PROFILPELAJAR.COM

Neukölln
Neukölln
Borough of Berlin
	Flag Coat of arms
	Location of Neukölln in Berlin
	Neukölln Neukölln
	Coordinates: 52°29′N 13°27′E / 52.483°N 13.450°E
Country	Germany
State	Berlin
City	Berlin
Subdivisions	5 localities
Government
• Borough Mayor	Martin Hikel (SPD)
Area
• Total	44.93 km2 (17.35 sq mi)
Population (2023-12-31)
• Total	330,017
• Density	7,300/km2 (19,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Vehicle registration	B
Website	Official homepage

Neukölln^[2] (German: [nɔʏˈkœln] ^ⓘ) is one of the twelve boroughs of Berlin, Germany. It is located south of Berlin's centre and stretches southeastwards to the city boundary, encompassing the localities of Neukölln, Britz, Buckow, Rudow and Gropiusstadt.

Neukölln borough was part of the American sector during the Four-Power occupation of the city. It is characterised by having one of the highest percentages of immigrant residents in Berlin. An influx of students and artists since the mid-2000s has led to gentrification.^[3]

History

The Berlin district of Neukölln has a long and varied history that reflects the city's changing political and cultural landscape.

Located in the south of the city, Neukölln was originally a small village on the outskirts of Berlin. Neukölln's independence ended on 1 October 1920 when it was incorporated into Berlin.^[4] During the German revolution it was the centre of a soldier and worker's council which controlled all local government departments, abolished the municipal authorities, took over the banks and declared housing to be communal property.^[5]

In September 1929, Goebbels led his men into Neukölln, a KPD stronghold, and the two warring parties exchanged pistol and revolver fire. During World War II, Neukölln was the location of a subcamp of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp for Jewish and Romani women.^[6]

After World War II, Neukölln underwent significant transformation as a result of the city's division by the Berlin Wall. The neighborhood was located in West Berlin and became a center of industry and commerce, with many factories and warehouses. From 1966 to 1975 the Gropiusstadt was built, a "Trabantenstadt" or city-within-a-city housing estate, designed by architect Walter Gropius. In the 1980s and 1990s, Neukölln underwent a process of gentrification, with many artists, students, and young professionals moving into the area. In recent years, Neukölln has become known for its diverse and vibrant cultural scene, with a mix of traditional and alternative businesses and a thriving arts and music scene.

Today, Neukölln is a popular destination for tourists and locals alike, with a diverse array of restaurants, cafes, and shops, as well as a number of cultural attractions and events. Despite its gentrification, Neukölln remains a working-class neighborhood with a diverse and multicultural population.

Locality subdivisions

Hufeisensiedlung, 2017

Britzer Garten in Neukölln's South

Neukölln is subdivided into five localities:

Locality	Area (km²)	Inhabitants	Density (Inhabitants/km²)
0801 Neukölln	11.71	155,950	13,318
0802 Britz	12.40	39,029	3,148
0803 Buckow	6.35	38,219	6,019
0804 Rudow	11.81	40,733	3,449
0805 Gropiusstadt	2.67	35,751	13,390

Public transport

Neukölln is served by three operational sections of urban rail.

U-Bahn:

U7: Rathaus Spandau ↔ Rudow (running northwest–southeast)
U8: Wittenau ↔ Hermannstraße (running north–south)

Part of each of the following S-Bahn routes share an east–west-running section of Ringbahn track through Neukölln:

S41^[7]/S42:^[8] Südkreuz → Gesundbrunnen → Südkreuz (clockwise ↔ anti clockwise circular)
S45:^[9] Südkreuz ↔ Berlin Schönefeld Flughafen (only from Monday till Friday). An extension of the S45 is projected to run beyond the current terminus at Schönefeld Airport to the under construction Berlin Brandenburg Airport.^[10]
S46:^[11] Westend ↔ Königs Wusterhausen
S47:^[12] Spindlersfeld ↔ Hermannstraße

Among the numerous rail stations in Neukölln three act as interchanges:

Hermannplatz - U7 / U8
Hermannstraße - U8 / S-Bahn
Berlin-Neukölln - U7 / S-bahn

Demographics

As of 2010, the borough had a population of 310,283, of whom 121,000 (38.9%) were of non-German ethnicity. The percentage is significantly higher in the locality of the same name, Neukölln.^[13] The borough is known for its large Turkish, Arab and Kurdish communities, which together make up roughly 18% of the borough's population. Recently,^[when?] there has been an influx of Romani people and Sub-Saharan Africans.^[14]

Population by migration background^[15]
Ethnic Germans	60% (189,000)
Middle Eastern origin	18% (55,000)
non-German European origin	11% (33,000)
Afro-Germans	4% (12,400)
Others (East Asians, Americans, etc.)	6.5% (21,000)

