Origin of Berlin Street Names

Named after people

• Adenauerplatz, Mayor of Köln, and Chancellor of the Federal Republic. In 1932, he favored making Hitler Chancellor, as the best of the options available. After the war, he criticized Brandt for the fact that he was illegitimate, and for leaving the country during the Nazi Period.

• Alexanderplatz, created in the reign of Friedrich 2, in front of the Koenigs Gate, where converged roads from Frankfurt-am-Oder, Landsberg, Prenzlau, and Bernau. Became the site of a cattle and wool market. Renamed by Berlin's reactionary upper class in 1805, after Napoleon's enemy, Czar Alexander 1 of Russia.

• Bebelplatz, site of book burning in the Nazi period (also been known as Opernplatz). Auguste Bebel was a founder member of the Social Democratic Party in 1869. He entered the Reichstag in 1867. In 1872, he imprisoned for two years for refusing to vote for war credits (along with Wilhelm Liebknecht). in the Schloss Hubertusberg, in Saxony. From 1890, he lived in Berlin.

• Behrstraße, after the architect responsible for the surrounding extension of Friedrichstadt, in 1706.
  

• Besarinstrasse. Besarin was the Russian commander

• Breitscheidplatz, Rudolf Breitscheid, SPD from USPD

• Bülowstrasse Wilhelm Bülow was a general in the Napoleonic Wars. Having taken part in the wars since 1792, he played an important role in the battles at Leipzig and Waterloo.

• Dimitroffstraße. Georgi Dimitroff was accused of the Reichstag fire, but skilfully defended himself at his trial and was acquited. Later became Prime Minister of Bulgaria.

• Ebertstrasse. Ran along the route of the wall. Friedrich Ebert became socialist Chancellor of Deutschland on 9. November and negotiated the armistice two days later. In February 1919, he became the first president of Deutschland. The street was renamed Hermann Goering Strasse ( Goebbels lived at No. 20 ). In 1936, almost in front of Goebbel's house, a tramcar fell into a new U-Bahn tunnel below the road.

• Ernst-Reuter-Platz Bürgermeister from 1947-53. Formerly known as das Knie
  

• Friedrichstraße named in 1706 after Friedrich 3. (and 1.)
  Friedrichstrasse, was widened and extended by FW to allow the army to march to the parade ground at Tempelhof

• Gneisenaustrasse August Gneisenau was a Prussian General during the Napoleonic period. He has seen some service assisting the British in the American War of Independence. Staff officer at the battle of Jena 1806.From 1813-15 Blücher’s chief of staff, contributing greatlt to strategy and tactics, including the Battle of Waterloo (or Belle Alliance).Retired in 1816 and became Governor of Berlin in 1818 In 1831 he was again appointed to a unit destined to subdue a Polish uprising but died of cholera. His original surname was Neithardt, he took the name Gneisenau in 1782 under the apparently mistaken belief that he was descended from the Austrian noble family of that name. He received the title of Graf in 1814.

• Hardenbergstrasse In 1810, Karl August Hardenberg was appointed chancellor of Prussia, during the period of French occupation. He introduced various social reforms eg the emancipation of the serfs and the Jews. In the aftermath of Napoleon’s defeat in Russia, he planned the break with France and Prussia’s appearance on the side of its opponents. Represented Prussia at the Congress of Vienna. Hardenbergstrasse While the King Friedrich Wilhelm 3., lived in Memel, away from the French, he agreed to delegate responsibility to a Chancellor. The first was Stein and Hardenberg was his successor. Hardenberg consolidated Hardenberg's reforms designed to encourage a national revival in Prussia.Serfs were liberated, the franchise was extended to 7% of the population, partially emancipated the Jews and gave towns in Prussia their own local self-government. In the period of repression after the War, many prominent officials resigned from public life, including Stein, but Hardenberg stayed on and became ever more reactionary.

• Kleiststrasse Commisioned in the Prussian army in 1740 and posted to Potsdam. Died of wounds at the Battle of Kunersdorf during the Seven Years War (1759). Believed by many to be the model for Lessing’s Tellheim in Minna von Barnhelm. Poet.

