art:berlin - Rummelsburg

Rummelsburg Bay lies across from the Stralau Peninsula. On the banks of the Spree —just outside Berlin’s gates—nurseries, fisheries, and a dairy farm sprang up. The latter was converted by the wine merchant Rummel into the Rummelsburg Inn.

In the second half of the 19th century, alongside industrial facilities, the Friedrich Orphanage, the municipal workhouse, and the Rummelsburg Prison were built here. On this tour, you will learn about the various uses and conversions of these institutions for marginalized groups in society during the German Empire, the Weimar Republic, and the GDR. The many buildings that still remain were modernized after 1989 and are now available as private residences, offices, and studios on the banks of the Spree. The prison where Honecker and Mittag were briefly incarcerated is now an apartment hotel. Numerous apartment buildings and townhouses have been added.

A section of the riverbank was named after the famous DEFA film couple “Paul and Paula.” Opposite the Klingenberg power plant was the municipal river bathing facility Lichtenberg, which was heated during the colder months using waste heat from the power plant.