# Wedding (Berlin)

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Quarter of Berlin in Germany

Wedding Quarter of Berlin Augustenburger Platz with Campus Virchow Klinikum Coat of arms Location of Wedding in Mitte district and Berlin Location of Wedding Wedding Show map of Germany Wedding Show map of Berlin Coordinates: 52°33′00″N 13°20′33″E / 52.55000°N 13.34250°E / 52.55000; 13.34250 Country Germany State Berlin City Berlin Borough Mitte Founded 1861 Area • Total 9.23 km2 (3.56 sq mi) Elevation 52 m (171 ft) Population (2024-12-31)[1] • Total 86,796 • Density 9,400/km2 (24,400/sq mi) Time zone UTC+01:00 (CET) • Summer (DST) UTC+02:00 (CEST) Postal codes 13347, 13349, 13351, 13353, 13355, 13357, 13359, 13407 Vehicle registration B

**Wedding** ([German](/source/German_language): *der Wedding*, pronounced [\[ˈvɛdɪŋ\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/Standard_German) [ⓘ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:De-Wedding.ogg)) is a locality in the [borough](/source/Boroughs_of_Berlin) of [Mitte](/source/Mitte), [Berlin](/source/Berlin), Germany. It was a separate borough in the north-western [inner city](/source/Inner_city) until it was fused with [Tiergarten](/source/Tiergarten_(Berlin)) and Mitte in [Berlin's 2001 administrative reform](/source/Berlin's_2001_administrative_reform). At the same time the eastern half of the former borough of Wedding—on the other side of Reinickendorfer Straße—was separated as the new locality of [Gesundbrunnen](/source/Gesundbrunnen_(Berlin)).

## History

In the 12th century, the [manor](/source/Manorialism) of the nobleman Rudolf de Weddinge was located on the small [Panke](/source/Panke) River in the immediate vicinity of today's Nettelbeckplatz. The farmstead, which burned down more than once, remained abandoned in the forest until the 18th century. In the mid-18th century, while Gesundbrunnen was being built up as a health resort and spa town, [gambling](/source/Gambling) and [prostitution](/source/Prostitution_in_Germany) moved into Wedding, transforming it into a pleasure district. In 1864, [Ernst Christian Friedrich Schering](/source/Ernst_Christian_Friedrich_Schering) established the [Schering](/source/Schering_AG) pharmaceutical company on [Müllerstraße](/source/M%C3%BCllerstra%C3%9Fe); the company has been a part of [Bayer](/source/Bayer) since 2006. A large hospital at the western rim of the locality was built between 1898 and 1906 on the initiative of [Rudolf Virchow](/source/Rudolf_Virchow). The [Rotaprint](/source/Rotaprint) plant was initiated in Wedding in 1904 and became one of the largest employers locally with about 1,000 staff at its height.[2]

Coat of arms of the former borough of Wedding

The constant migration of country-dwellers into the city at the end of the 19th century converted Wedding into a [working-class](/source/Working-class) district. The labourers lived in cramped [tenement](/source/Tenement) blocks, many in the [Wilhelmine Ring](/source/Wilhelmine_Ring_(Berlin)). After [World War I](/source/World_War_I), Wedding was known as "Red Wedding" as it was renowned for its militant, largely [Communist](/source/Communist_Party_of_Germany) working class; it was the scene of violent clashes between [paramilitary groups](/source/Weimar_paramilitary_groups) such as the KPD's [Roter Frontkämpferbund](/source/Roter_Frontk%C3%A4mpferbund) and the [Nazi Party](/source/Nazi_Party)'s [Sturmabteilung](/source/Sturmabteilung) in the late 1920s, including the [Blutmai](/source/Blutmai) riots of 1929 in which the [Social Democratic](/source/Social_Democratic_Party_of_Germany)–controlled [Berlin Police](/source/Berlin_Police) killed 33 Communists.[3]

After [World War II](/source/World_War_II), Wedding and [Reinickendorf](/source/Reinickendorf) together made up the [French](/source/France) [sector of Berlin](/source/History_of_Berlin#The_divided_city). The buildings on the north side of Wedding's [Bernauer Straße](/source/Bernauer_Stra%C3%9Fe) and the street, including sidewalks, were in the French sector, while the buildings along the southern side were in Soviet territory. When the [Berlin Wall](/source/Berlin_Wall) was being built in August 1961, many who lived in these buildings frantically jumped from their windows before the buildings could be evacuated and their windows bricked up.

