Neighborhood and Research

Since moving to Pariser Straße in Berlin-Wilmersdorf in 2023, colleagues at the ZfL have begun exploring the history of our new neighborhood. The new building, designed by the architecture firm Eike Becker, is located at the center of the Carstenn Figure. Named after its inventor, the Carstenn Figure is a symmetrical urban street layout in which four squares frame a web of streets around a central axis, in this case the Bundesallee. Around 1870, the figure was planned for an area that was still sparsely populated. Today, its streets and squares (including Prager Platz, Fasanenplatz, Schaperstraße, and Pariser Straße, as well as parts of Bundesallee) are part of the Wilmersdorf district. Despite many changes, its net-like structure remains visible on today’s city maps.

The district developed rapidly  toward the end of the 19th century and is now of great cultural-historical importance. However, it has hardly been studied to date. It was home to many creative individuals—renowned authors, artists, and scholars who became famous far beyond Berlin’s borders. In the coming years, the ZfL aims to uncover their stories, and, in doing so, the story of our new neighborhood. Our research will focus on the interrelationships between art and culture, and urban buildings, spaces, neighborhoods, and networks.

The collective project builds on the project Neighborhood in Contemporary Berlin Literature (2019–2024) as well as on previous publications on the former locations of the ZfL (Von der Jägerstraße zum Gendarmenmarkt. Eine Kulturgeschichte aus der Berliner Friedrichstadt; Jerusalemer Straße, Berlin Mitte).

The ZfL would like to connect with anyone interested in the history of the neighborhood. A newsletter with updates on the project will be sent out periodically. If you are interested, please contact Dirk Naguschewski (naguschewski@zfl-berlin.org).

Fig. above: © Dirk Naguschewski