Does somebody have the adresses of the Berlin Modernism Housing Estates? That would make it a lot easier to find them :)

Hi Joyce.
The UNESCO site has the Latitude/Longitude grid references of each estate.
http://jdx-vip3.unesco.org/en/list/1239/multiple=1&unique_number=1416
If you open Google Maps in another window and copy across the grid references in turn you will be taken to the exact locations within Berlin (or at least I was!).

The table in this Wiki page will lead you to each suburb but not to the exact spot (at least in the ones I looked at)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modernist_Housing_Estates

Thanks for the tip, at least I can look up the street now :-)

Hi not sure if you have already been to Berlin or not but hope this is of some use.

Wohnstadt Carl Legien is the closest to the city centre. It is just up the street from the planetarium in Prenzlauerberg, there are a few small sign posts to get you there from the S- Bahn (Prenzlauer Alle) which is on the main loop around the centre. Prenzlauerberg was a nice place to head to anyway but the Housing estate is a little bit away from the shops and bars.

Schiller Park is near Rehberge (U6) and you could probably walk from there to Wiesse Stadt which is less than 1km away near Residentzstrasse station (U8) both are near Tegel airport.

Also up near the Tegel is Siemens Stadt station is Siemensdamm (U7)

Britz is also on the U7 but on the other side of the city this may be the best site to visit as it is a little more unique than the others. Both Blaschkoalle and Parchimer Alle stations would be of use.

Finally Gardenstadt Falkenburg is in the south near Schoenfeld Airport it is furthest out and perhaps the least rewarding, but it is the earliest. Altglienicke (S9, S45) and Grunau (S8, S46, S85)

If you have google earth installed you can get all the locations up by clicking on the show all locations which should give you a good idea of where they are.

Hope that is not too late to be of use!

Enjoy Berlin anway.

I think I can help you:

Here is the tour:

www.visit-six-points-of-world-heritage-in-Berlin.de

Any suggestions about which Housing Estates should be visited if one doesn't have time for all 6!! The above links/comments are useful but there may be more advice in the light of our specific interests/situation

My "criteria" are (in reducing sequence of importance)
a. "Visible" Architectural Interest - i.e. which is/are going to provide the most impact/wow factor in a short visit!
b. "Historical" Architectural interest - i.e. Which is/are the most significant historically because of its place in the "canon" of the movement or an architect?
c. Ease of access. We will be travelling by car (so closeness of metro stations is not an issue) and, on this occasion, will really only be taking in Berlin as a diversion between Halle and Wismar (Some diversion!) and we will not be stopping off to see anything else. Similarly we will almost certainly not be overnighting in Berlin.

I guess that 2 or maybe 3 at most is all we want to find time for, so the trio of Schillerpark, Seimensstadt and Weisse Stadt reasonably close together in the NW would seem to be particularly convenient as we skirt the city by autobahn to the West. It has been suggested above that Falkenburg at Bohnsdorf in the SE is of less interest. So, would missing it together with Britz and Carl Legien be a "great loss" given the "opportunity cost" of getting to them?

If your time is limited I would suggest to visit Weiße Stadt and Siemensstadt, and maybe to have a short stop at the nearby Schillerpark estate.
Siemensstadt and Weiße Stadt were the last of the six housing estates that were completed, and here the influence on the architecture after WWII is clearly evident. In the Weiße Stadt the most significant structures are along the Aroser Allee: the two 5-storey-buildings at the "entrance" of the quarter and the "bridge building" at the end of Aroser Allee. But you should also have a look at the buildings along the Schillerring. I liked very much that many details like doors, window-frames, balconies were preserved or have been restored in the original style (but this is true for all six estates).
In Siemenssatdt the best known building is the so called "Panzerkreuzer" by Hans Scharoun (in the southwest of the nominated area), but more typical are the houses along the Goebelstraße.
At both estates you should pay attention not only to the street frontage but also to the green backyards and balconies.

But all of the six housing estates have their own special feature and together they tell the story of social housing. Falkenlust is the oldest of them, and for the first time, it was realized in Berlin, that workers live in a bright garden city in colourful houses. But for today's visitors, it offers nothing extraordinary. Brick has probably the most exceptional structure, the central building in form of a horseshoe, but I don't think that it is really worth a longer detour if your time is limited.

I found that the maps on the Unesco website were very helpful for orientation.

However, no matter which of the estates you visit, you may miss a real wow-effect. The outstanding value are not unique or exceptional buildings, but that this architecture is so common today.

Thanks for the info and suggestions Hubert.

I must admit that the more I look into the differing aspects of the 6 estates the more I am inclined to try to take in Falkenburg plus just one of the others. As the earliest and apparently the estate with the smallest living units it seems the closest to the English Garden City movement and the differences/similarities are something I would quite like to see and feel

Germany in its nomination file (naturally?) tries to downplay the value of the English Garden City representatives
"However in the end these estates"(viz Letchworth, Hampstead and Welwyn)... "were not real garden cities according to Howard's definition since they got caught up in the maelstorm of big city life in London and rather got turned into satellite or dormitory suburbs"

ICOMOS has "bought" into this argument in its Comparative analysis with some rather surprising comments -
a. "Deutsche Gartenstadtgesellschaft avoided from the start, the utopian claims of Howard's ideal city"
b. "The English garden towns, which were the model for the urban development of Falkenberg, are not as colourful"
c. "In England, the heyday of modern residential development began during the period of reconstruction after World War II"

I have always been surprised that UK doesn't seem to have seriously progressed the idea of nominating one or more of its "Garden cities" (though it got earlier housing developments inscribed at Lanark and Saltaire). Does Meltwaterfalls know if Letchworth etc have undergone so many changes that they would fail the "authenticity" test - or is it just that none of them want the hassle of WHS status?

