Sights of Lichtenberg

Malchow Nature Protection Station has been located in the Drei-Seiten-Bauerngehöft (The "Three-sided Farm") at 35 Dorfstraße since October 1991. A year later the support group was established. Interesting nature and environmental projects have made the station and group, along with the green frog in its logo, known far beyond Berlin's borders. The main task of the station: environmental protection and the education of the population about the environment. Storks have nested in Malchow since 1971, and every year their arrival is welcomed with a festival.
Förderverein Naturschutzstation Malchow, Dorfstraße 35, Fon: +49 30 92799830
www.naturschutzstation-malchow.de

An animal city was established in Falkenberg in 2001. Covering 17 hectares of land, the Tierheim is the largest and most modern animal shelter in Europe. The spacious construction made of concrete and glass houses two cathouses, 15 dog pavilions, a building for smaller animals, a gigantic cage for birds of all sizes, a tipi for injured waterbirds and an official animal collection centre. Early in 2006 an open-air classroom was opened, giving the Tierheim a place to teach visitors about nature; and in the near future a third house for mother cats and their young will be built. Over a thousand ownerless animals can find a temporary home in the well-lit, heated single and group rooms of the shelter. A 4,500m² cemetery and a vast playground for dogs also belong to the Tierheim.
Tierheim Berlin, Hausvaterweg 39, Fon: +49 30 768880
www.tierschutz-berlin.de

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969), one of the greatest architects of the past century, designed the small 160m² hall in Obersee for the printworks owner Karl Lemke in 1932. It was the last building he dealt with in Germany before he emigrated to the USA in 1938. This architectural treasure has housed a communal exhibition point for modern art since 1992. The simple brick building was restored using original plans in 2002 and since then it has been a pilgrimage point for tourists from all over the world who are interested in architecture. Whilst there, a walk around the nearby lakes Orankesee and Obersee is hard to resist. The small open-air swimming pool there - Freibad Orankesee - with its large waterslide is perfect for children and adults alike.
Mies van der Rohe Haus, Oberseestraße 60, Fon: +49 30 97000618
www.miesvanderrohehaus.de

There is hardly another place in Germany that can be as heavily linked with the country's history of communist dictatorship and political persecution as this memorial ground, Gedenkstätte Berlin-Hohenschönhausen. The place was once the great kitchen for the National Socialists, then became the notorious "Speziallager Nr. 3" (Special Camp No. 3) of the soviet occupying forces, and after that was the detention centre of the Ministry of State Security for those awaiting trial. Now the complex documents the story of this detention centre that housed tens of thousands of political prisoners between 1945 and 1989.
Gedenkstätte Berlin-Hohenschönhausen, Genslerstraße 66, Fon: +49 30 98608230
www.stiftung-hsh.de

On the corner of Normannenstraße and Ruschestraße the former headquarters of the East German Secret Service can be found. A long-running exhibition conveys the structures and procedures used by the infamous organisation.
Forschungs- und Gedenkstätte Normannenstraße, Ruschestraße 103, Haus 1, Fon: +49 30 5536854
www.stasi-museum.de

The Zentralfriedhof was opened in 1881, becoming the first municipal cemetery at the gates of Berlin. There is nowhere else in Germany where you will find the graves of as many prominent people of the 20th century as here: Käthe Kollwitz, Franz Mehring, Friedrich Simon Archenhold, Otto Nagel, Friedrich and Konrad Wolf...information points around the cemetery lead you to the resting places of these personalities. The story of Wilhelm Liebknecht's funeral is legendary: it is alleged that around 150,000 came to pay their respects. Architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe designed the Revolution Monument for Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, who were both murdered in 1919. The monument was unfortunately destroyed in 1935. The "Gedenkstätte der Sozialisten" (the Socialist Memorial Monument) was erected in 1951 at the front of the cemetery; and at the back of the cemetery a reminder of the existence of the Revolution Monument of 1926 can be found.
Zentralfriedhof Friedrichsfelde, Gudrunstraße 20

At the cost of 396,664 Deutschmarks and 89 pfennigs, the town hall was created by the community building advisor at the time Franz Knipping and the architect Max Hasak and was eventually opened on 11th November 1898. After receiving town rights for the first time in 1907, an Oskar Ziethen was chosen as Lichtenberg's first mayor. The building was built with a triangular foundation with a curved back, and throughout the years it has retained its wrought-iron portal, gables, decorated roof with turrets and its historically interesting inner architecture. The listed building has been given new life through the comprehensive cleaning and restoration programme started in early 2006. The Lichtenberg district council is seated here.
Rathaus Lichtenberg, Möllendorffstraße 6, Fon: + 49 30 90296-0
www.berlin.de/ba-lichtenberg

In 1694 Benjamin v. Raule became the first lord of this manor, but all his belongings were taken from him in 1698. The Rosenfelde, as it was then called, was then in immediate possession of the crown, and as such the hall and the village were renamed Friedrichsfelde in 1699. In 1762 Prince Ferdinand of Prussia took it over, followed by Duke Peter of Kurland in 1785. In 1816 possession of the property was given to the Treskow family, who wrote agricultural history in Berlin. Nowadays the hall houses a variety of exhibitions. Concerts take place here in stylish settings. Also worth seeing is the beautiful baroque garden, which was created by the famous landscape gardener Peter Joseph Lenné in 1821.
Schloss Friedrichsfelde, Am Tierpark 125, Fon: +49 30 666350

Embedded in the former park of Schloss Friedrichsfelde is the Tierpark Friedrichsfelde, which was created in 1955. The vast park stretches over 160 hectares with significant areas of beautiful foliage. Almost 10,000 animals of over 1,000 species live in the spacious areas of land, like the hoofed animals, or in the impressive animal houses like the Alfred Brehm Haus and the Dickhäuterhaus. The joy of seeing the breeding and rearing of animals, especially of animals of endangered species, and the variety of parties and tours on offer attract more than one million people to Friedrichsfelde every year.
Tierpark Berlin-Friedrichsfelde, Am Tierpark 125, Fon: +49 30 515310
www.tierpark-berlin.de

On the night of the 8th May 1945, in the hall of what was the officers' mess, representatives of the German military force signed the treaty giving the unconditional surrender of their country. The Second World War was at an end. After 1945 the place became home to the Soviet military administration. Since the leaving of CIS troops in 1994 it has become the only museum in Germany that is managed by two former soldiers of the Alliance forces. Over 40,000 people visit the museum every year.
Deutsch-Russisches Museum, Zwieseler Straße 4, Fon: +49 30 50150810
www.museum-karlshorst.de

On the 9th May 1894 the club for handicap racing opened its first horse race in Karlshorst. A mass of people came to the Wuhlheide to see the spectacle. In 1935 a new set of terraces were opened to seat 1,500, and these terraces are still being used today. The first trotting race in post-war Germany was held here on the 1st July 1945 - less than two months after the surrender of Germany. 50,000 people came to watch. In 1985 the track was increased in circumference to a total of 1,200 metres. The digibet wetten.de Pferdesportpark Berlin-Karlshorst manages the track and hosts race days, such as the family race day, for the enjoyment of anyone interested in spectating. All races can be received by satellite and decoder across the country.
Trabrennbahn Karlshorst, Treskowallee, Fon: +49 30 7401281
www.pferdesportpark.de