Charlottenburg

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Charlottenburg is an area of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf.

Charlottenburg was an independent city to the west of Berlin until it was incorporated into "Groß-Berlin" (Greater Berlin) and transformed into a borough. In the course of Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was merged with Wilmersdorf becoming a district of a new borough called Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Later, in 2004, the new borough's districts were re-arranged, dividing the former Charlottenburg into the districts Westend, Charlottenburg-Nord and Charlottenburg. The following article deals with the former borough Charlottenburg.

In 2005, Charlottenburg commemorated its 300th anniversary.

Contents 1 Geography 1.1 Districts 2 History 2.1 Early settlements 2.2 Charlottenburg palace 3 Miscellaneous

[edit] Geography

Charlottenburg is located to the east of the river Havel and to the south of the river Spree with the exception of Charlottenburg-Nord at the other side of the river Spree. The eastern part of Charlottenburg is part of the Berlin-Warsaw glacial valley while most of the rest is on the Teltow plateau.

[edit] Districts

As mentioned above, the former borough Charlottenburg is officially divided into three districts: Charlottenburg, Charlottenburg-Nord and Westend. In addition to that, Charlottenburg features a number of popular kiezes.

[edit] History

[edit] Early settlements

It is proven that on the territory of Charlottenburg there have been three settlements in the late middle ages: the courtyards Lietzow (pronounced leat-tso) and Casow (pr. caaso) and a settling called Glienicke (pr. gleanicke). Even though these names are of Slavic origin, the settlements are likely to have comprised of a mixed Slavic-German population at that time.

Lietzow (aka Lietze, Lutze(n), Lütze, Lützow, Lusze and Lucene) is first documentary mentioned in 1239, and was located in the are of today's Alt-Lietzow street at the back side of the town-hall of Charlottenburg. Casow lay opposite to Lietzow on the other side of the Spree. In 1315 Lietzow and Casow are made property of the nunnery St. Marien in Spandau. As a result, it is possible that Lietzow was expanded to a village. In the course of the reformation, the nunnery was closed. While the area of Lietzow has continuously been populated, Casow and Glienicke were abandoned. As a result of old field names it is assumed that Glienicke lay in the area of today's streets Kantstraße, Fasanenstraße, Kurfürstendamm (more commonly known as Ku'damm) and Uhlandstraße as well as the now desiccated lake Gliniker Lake.

The development of Lietzow is documented well. For more than 400 years members of the Berendt family were mayors and thus had to pay lower taxes. Ecclestiastically, Lietzow was covered by the pastor of Wilmersdorf who went there by the so-called 'Priesterweg' (priest way), today the streets Leibnizstraße, Konstanzer Straße and Brandenburgische Straße.

[edit] Charlottenburg palace

See Charlottenburg Palace for more details.

In 1695, Sophia Charlotte received Lietzow from her husband Frederick of Prussia in exchange for her estates in Caputh and Langerwisch (near Potsdam). There she built a summer residence which was completed in 1699. After the coronation of her man, she had the residence expanded to a more representative palace. Shortly after her death, the settlement facing the palace and the palace itself were called Charlottenburg and Schloss Charlottenburg respectively and the settlement was chartered. The king was the town's mayor until in 1720 Lietzow was incorporated into Charlottenburg.

Fredericks successor, Frederick William rarely resided in the palace, which had a negative influence on the small town of Charlottenburg. Frederick even – effortlessly – tried to revoke the town privileges. It was not until 1740, the coronation of his successor Frederick II of Prussia, that the town's significance increased as regularly festivals were held at the palace. Later, Frederick II preferred the palace Sanssouci, which was partially designed by him.

But in the late 18th century, Charlottenburg's development was not only depending on the monarchs. The town, built on barely fertile grounds, soon became a recreational area of the uprising city of Berlin. After the first proper inn was opened in the 1770s at the street 'Berliner Straße' (now Otto-Suhr-Allee), many other inns and beer gardens were to follow, especially attracting guests on weekends.

When he died in 1786, his nephew Frederick William II took over regency, and the palace became his preferred residence. The same applied to his son and successor Frederick William III.

After the defeat of the Prussian army at Jena and Auerstedt in 1806, Charlottenburg was occupied by France. Napoleon resided at the palace while his troops built a camp further outside of Charlottenburg.

[edit] Miscellaneous

It is best known for Charlottenburg Palace, the largest surviving royal palace in Berlin, and the adjacent museums. It is also home to Berlin's Olympic Stadium (1936), the International Congress Centre, Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, and Gedenkstätte Plötzensee, a memorial to those murdered by the Nazi justice system between 1933 and 1945.

Elector Frederick III had a summer residence built for his wife Sophie Charlotte by the architect Johann Arnold Nering between 1695 and 1699. After Frederick became the first Prussian King in 1701 (Frederick I of Prussia), the palace was extended into a stately building with a cours d'honneur. This work was supervised by the Swedish master builder Johann Friedrich Eosander. The eastern New Wing was built by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff between 1740 and 1747 as Frederick the Great's residence.

Charlottenburg was an independent city until 1920, when it was incorporated into Greater Berlin.

Charlottenburg is twinned with Linz, Trento, and Lewisham in South East London, England.

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Coordinates: 52°31′N, 13°18′E