Yep same for me, I thought that they were onto a winner with them as they were widely influential and from what I can tell are fairly coherent. I thought there was even scope to tie in the Arts and Crafts movement and some of it's major artworks etc.

I'm not 100% sure on the authenticity of the Garden Cities, I have only visited Welwyn GC and despite the station being a rather bland shopping centre now, the rest of the town felt pretty authentic to me, and the you certainly can feel the space and layout is very planned. I quite liked it, I can't say it was of OUV but I don't really think that the Berlin ones feel that remarkable either, but I think they are worthy of their spot on the list.

In regards to the Berlin Modernism Estates, I wouldn't argue with Hubert's suggestions. I spied Falkenburg and it looked reasonably interesting but that was about all. I visited Carl Legien, I wouldn't say it was that remarkable, but perhaps worth a detour if you are driving there.

Not sure if you have the locations already, but here is a map with the 6 on them

Doing a little bit of research for my third trip to Berlin I stumbled upon Tautes Heim (Bruno Taut's house). So if you were interested you can now stay in a house at one of the estates. This isn't just some random B&B though it has been lovingly restored (by a landscape architect and a designer specialising in cultural history), so well in fact it won the Europa Nostra award, it is is more like staying in a museum.

Alas, I've already sorted and paid for my accommodation (it is a bit outside my usual budget as well but we will ignore that) but their website is a great resource for people want to investigate the Housing estates, and modern architecture in Berlin.

I visited Falkenberg and Britz during my time in Berlin and the latter might be worth looking into for those deciding which are worth it. Prettiness aside, it has a small 'infostation' that is functionally a local cafe. It has an 'exhibition' which includes a recreation of a typical kitchen from the time, worth the whole 1 euro you pay to see it. It also has post cards and t-shirts for those who like to have souvenirs of their WHS visits, and coffee that's very good for its meagre 1.50eur asking price!

There's also a good website that isn't yet linked on our page for the estates which should be of some help and includes 'walking tours' (here's Falkenberg's for instance).

There is no Utopian ideas attached to the Berlin modernist housing estates. These are districts needed due to battle the urgent housing crisis after WW1: Berlin Mietskasernen were gruesome and terribly overcrowded. They were also pretty modern for their time with many fancy things, e.g., private toilets in an apartment. They are also the result of WW1 ending the German Empire with all its conservative restrictions. I think these are distinct from Garden cities and the closer association is with Bauhaus. But the focus on poor people/social houing is very distinct from the fancy Bauhaus villas.


Stayed there and yes, it's pricey. It's also not centrally located. On the other hand no other way to actually get the basic idea of a housing estate than housing in them.


Yes. Weird omission by the UK, seeing how influential these places are. By the way, there are German garden cities (Hellerau), the housing estates are just not one of them.
https://www.erih.net/i-want-to-go-there/site/hellerau-garden-city


Note: The area around Weiße Stadt and Schillerpark also holds the Friedrich Ebert Siedlung (another less well preserved housing estate) and some brick expressionism and Nazi Heimatschutzarchitektur. So, if you want to stay at a single location, this is probably it.

For the tick Carl Legien is the easiest, being centrally located. I also enjoyed the colours.

Siemensstadt is a huge factory town on the Western outskirts. Britz is on the Southern outskirts. And Falkenberg even further. In the near future, they also plan to add Zehlendorf.

Most memorable structures... Hufeisen in Britz. The buildings in Siemensstadt.

Personally, I am still missing Falkenberg and Zehlendorf and then I will write the all conclusive review.

My full comment related specifically to Falkenberg as my reason for choosing to include IT within whatever sites I could fit in..... See https://www.visitberlin.de/en/falkenberg-garden-city

Frightening to note that the Forum conversation referenced is already over 10 years old......... I note that you didn't even register until a year later Nan! But it has been good having you here!!

Well, while not quite a Garden City, Port Sunlight had a good stab at getting on to the UK's T-list. From their own website: "Port Sunlight was by no means the first model industrial village, Robert Owen's New Lanark on the River Clyde in Scotland was developed from 1800, and Sir Titus Salt's village of Saltaire from 1851. But at Port Sunlight, these ideas combined with provision of green spaces, parkland, and public buildings and were the key influence on the Garden City Movement."

I always joke about "Right kids, who wants to go visit the Berlin Modernism Housing Estates!" but I'm increasingly thinking I need to prioritise a trip (possibly by myself) so I can do a full comparative study 😀 I'll probably have to take in some aspects of the Pas de Calais Mining Basin like the Cité Bruno which makes clear its debt to Port Sunlight.

Of course, UK government rejected this bid.

And I am STILL waiting to hear why after my FOI request.......they are way over their "20 Working days" standard...... I may need to chase up and/or complain to the Commissioner....