How much do you know about the 19th Century apartment blocks that you see all around Berlin? These old houses often seem unspectacular, but they have a fascinating past that you can still see in their walls.
Did you know that Mietskaserne was the widely adopted nickname for them? It means “rental barracks” and you can thus imagine that the living conditions were not their strong point. Today, 100 to 200 years later, the same tenement houses are cherished and desired by most Berliners. Many of these residents, however, are not fully aware of the distant and turbulent days that these houses have lived. If you are curious about them, you will enjoy these information-packed walking tours in a small group, guided by an expert.
The Tenements of Berlin is a growing set of walks that explores different angles on the topic, covering architecture and urban design, historical context and present, the evolution, and the variations of the typology. These walks take place in different city neighborhoods, so that local specificities are also addressed. I hope that after coming to them, you are able to enjoy your city strolls more, or even your house, because you can now see a story where before was just a sea of houses.
Current Walks
The first walk, in Prenzlauer Berg, has a more introductory character to the topic. The second, in Kreuzberg, is more specific, focusing on the special case there, but it is enjoyable on its own. Read more about them on their page.
Upcoming
The next tour will take us to see some of the oldest houses of Berlin. We’ll walk around the Spandauer Vorstadt in Mitte, and see how the typology evolved with time. On the following walk, we go to Kreuzberg again, to talk just about facades and architectural styles. Around Chamisoplatz we can find a large number of well-preserved buildings.
So, stay tuned, or write me and request to subscribe to the newsletter!
The flyer to print in A4 is available for download here.