Lichtenberg lives the contrasts – high rises, nesting storks, avant-garde art and beach life along the Rummelsburger Bucht bay. And it is home to Berlin’s down-to-earth humour.
A fat man with hat, scarf and sausage warmer on his belly stands there, surrounded by a handful of children and adults. “Don’t open your nostrils so wide!” hisses the sausage man to the gaggle around him. “You’ll suck away all the sausage smell!” There’s no doubt about it – the Kaskel neighbourhood is home to Berlin’s rough and ready humour. After all, this was once the milieu of Heinrich Zille, one of the city’s most famous figures. An artist and photographer, Zille’s works took a sympathetic look at the life of the poor in the back yards and dives of this one-time working class area. But today’s Kaskel neighbourhood 10 looks nothing like it did in the early 1900s.
The blocks of attractive 19th century housing are freshly renovated with bright façades and draw many young families to the area. New stores, galleries and cafés are springing up everywhere – and there’s so much to discover! The sights in the Viktoriastadt quarter – named after Britain’s Queen Victoria – include the late 19th century neo-Gothic Erlöserkirche Church 11 as well as the pretty Tuchollaplatz (square) with its oddlooking cable distributor, part of Berlin’s early phone system. The Kaskel district’s landmark is the 40-meter-high Schrotkugelturm (Lead Shot Tower) 12 where lead shot was cast until the late 1930s. Enjoy Berlin´s ´hoods