Wedding was also the western terminus of one of the first refugee tunnels dug underneath the Berlin Wall. It extended from the basement of an abandoned factory on Schönholzer Straße in the [Soviet sector](/source/East_Berlin) underneath [Bernauer Straße](/source/Bernauer_Stra%C3%9Fe) to another building in the west. Though marvelously well constructed and kept secret, the tunnel was plagued by water from leaking pipes, and had to be shut down after only a few days of operation.

A section of the wall has been reconstructed near the spot on Bernauer Straße (since 2001 part of the locality of [Gesundbrunnen](/source/Gesundbrunnen_(Berlin))) where the tunnel ended. Two sections of wall run parallel to one another down the street with a "death strip" in the middle. A nearby museum documents the history of the wall.

## Wedding today

[Berlin-Wedding station](/source/Berlin-Wedding_station) on Müllerstraße

Today, Wedding is one of the [poorest](/source/Poverty) areas of Berlin, with a high [unemployment](/source/Unemployment) rate (almost 26%). Almost 17% of the population live on [social welfare](/source/Social_security_in_Germany); 27% live below the poverty line.[4] Foreigners make up 30% of the population.[5] Low rental costs accompany the poverty in Wedding. Therefore, like many inexpensive areas in large cities, it is home to a vibrant [artists](/source/Artist)' community. Many [galleries](/source/Art_gallery) have been founded by artists to provide a space for themselves and their peers to showcase their works. The statistics used here are long out of date and need updating.

Wedding has so far not experienced the boom and development of the 1990s in post-reunification Berlin. Unlike many other 19th-century working class districts like [Prenzlauer Berg](/source/Prenzlauer_Berg), the original character of Wedding has been mostly preserved. It is still said though to be a place to find the *Schnauze mit Herz* (big mouth and big heart) of the Berlin working class.

The statistics used above are long out of date and need updating. By 2024, the district has also seen quite a long period of moving towards being a desirable part of Berlin to live, especially by the young creative class and that mixes with some of its deprived areas.

## Demographics

Along with [Kreuzberg](/source/Kreuzberg), Wedding is one of the most ethnically diverse localities of Berlin. The [multicultural](/source/Multiculturalism) atmosphere is visible in the bilingual shop signs (predominantly German and [Turkish](/source/Turkish_language) or German and [Arabic](/source/Arabic_language)).

In recent years Wedding has seen a significant influx of [Africans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:African_people), many of whom have settled in the [Afrikanisches Viertel](/source/Afrikanisches_Viertel), or African Quarter. Wedding is also home to an [East Asian](/source/East_Asian) community, mostly from [China](/source/China), which is reflected in many Asian and African stores and restaurants. As of 2011, the ethnic make-up of Wedding was 52% of German origin, 18% [Turks](/source/Turkish_people), 6% Sub-Saharan African, 6% [Arabs](/source/Arabs), 6% [Polish](/source/Polish_people), 5% former [Yugoslavia](/source/Yugoslavia), and 4.5% [Asian](/source/Asian_people).

## Cityscape

Many buildings are relics of European post-war [Modernism](/source/Modern_architecture). The *Schillerpark* estate in northern Wedding is part of the [Modernist Housing Estates](/source/Modernist_Housing_Estates) World Heritage Site. Beside monolithic housing blocks, several old buildings survived the war and urban renewal and still have [coal](/source/Coal)-fired heating. The church of [St. Joseph](/source/St._Joseph%2C_Wedding) from 1909 has served as interim cathedral of Berlin from 2018.

A green oasis marks the west borders of the "old red" district, with [Volkspark Rehberge](/source/Volkspark_Rehberge), [Goethepark](/source/Goethepark) and the idyllic [Plötzensee](/source/Pl%C3%B6tzensee_(lake)), a lake in the southwest. It is a popular summer hang-out offering sandy beaches and long lawns. A section of the beach is reserved for [Freikörperkultur](/source/Freik%C3%B6rperkultur), a [German nudist movement](/source/Naturism_in_Germany).

Near Scharnweberstraße 158/159 is Germany's last inner-city dune dating back to the last [Ice Age](/source/Last_glacial_period).[6]

## Notable people

- [Jérôme Boateng](/source/J%C3%A9r%C3%B4me_Boateng) (born 1988), football player and 2014 FIFA World Cup winner

- [Kevin-Prince Boateng](/source/Kevin-Prince_Boateng), German footballer for the [Ghana national football team](/source/Ghana_national_football_team) and [Schalke 04](/source/Schalke_04), grew up in the area.[7]

- [Hans Coppi](/source/Hans_Coppi) (1916–1942), German resistance fighter

- [Thomas Dörflein](/source/Thomas_D%C3%B6rflein) (1963–2008), zookeeper, best known for raising [Knut](/source/Knut_(polar_bear)) the polar bear

- [Martin Held](/source/Martin_Held) (1908–1992), German actor

- [Otto and Elise Hampel](/source/Otto_and_Elise_Hampel), a working-class couple who created a simple method of protest while living in Wedding, Berlin during the early years of World War II. They were eventually caught, tried, and executed.

