CENTRAL BERLIN: SCHEUNENVIERTEL
From the mid-19th-century onwards, the Scheunenviertel (“barn quarter”) was home to thousands of poor Jewish migrants. After World War II the area was entirely neglected and fell into decay. It has experienced a regeneration in recent decades, and today, many historic merchants’ yards and narrow side streets have been restored, reviving the quarter’s unique and lively character. With its new restaurants, galleries and shops, the district has become fashionable. The tragic history of its former inhabitants, however, remains unforgotten.
1.Neue Synagoge
Oranienburger Str. 28–30 • 10am–8pm Sun–Mon, 10am–6pm Tue–Thu, 10am–5pm Fri • Admission charge • www.centrumjudaicum.de/en 
The New Synagogue was once the largest in Europe. In 1938, it survived Kristallnacht thanks to a brave guard, but it was damaged by bombs during World War II. Behind the Moorish façades are a prayer room and the Centrum Judaicum (for further details see Neue Synagoge).
Striking dome of the Neue Synagoge
2.Oranienburger Straße
Mitte, between Friedrichstr. and Rosenthaler Str. In the centre of old Scheunenviertel, Oranienburger Straße symbolizes the rise and fall of Jewish culture in Berlin like no other street. Traces of its Jewish past are visible at the Neue Synagoge and several Jewish cafés and restaurants. Some 18th- and 19th-century buildings attest to the street’s former splendour – the Postfuhramt for example, or the house at No. 71–72, built in 1789 by Christian Friedrich Becherer for the Grand Lodge of the German Freemasons.
3.Hackesche Höfe
Rosenthaler Str. 40–41 Berlin’s largest and most attractive group of restored commercial buildings, Hackesche Höfe extends between Oranienburger and Rosenthaler Straße. The complex, comprising eight interconnecting courtyards, was designed around the turn of the 20th century by August Endell and Kurt Berndt, two leading exponents of the Jugendstil. The first courtyard especially has elements typical of the style: geometric motifs on vibrant glazed tiles cover the building from the foundations to the guttering. The complex has been carefully restored and is now a popular centre of nightlife.
4.Museum für Naturkunde
The Museum of Natural History – one of the largest of its kind – has the world’s largest dinosaur skeleton: a brachiosaurus found in Tanzania. Also displayed are fossils, meteorites and minerals (for further details see Museum für Naturkunde).
Museum für Naturkunde
5.Sophienstraße
Große Hamburger Str. 29 Narrow Sophienstraße has been beautifully restored and looks as it did in the late 18th century. The buildings and courtyards now host shops and arts and crafts workshops. The Baroque Sophienkirche nearby, the first Protestant parish church, was founded by Queen Sophie Luise in 1712. Next to it is a cemetery with some 18th-century tombs.
6.Dorotheenstädtischer Friedhof
Chausseestr. 126 • Summer: 8am–8pm daily; winter: 8am–4pm daily Many celebrities have found their final resting place in this striking cemetery, dating back to 1762. To the left of the entrance are the graves of Heinrich Mann (1871–1950) and Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956); further along are the pillar-like tombstones of Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1762–1814) and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831). On Birkenallee (left off the main path) you can see the graves of Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1781–1841), Friedrich August Stüler (1800–65) and Johann Gottfried Schadow (1764–1850).
7.Brecht-Weigel-Gedenkstätte
Chausseestr. 125 • 030 200 571 844 • 10am–noon, 2–3:30pm Tue; 10–11:30am Wed & Fri; 10am–noon, 5–6:30pm Thu; 10am–3:30pm Sat; 11am–6pm Sun • Admission charge • www.adk.de/en/archive Bertolt Brecht, one of the greatest playwrights of the 20th century, lived here with his wife, Helene Weigel, between 1953 and 1956. On display are original furnishings, documents and photographs.
8.Tacheles
Oranienburger Str. 54–56a • 030 282 61 85 In the 1990s, the ruins of the Wilhelm-Einkaufs-Passagen, an elegant shopping centre from the early 20th century, were taken over by squatters and turned into an alternative arts centre. Recently this listed monument was sold, and will re-emerge as a cultural space with apartments, shops and hotel rooms.
