin.de/ba-steglitz-zehlendorf/rathaus_stg.jpg]
*Lutheran "Matthäuskirche", built in 1880
*Catholic Rosary church from 1900, which received the title of a basilica in 1950
*The notorious "Steglitzer Kreisel", a 119 m (390 ft) highrise erected between 1968 and 1980. Before the construction was finished the developing company became insolvent in 1974, leaving a ruin in Steglitz' centre until the works were resumed in 1977. To avoid further vacancy the borough's administration moved in, but had to leave the building in 2007 due to a contamination with asbestos. The building includes the Berlin U-Bahn station Rathaus Steglitz, a bus station and a multi-storey car park
*The "Bierpinsel" ("Beer Brush"), a tavern in a tower on Schlossstraße with an interesting architectural style built in 1976
* Villenkolonie Lichterfelde West, historical district of 19th century mansion houses and cobbled streets in the adjacent Lichterfelde district
*"Titania-Palast", a large cinema erected in 1928 in New Objectivity style. On May 26, 1945 it was the site of the first concert of the Berlin Philharmonic orchestra after World War II. On June 6, 1951 it saw the opening ceremony of the first Berlin International Film Festival
*The "Fichtenberg" hill, highest point in Steglitz, 68 m (223 ft).

Transportation

Steglitz is served by the Berlin S-Bahn line S1 at the stations Feuerbachstraße and Rathaus Steglitz as well as by the S25 at "Südende". U-Bahn connection to the inner city is provided by the U9 line with the stations Walther-Schreiber-Platz, Schloßstraße and Rathaus Steglitz.