- [Martina Hill](/source/Martina_Hill) (born 1974), German actress

- [Niko Kovač](/source/Niko_Kova%C4%8D) (born 1971), Croatian football player

- [Luise Kraushaar](/source/Luise_Kraushaar) (1905–1989), political activist, [Resistance campaigner](/source/Resistance_during_World_War_II) against [Nazism](/source/Nazism).

- [Marie Kunert](/source/Marie_Kunert) (1871–1957), German socialist politician and educator[8]

- [Hardy Krüger](/source/Hardy_Kr%C3%BCger) (1928–2022), German actor

- [Erich Mielke](/source/Erich_Mielke), German longtime head of the [East German Secret Police](/source/Stasi)

- [Leni Riefenstahl](/source/Leni_Riefenstahl) (1902–2003), German film director, actress and photographer

- [Silvia Rodgers](/source/Silvia_Rodgers), writer and political activist[9]

## Photo gallery

		- Wedding City Hall

		- Protestant old Nazareth Church (by [Schinkel](/source/Karl_Friedrich_Schinkel)) on Leopoldplatz

		- Protestant [Capernaum Church](/source/Capernaum_Church) on Seestraße

		- Lessing-Gymnasium high school

		- Schillerpark housing estate (by [Bruno Taut](/source/Bruno_Taut)) on Bristolstraße

		- Cemetery and *Memorial for the Victims of the [Uprising of 1953 in East Germany](/source/Uprising_of_1953_in_East_Germany)*

		- Typical houses in Wedding at Leopoldplatz

		- Typical houses in Wedding, Oudenarder Straße

		- Former crematorium is today an art gallery

		- Osramhöfe, former lightbulb plant, now used for various commercials

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Einwohnerinnen und Einwohner im Land Berlin am 31. Dezember 2024"](https://download.statistik-berlin-brandenburg.de/0fa3d2cb7a969ed2/f7c89991e96d/SB_A01-05-00_2024h02_BE.xlsx) (in German). [Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg](/source/Amt_f%C3%BCr_Statistik_Berlin-Brandenburg).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Brahm_Loc_2-0)** Brahm, Daniela. ["The Location"](http://www.exrotaprint.de/index.php?section=3200). *ExRotaprint*. ExRotaprint gGmbh. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160815193424/http://www.exrotaprint.de/index.php?section=3200) from the original on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Marhoefer, Laurie (26 August 2017). ["How Should We Protest Neo-Nazis? Lessons from German History"](http://www.salon.com/2017/08/26/how-should-we-protest-neo-nazis-lessons-from-german-history_partner/). *Salon*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20170829010019/http://www.salon.com/2017/08/26/how-should-we-protest-neo-nazis-lessons-from-german-history_partner/) from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** August 2004, [MieterEcho 305](http://www.bmgev.de/mieterecho/305/08-sozialstruktur.html). Accessed 9 November 2012.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Statistik Berlin Brandenburg, September 2011, [Statistischer Bericht: Einwohnerinnen und Einwohner im Land Berlin am 30. Juni 2011](http://www.statistik-berlin-brandenburg.de/Publikationen/Stat_Berichte/2011/SB_A1-5_hj01-11_BE.pdf). Accessed 9 November 2012

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Eiszeit im Wedding – Letzte innerstädtische eiszeitliche Düne Deutschlands wieder sichtbar"](http://www.berlin.de/ba-mitte/aktuell/presse/archiv/20120216.1555.366240.html). berlin.de. 16 February 2012. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20141009131228/http://www.berlin.de/ba-mitte/aktuell/presse/archiv/20120216.1555.366240.html) from the original on 9 October 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-The_Boateng_Brothers_7-0)** ["The Boateng Brothers' World Cup Duel"](http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/germany-vs-ghana-the-boateng-brothers-world-cup-duel-a-689431-2.html). [Spiegel Online](/source/Spiegel_Online). 16 April 2010. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20130324040320/http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/germany-vs-ghana-the-boateng-brothers-world-cup-duel-a-689431-2.html) from the original on 24 March 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2012.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Datenbank der deutschen Parlamentsabgeordneten"](https://www.reichstag-abgeordnetendatenbank.de/selectmaske.html?pnd=130180718&recherche=ja). *Reichstag Abgeordneten Datenbank* (in German). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20210513110506/https://www.reichstag-abgeordnetendatenbank.de/selectmaske.html?pnd=130180718&recherche=ja) from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Seaton, Jean (9 October 2006). ["Silvia Rodgers"](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2006/oct/09/guardianobituaries.obituaries). *The Guardian*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20190129010443/https://www.theguardian.com/news/2006/oct/09/guardianobituaries.obituaries) from the original on 29 January 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2019.