• Savignyplatz professor of law at the newly-founded Berlin University in 1810. Married Kunigunde, sister of Clemens Brentano and Bettina von Arnim.

• Stresemannstrasse Gustav Stresemann was born in Berlin in 1878. Elected to the Reichstag in 1907. Supported Hindenburg and Ludendorff and their annexationist ideas in the later stages of the war.Became Chancellor in August 1923 as well as Foreign Secretary. His goovernment fell in November 1923 but remained as foreign secretary for the rest of his life.

• Tautzienstraße Dennewitz

• Theodor-Heuss-Platz Reichskanzlerplatz. Then from 1933, Adolf-Hitler-Platz, where Hitler had an apartment.

• Uhlandstrasse Became member of government in 1819. In 1829 he became Professor of of German Language and Literature at Tübigen University, but gave it up three years later because of political commitments. Elected to new German Parliament in 1848.0000

• Wilhelmstraße Named in 1706, for the Crown Prince
  

• Yorckstrasse Hans Yorck von Wartenburg was born in Potsdam, of English descent. He commanded an infantry brigade at the Battle of Jena in 1806 and ‘emerged from that disaster with an enhanced reputation’.In 1812 he was commander of the troops that Prussia sent to fight alongside Napoleon in Russia, although when things started to go badly for the French, he unilaterally signed the Convention of Tauroggen (30. December 1812) by which Prussia troops became neutral. This action was initially opposed by the Prussian King but was supported by the ‘nation’ as a whole. After distinguishing himself in 1813/14, he became a Field Marshall in 1821

Named after people - general

• Kurfürstendamm
  

Named after battles

• Belle Alliance, name for Battle of Waterloo

• Dennewitzplatz

• Fehrbelliner Strasse Fehrbellin is a town in Brandenburg near which a battle took place on 28. June 1675, during the Thirty Years War, between the forces of Brandenburg, lead by the Elector Friedrich Wilhelm, and a Swedish army under General Wrangel.The battle was not decisive, but the Swedish forces withdrew, establishing Friedrich Wilhelm’s fame and gaining him the title of the Great Elector (Grosser Kurfürst).

• Leipzigerplatz, originally the Oktagon, parade ground , under FW. Renamed in honor of the Battle of Leipzig of 21. October 1812, at which Napoleon suffered a majoe defeat.

• Nollendorfplatz

• Wartenbergplatz,

• Wittenbergplatz

Named after towns and geographical features etc.

Parisierplatz, formerly knows as The Karree - a parade ground under Friedrich Wilhelm 1 . Renamed after the city of Paris, following the victories over Napoleon in 1814. Prussian troops had entered Paris in the spring of that year.

Warschaustrasse Warschau = Warsaw

Weichselstrasse Weichsel = Vistula (river in Poland)

Miscellaneous

• Charlottenburg Chaussee thru the Tiergarten. It was upgraded to high road in 1799 and paved, the only other road out of the city to be paved was the road to Potsdam.

• Fasanenstraße
  

• Gendarmemarkt Site of the guardhouse of the Rutoffskische Regiment, adjacent to the Festungsring. The regiment was later known by the name ‘Gens d’armes’. Market place of Friedrichstadt.

• Hasenheide along the length of the Hasenheide park, a woodland area that had been enclosed by Friedrich Wilhelm in 1678 for the breeding of hares. Famous as the location of Friedrich Jahn's open-air gymnasium, alongside an army rifle range.The connection with the military was apparently deliberate, as Jahn saw his exercise as a form of military drill and participants marched to the Hasenheide visa the Halle gate. After the gymnastics started to attract large numbers of spectators, it was moved further into the woods.

• Molkenmarkt earlier Alten Markt

• Mühlendamm originally a dam across the River Spree, which provided power for several mills (by 1285 there were already two mills, later four), and diverted water into the fortification system. At the Mühlendamm, ships had to be unloaded

• Opernplatz