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This former working class suburb grew up along the fortifications
north of the historic centre in the 18th century. Neglected at the
time of the GDR, the district is once more coming to life behind
the dilapidated facades and narrow courtyards of the high-rise flats.
Ddesigners and artists in search of new territory are taking over
the labyrinth of streets round the fashionable cafes.
Neue Synagoge and Centrum Judaicum
Both the symbol and emblem of a vanished Berlin, the golden dome
of the largest synaogue in Germany crowns a building with a troubled
past. Inaugragated in 1866 it was damaged but not destroyed on
Kristallnacht thanks to a warning given by a policeman. Severely
damaged by bombing in 1943, however, restoration did not begin
until 1988 and today houses a museum, information centre and
tempory exhibitions about Jewish culture.
Opening hours: Sun –Thur 10am-6pm, Friday 10am-2pm. Entry
is free
Sophienkirche
Thanks to Queen Sophie Louise this was the first Protestant parish
church to be built in the district in 1712. Flanked by block
of flat since the early 20th century the Baroque belltower overlooks
a shady cemetry where the famous historian Leopold von Renke
is buried.
Opening hours: Sun 10am-1pm, Wed 3-6pm, Sat 3-5pm
Hackesche Hofe
Built in the early 20th century and decorated with colourful ceramics
in true Art Deco style, this succession of inner courtyards has
taken over as the new centre of Berlin nightlife. In this micrecosm
resembling a small village, tourists and impassive regulars pass
and observe one another. As you move from courtyard to courtyard,
from cafes to theatres, from modern galleries to designer showrooms,
linger a while over the creations of the Kostumhaus designer
and the art jeweller’s Schmuckwerk.
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