Britz

For other uses, see Britz (disambiguation).

Britz
Quarter of Berlin
Hufeisensiedlung
Britz
Location of Britz in Neukölln district and Berlin 250px
Coordinates:
Country	Germany
State	Berlin
City	Berlin
Borough	Neukölln
Founded	1273
Area
• Total	12.4 km2 (4.8 sq mi)
Population (2008-06-30)
• Total	38,334
• Density	3,100/km2 (8,000/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	(nr. 0802) 12347, 12359
Vehicle registration	B
Website	Official website

Britz is a German locality (Ortsteil) within the Berlin borough (Bezirk) of Neukölln.

History

The village of Britzig was first mentioned in 1273. It was incorporated by the 1920 Greater Berlin Act. It is known for being the site of the Hufeisensiedlung ("Horseshoe Estate"), part of the UNESCO Berlin Modernism Housing Estates World Heritage Site since 2008.

Sights

• Village church with foundation walls from the 13th century
• Schloss Britz (Britz Manor), rebuilt in 1883, former residence of Prussian statesman Ewald Friedrich von Hertzberg
• Britz windmill built in 1866
• Britzer Garten, site of the 1985 Bundesgartenschau

Hufeisensiedlung

Main article: Hufeisensiedlung

The subsidized housing estate was built on the fields of Britz manor between 1925 and 1933 according to plans by Bruno Taut and Martin Wagner. The project was initiated by a housing cooperative established to combat the shortage of affordable living space. Numerous blocks and terraced houses in New Objectivity style with colorful facades include more than 1,000 apartments, situated in spacious gardens designed by landscape architect Leberecht Migge.

Transmission facility

Main article: Britz Tower

The transmission facility of the newly founded RIAS - present-day Deutschlandradio - was built on a site in Britz in 1946 by the American military administration. Several temporary structures were replaced in 1948 with the current, 100-metre high steel masts. These were later extended to heights of 160 m and 144 m.

Short-wave transmissions were made from Britz starting in 1949. In 1978 a medium-wave transmission aerial was added to allow better reception across the whole of the GDR's territory, especially at night.

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons

• (German) Britz official website
• (German) Neubritz website