Gentrification

A trend is the rapid gentrification of certain neighbourhoods within the borough. There has been an influx of students, creatives and other young professionals of mostly Western origin avoiding higher rents which are charged in other parts of Berlin. This has caused a knock-on effect, with rents rising in some parts of Neukölln.^[3] Northern Neukölln, just to the south of the Kreuzberg area, has become informally referred to as "Kreuzkölln" as the area becomes increasingly fashionable.^[16]

Politics

District council

The governing body of Neukölln is the district council (Bezirksverordnetenversammlung). It has responsibility for passing laws and electing the city government, including the mayor. The most recent district council election was held on 26 September 2021, and the results were as follows:


Party		Lead candidate	Votes	%	+/-	Seats	+/-
	Social Democratic Party (SPD)	Martin Hikel	41,104	28.7	1.7	18	1
	Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)	Susann Worschech	25,238	17.6	2.7	11	2
	Christian Democratic Union (CDU)	Falko Liecke	24,191	16.9	0.6	10	±0
	The Left (LINKE)	Sarah Nagel	21,525	15.0	2.8	9	2
	Alternative for Germany (AfD)	Julian Potthast	10,125	7.1	5.7	4	4
	Free Democratic Party (FDP)	Roland Leppek	6,971	4.9	0.6	3	1

	Tierschutzpartei		4,101	2.9	0.7	0	±0
	Die PARTEI		2,909	2.0	0.4	0	±0
	dieBasis		1,787	1.2	New	0	New
	Klimaliste		1,451	1.0	New	0	New
	Volt Germany		1,431	1.0	New	0	New
	Free Voters		1,061	0.7	New	0	New
	We are Berlin		843	0.6	New	0	New
	Ecological Democratic Party		235	0.2	New	0	New
	Liberal Conservative Reformers		192	0.1	New	0	New
Valid votes			143,164	98.9
Invalid votes			1,655	1.1
Total			144,819	100.0		55	±0
Electorate/voter turnout			225,767	64.1	6.5
Source: Elections Berlin

District government

The district mayor (Bezirksbürgermeister) is elected by the Bezirksverordnetenversammlung, and positions in the district government (Bezirksamt) are apportioned based on party strength. Martin Hikel of the SPD was elected mayor on 21 March 2018. Since the 2021 municipal elections, the composition of the district government is as follows:

Councillor		Portfolio
Martin Hikel	SPD	District Mayor Civil Service and Logistics
Jochen Biedermann	GRÜNE	Deputy Mayor Urban Development, Environment and Traffic
Falko Liecke	CDU	Social Affairs
Karin Korte	SPD	Education, Culture and Sport
Mirjam Blumenthal	SPD	Youth and Health
Sarah Nagel	LINKE	Public Order
Source: Berlin.de

Notable people

Edgar Froese (1944–2015), musician, founder of the electronic music group Tangerine Dream
Leo Arons (1860–1919), physicist, social democrat and supporter of the trade union movement
Sebastian Blomberg (born 1972), actor
Horst Buchholz (1933–2003), actor
Heinz Buschkowsky (born 1948), politician (SPD), former district mayor of Neukölln
Christiane F. (born 1962), author of the book Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo
Ursula Goetze, anti-Nazi activist (1916–1943)
Alexander Hacke, musician, born 1965 in Neukölln
Kirsten Heisig (1961–2010), juvenile magistrate in Neukölln, created the Neuköllner Modell, applying rapid intervention procedures to deal with juvenile offenders before they embarked on a criminal lifestyle
Kurt Krömer (born 1974), presenter, actor and entertainer
Jutta Limbach (1934–2016), legal academic
Will Meisel (1897–1967), composer and publisher
Inge Meysel (1910–2004), actress
Gunnar Möller (1928–2017), actor
Mady Rahl (1915–2009), actress
Antonio Rüdiger (born 1993), footballer^[17]
Werner Seelenbinder (1904–1944), wrestler, politician (KPD) and resistance fighter
Katharina Szelinski-Singer (1918–2010), sculptor
Elsa Thiemann (1910–1981), Bauhaus educated photographer, who took many photographs of Neukölln where she lived
Lotte Ulbricht (1903–2002), wife of East German leader Walter Ulbricht
Emil Wutzky (1871–1963), trade unionist and local politician (SPD)
Engelbert Zaschka (1895–1955), inventor and helicopter pioneer
Alice Phoebe Lou (born 1993), a South African singer-songwriter

In popular culture

"Neuköln" (deliberately spelt with one 'l') is an instrumental piece by David Bowie, the ninth track on his 1977 album "Heroes".
The last track of Miss Kittin's first solo album I Com is called "Neukölln 2".
The German film Knallhart is set in the northern part of Neukölln.
The German documentary Neukölln Unlimited tells the story of three Lebanese teenagers based in Neukölln, who fight their deportation out of Germany.
Electronic music producer Kobosil is a native of the city. With a Bachelor of Arts in audio production, he has released music on the Ostgut Ton and MDT labels.^[18]
The series 4 Blocks is set in Neukölln and Kreuzberg.
The sixth leg of The Amazing Race 32 had its Pit Stop in Neukölln.^[19]