Köpenick

Coordinates: 52°26′45″N 13°34′38″E / 52.44583°N 13.57722°E / 52.44583; 13.57722
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
"Berlin-Köpenick" redirects here. For the railway station, see Berlin-Köpenick station. For the transmission facility, see Berlin-Köpenick transmitter.

Köpenick
Quarter of Berlin
Town hall on Dahme river
Town hall on Dahme river
Flag of Köpenick
Flag
Coat of arms of Köpenick
Coat of arms
Location of Köpenick in Treptow-Köpenick and Berlin
Köpenick is located in Germany
Köpenick
Köpenick
Köpenick is located in Berlin
Köpenick
Köpenick
Coordinates: 52°26′45″N 13°34′38″E / 52.44583°N 13.57722°E / 52.44583; 13.57722
CountryGermany
StateBerlin
CityBerlin
BoroughTreptow-Köpenick
Founded1232
Subdivisions8 zones
Area
 • Total34.9 km2 (13.5 sq mi)
Highest elevation
115 m (377 ft)
Lowest elevation
34 m (112 ft)
Population
 (2020-12-31)[1]
 • Total67,148
 • Density1,900/km2 (5,000/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
(nr. 0910) 12459, 12555, 12557, 12559, 12587
Vehicle registrationB
WebsiteOfficial website

Köpenick (German pronunciation: [ˈkøːpənɪk] ⓘ) is a historic town and locality (Ortsteil) in Berlin, situated at the confluence of the rivers Dahme and Spree in the south-east of the German capital. It was formerly known as Copanic and then Cöpenick, only officially adopting the current spelling in 1931. It is also known for the famous imposter Hauptmann von Köpenick.

Prior to its incorporation into Berlin in 1920, Köpenick had been an independent town. It then became a

Berlin's 2001 administrative reform, the borough of Köpenick was merged with that of Treptow to create the current borough of Treptow-Köpenick
.

Köpenick is home to the Bundesliga football club 1. FC Union Berlin, who play at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. Mellowpark, the largest outdoor skatepark in Europe, is located in the town.

Geography

Overview

A large percentage of Köpenick's surface area is made up of pine forests and expanses of water like lake Müggelsee, which is why it is often referred to as the "green lungs" of Berlin (Grüne Lunge Berlins). The Müggelberge hills in the south-east of Köpenick reach 115 m (377 ft), making them the highest natural point of Berlin.

The historic town lies in the center of the Berlin

Dahme and Spree
rivers. The original island had been separated by two channelisation ditches, the Katzengraben and the Schlossgraben, into what are now the three islands Baumgarteninsel (plantation island), Old Town and Schlossinsel (palace island), on which the eponymous Köpenick Palace is located. The Katzengraben is now the main navigable branch of the Spree, transecting the old river bend north of the Old Town.

The Spree links Köpenick with lake Müggelsee and inner Berlin, and further via the Havel and Elbe rivers with the North Sea. The Oder–Spree Canal links the Dahme, at nearby Schmöckwitz, with the Oder river, at Eisenhüttenstadt, thus providing a navigable connection between Köpenick, the Oder and thus the Baltic Sea.

Neighborhoods

Köpenick comprises nine neighborhoods:

Panorama

The Old Town with views of St. Laurence (left), town hall (center) and palace (right) from the opposite bank of the Dahme in Spindlersfeld

History

Historical affiliations

Duchy of Kopanica 12th century–c. 1180
March of Lusatia c.1180-1210

Margraviate of Meißen
1210-1245
Margraviate of Brandenburg 1245–1356
Electorate of Brandenburg
1356–1373
 Kingdom of Bohemia 1373–1415
Electorate of Brandenburg
1415–1701
 Kingdom of Prussia 1701–1871
 German Empire 1871–1918
 Weimar Republic 1918–1933
 Nazi Germany 1933–1945
 Allied-occupied Germany 1945–1949
 German Democratic Republic 1949–1990
 Federal Republic of Germany 1990–present

Statue of "Captain" Wilhelm Voigt

While its origins are shrouded in mystery, Köpenick has had a long history as an independent town. In the 12th century, it was the residence of a Slavic

margraviate, the area around Köpenick was conquered from the south and thus initially became part of the March of Lusatia
.

While Jaxa's

Margraviate of Meißen and the House of Wettin. Köpenick was afforded town privileges
by 1232, and German colonization commenced.

