Magnificent mansions and resplendent residences: Lichterfelde-West’s elegant residential area has imposing houses inspired by every style from Tuscan villa to English country house and medieval castle!
In the 19th century, Berlin’s well-to-do longed for a home close to the city centre, yet surrounded by countryside. That dream came true in the exclusive upscale estates in Lichterfelde-West in Steglitz, an island of tranquillity in the bustling big city. A stroll through the quarter takes you past Florentinestyle residences, large suburban mansions with medieval arches and drawbridges, and prestigious houses with pointed gables and little towers, Even then, a tram line took you quickly and conveniently to the city centre.
For a tour of the district, Lichterfelde-West city railway (S-Bahn) station is ideal. After passing a local house painted with colourful, religious scenes and the Florentine-style Villa Holzhüter, you reach Kommandantenstrasse with its many magnificent mansions. At the corner of Friedrichstrasse, it’s impossible to miss the neo- Gothic red-brick monastic-style house known as the "Rother Stift". In keeping with the taste of the Wilhelminian era, the architecture of this mansion estate had to mix historical designs from other epochs. The result can be admired in Weddingenweg and Paulinenstrasse - elegant upscale houses in a Tudor-Gothic revival style adorned with fake drawbridges, battlements and towers.
Kadettenweg, which leads back to Lichterfelde-West city railway (S-Bahn) station, is also lined with the elegant, imposing houses which give this quarter its inimitable character.
Off the beaten track:
Liebermann Villa – The lovely garden and summer residence of German Expressionist painter Max Liebermann. Fully restored in 2006, the house is now a museum for Liebermann’s works and collections. With its view across the gardens and lake, the terrace is ideal for coffee and snacks from the in-house Café Max – and enjoying the special atmosphere of Liebermann’s “palace on the lake”.
