Hohenschönhausen is a rather young part of the Lichtenberg district. Its appearance and architecture was shaped in the 1980s, even though the first prefabricated concrete high-rises were already built at the beginning of the 1970s between Wartenberger- and Falkenberger Straße. In the mid-80s, the new development area Hohenschönhausen-Nord was created.

Apart from concrete buildings, there are also beautiful villas around the Ober- and Orankesee lakes and an exhibition venue for modern art: the Mies van der Rohe Haus. Different, but also worth a visit, is the Hohenschönhausen Memorial, once a detention center and prison of the Stasi, the state security service of former East Germany. Also worth mentioning is the most modern animal shelter in Europe in the Falkenberg district, which has also been used as a location for futuristic film shoots.

The Hohenschönhausen sports forum with its stadium, indoor swimming pool, and ice rink makes the district the largest Olympic base in Germany. It was already a athletic training ground during the GDR era and still is today. The corrugated iron palace on the grounds used to be the official home of the Eisbären Berlin, the city's ice hockey team, until they moved to the Mercedes-Benz Arena. Meanwhile, in the north of the district you can see the foothills of the Barnim Nature Park. Several nature reserves invite you to observe some rare species of the animal and plant world.

Hohenschönhausen is a part of the district of Lichtenberg. Its associated districts are Alt-Hohenschönhausen, Neu-Hohenschönhausen, Malchow, Wartenberg and Falkenberg.