Köpenick may therefore be considered one of the oldest settlements in the Margraviate of Brandenburg, predating Spandau, Berlin and Cölln, which was first mentioned in a 1237 deed. For the most part of its history, the town was known as Cöp(e)nick.

The old Cöpenick consisted of three distinct parts that co-existed for centuries on the three banks of the Frauentog, a bight in the river Dahme: the castle with its garrison, the German-settled town of artisans, peasants and merchants, and the for still some time Sorbic-speaking Kietz, a hamlet containing the fishermen.

The castle was conquered by the

Brandenburg in 1245, defeating their rivals Margrave Henry III of Meissen and the Archbishop of Magdeburg
.

In 1631, the emissaries of

King of Sweden, in a vain effort to stop the ongoing devastation of the margraviate during the Thirty Years' War
.

In 1906, Wilhelm Voigt, a shoemaker and drifter, masqueraded as a Prussian officer and commandeered a squad of soldiers to follow him to Cöpenick to take control of the town hall. Carl Zuckmayer perpetuated the incident in his play The Captain of Cöpenick, on which several film and television adaptations have been based.

By 1907, Cöpenick was the largest town in the county of

borough of Berlin. Apart from the former town of Cöpenick proper, the borough included the parishes of Oberschöneweide, Grünau, Schmöckwitz, Müggelheim, Rahnsdorf and Friedrichshagen
. In 1931, the borough's spelling was officially amended from Cöpenick to nowadays' Köpenick.

In the months that followed the Nazi's rise to power, SA storm troops abducted and brutally tortured residents they considered political adversaries. In June 1933 the terror culminated in the Week of Blood, that left at least 24 Nazi opponents across the political spectrum dead and many more maimed. One of the sites at which the atrocities took place, the prison annex to the district court at Mandrellaplatz, has been turned into a museum.[2] During World War II, Köpenick was the location of a subcamp of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, mostly for Polish women, but also Czechoslovak, French, Greek, Belgian and Soviet, including of Romani descent.[3]

During the Cold War, Köpenick was part of the Soviet sector and thus East Berlin.

As a result of the

2001 administrative reform, the Berlin borough of Köpenick was merged with that of Treptow to create the current borough of Treptow-Köpenick
.

Until it was decommissioned in 2002, a large radio facility for MW and FM was located near the Uhlenhorst neighbourhood, including a 248 m (814 ft) self-radiating radio mast, which was insulated against earth. Following decommissioning, the FM services of this facility were moved to the Fernsehturm at Alexanderplatz and the AM transmitters were moved to a new aerial mast at Zehlendorf bei Oranienburg.

Köpenick Palace

Köpenick Palace
Main article: Köpenick Palace

The palace (Schloss Köpenick) was originally built in 1558 as a hunting lodge by order of

Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, where in vain he beseeched his brother-in-law Elector George William for assistance to his doomed campaign during the Thirty Years' War
.

From 1677,

Berlin State Museums
and is surrounded by a small park, which also contains a Calvinist chapel.

Culture

"Köpenick Summer" (Köpenicker Sommer) is an annual street festival which featuring music, shows and a festival parade led by the Captain of Köpenick (Hauptmann von Köpenick).

Transport

Both the rivers

Oder-Spree Canal at nearby Schmöckwitz, thus providing a navigable connection to Eisenhüttenstadt, the Oder river and thus the Baltic Sea and Silesia.[4]

Köpenick is served by

Berlin tram network, with routes 27, 60, 61, 62, 63, 67 and 68 serving its neighbourhoods.[5]

Sport

The Stadion An der Alten Försterei is home of the 1. FC Union Berlin football club.

Mellowpark is the biggest outdoor skatepark in Europe.

Grünau hosted the 1936 Olympic rowing competitions, and many athletes had lodgings there and nearby, like the American 8-man rowing team as described in Daniel James Brown's Boys in the Boat.

People

References

  1. ^ "Einwohnerinnen und Einwohner im Land Berlin am 31. Dezember 2020" (PDF). Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg. February 2021.
  2. ^ "Memorial of Köpenick Week of Blood June 1933".
  3. ISBN 978-0-253-35328-3
    .
  4. ISBN 0-85288-283-1
    .
  5. ^ "Liniennetzplan der Straßenbahn". BVG. Retrieved 11 May 2010.

External links

Pronunciation in German
The pronunciation of Köpenick in German
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