## Literature

- Komander, Gerhild: *Der Wedding – Auf dem Weg von Rot nach Bunt.* Berlin Story Verlag, Berlin 2006, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [3-929829-38-X](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/3-929829-38-X).

- Schmiedecke, Ralf: *Berlin-Wedding – Neue Bilder aus alter Zeit.* Sutton, Erfurt 2005, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [3-89702-866-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/3-89702-866-2) (Reihe *Archivbilder*).

- Simon, Christian: *750 Jahre Wedding – Eine Chronik.* Berlin 2001, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [3-8311-1777-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/3-8311-1777-2).

- Werning, Heiko: *Mein wunderbarer Wedding. Geschichten aus dem Prekariat.* Edition Tiamat, Berlin 2010, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-3-89320-143-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-3-89320-143-3).

- Scheer, Regina: *Den Schwächeren helfen, stark zu sein. Die Schrippenkirche im Berliner Wedding 1882–2007.* Hentrich & Hentrich Verlag, Berlin, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-3-938485-63-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-3-938485-63-7).

## External links

- [Germany portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Germany)

- Media related to [Berlin-Wedding](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Berlin-Wedding) at Wikimedia Commons

v t e Boroughs and quarters of Berlin Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf (4) Charlottenburg Charlottenburg-Nord Grunewald Halensee Schmargendorf Westend Wilmersdorf Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg (2) Friedrichshain Kreuzberg Lichtenberg (11) Alt-Hohenschönhausen Falkenberg Fennpfuhl Friedrichsfelde Karlshorst Lichtenberg Malchow Neu-Hohenschönhausen Rummelsburg Wartenberg Marzahn-Hellersdorf (10) Biesdorf Hellersdorf Kaulsdorf Mahlsdorf Marzahn Mitte (1) Gesundbrunnen Hansaviertel Mitte Moabit Tiergarten Wedding Neukölln (8) Britz Buckow Gropiusstadt Neukölln Rudow Pankow (3) Blankenburg Blankenfelde Buch Französisch Buchholz Heinersdorf Karow Niederschönhausen Pankow Prenzlauer Berg Rosenthal Stadtrandsiedlung Malchow Weißensee Wilhelmsruh Reinickendorf (12) Borsigwalde Frohnau Heiligensee Hermsdorf Konradshöhe Lübars Märkisches Viertel Reinickendorf Tegel Waidmannslust Wittenau Spandau (5) Falkenhagener Feld Gatow Hakenfelde Haselhorst Kladow Siemensstadt Spandau Staaken Wilhelmstadt Steglitz-Zehlendorf (6) Dahlem Lankwitz Lichterfelde Nikolassee Schlachtensee Steglitz Wannsee Zehlendorf Tempelhof-Schöneberg (7) Friedenau Lichtenrade Mariendorf Marienfelde Schöneberg Tempelhof Treptow-Köpenick (9) Adlershof Alt-Treptow Altglienicke Baumschulenweg Bohnsdorf Friedrichshagen Grünau Johannisthal Köpenick Müggelheim Niederschöneweide Oberschöneweide Plänterwald Rahnsdorf Schmöckwitz Districts Boroughs and quarters Zones Greater Berlin Act Former boroughs

v t e Boroughs of Berlin (1920–2000) West boroughs (1920–2000) Charlottenburg Kreuzberg Neukölln Reinickendorf Schöneberg Spandau Steglitz Tempelhof Tiergarten Wedding Wilmersdorf Zehlendorf East boroughs (1920–2000) Friedrichshain Hellersdorf (1986) Hohenschönhausen (1985) Köpenick Lichtenberg Marzahn (1979) Mitte Pankow Prenzlauer Berg Treptow Weißensee

Authority control databases International VIAF GND FAST WorldCat National United States Israel Other Yale LUX

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Wedding (Berlin)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_(Berlin)) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_(Berlin)?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.