Neukölln

The location of Neukölln in Berlin.

County court of Neukölln

Coat of arms

Neukölln is a borough of Berlin. It has an area of 44.93 km² (17.3 sq mi) and has, as of 2003, about 307,400 inhabitants and one of the highest percentage of foreigners in Berlin. Its current mayor is Heinz Buschkowsky (SPD).

History

When it was first mentioned in 1360, the village was called Richardsdorf and owned by the Order of St. John

The coat of arms of the borough has a Maltese cross to remember this part of its history.

In 1737, Frederick William I of Prussia let Moravians from Bohemia settle in the area. They built their own church and houses off the village centre along the road to Berlin, which is now called Richardstraße. The new Bohemian village was granted its own constitution in 1797.

When both parts of the village were reunited in 1874, the population was 8,000 inhabitants. It had nearly doubled, to 15,000 by the next year.

On 1 May 1899 the area, then the largest village of Prussia, became an independent city and got its current name in 1912. Its independence ended in 1920, when it was made part of Greater Berlin German: Groß-Berlin. Between 1966 and 1975, the "Gropiusstadt" was built. This city-within-a-city German: Trabantenstadt was designed by architect Walter Gropius. Gropius was the last director of the Bauhaus school of arts and architecture, which set up in Berlin when it moved from Dessau. Gropiusstadt has over 60,000 inhabitants.

Individuals associated with Neukölln

Actress Mady Rahl and Lotte Ulbricht, wife of East German leader Walter Ulbricht, were born in Neukölln.

References 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".