9.Gedenkstätte Große Hamburger Straße
Große Hamburger Str. • www.jg-berlin.org/en.html Before 1939, this was a thoroughly Jewish street, with Jewish schools, the oldest Jewish cemetery in Berlin and an old people’s home. The latter achieved tragic fame during the Nazi period – the SS used it as a detention centre for Berlin Jews before transporting them to the concentration camps. A monument commemorates thousands of Jews who were sent to their death from here. To the left of the home is a Jewish school, on the site of an earlier school founded in 1778 by the Enlightenment philosopher Moses Mendelssohn (1729–86). To the right is the Alter Jüdischer Friedhof (old Jewish cemetery), where some 12,000 Berlin Jews were buried between 1672 and 1827. In 1943, the Nazis almost completely destroyed the cemetery, and in 1945 it was converted into a park. Only a few Baroque tombstones or masebas survived; these are now fixed into the original cemetery wall. The spot thought to be Moses Mendelssohn’s tomb is marked by a maseba.
Moses Mendelssohn
10.Postfuhramt
Oranienburger Straße 35 The richly ornamented Postfuhramt (post office transport department) dates from the 19th century. The building was used as an exhibition space, but it has now been converted into the head office of a medical technology firm.
JEWISH BERLIN
In the 19th century, Berlin had a population of 200,000 Jews, the largest such community in Germany. Apart from the wealthier Jews who lived in the west of the city, it included many Jewish migrants from Eastern Europe. They settled in Spandauer Vorstadt, primarily in Scheunenviertel, an impoverished part of the district that had the reputation of being a criminal red-light area. Later, Nazi propaganda used that name to denote the whole area to tarnish all Jews by association. Nazi stigmatization of Jews also included the enforced public wearing of a Star of David. The Jewish quarter is still known as Scheunenviertel, but very few Jews live here now. Only some 5,000 Jewish Berliners survived the 1933–45 persecution.
A DAY IN SCHEUNENVIERTEL
Morning
Take the S-Bahn to Berlin’s former entertainment district at Friedrichstraße and explore this vibrant, glamorous street. Then walk north up to Reinhardstraße, opposite the Friedrichstadt-Palast, and turn left here towards Bertolt-Brecht-Platz. Continue south to Albrechtstraße to the Berliner Ensemble. Admire the theatre where Bertolt Brecht used to work, then make a detour to visit his home, the Brecht-Weigel-Gedenkstätte. The best way to get there is on foot – return to Friedrichstraße and walk north to Chausseestraße. Then retrace your steps and turn left into Oranienburger Straße to get to the heart of fashionable Scheunenviertel. About 100 m (330 ft) ahead rises the former arts centre Tacheles, and a 5-minute walk down the street will bring the dome of the Neue Synagoge into view.
Afternoon
Before exploring further, stop for some refreshments; not far from the synagogue is the Keyser Soze café. Continue along Tucholskystraße, then turn right into Auguststraße. Here you will find some of the most attractive courtyards, such as the old-world Schulhof at No. 21. Continue along Auguststraße then turn right for the Gedenkstätte Große Hamburger Straße and the Hackesche Höfe. Shop a little, then round off your tour of Scheunenviertel with an evening meal at one of its restaurants.
The Best of the Rest
1.Charité
Schumannstr. 20–21 • 030 450 536 156 • Medizinhistorisches Museum 10am–5pm Tue, Thu, Fri, Sun, 10am–7pm Wed & Sat Many renowned physicians, such as Rudolf Virchow and Robert Koch, worked and taught at this world-famous hospital, founded in 1710. The Museum of Medical History has some 750 remarkable exhibits on display.
Exhibit at the Charité museum
2.Alte and Neue Schönhauser Straße
Hackescher Markt Alte Schönhauser Straße is one of the oldest streets in Spandauer Vorstadt. The lively road is still characterized by a colourful jumble of traditional and new fashion shops.
3.Deutsches Theater
Schumannstr. 13A • 030 28 44 12 25 Once the place of work of stage and screen actor and director Max Reinhardt, this theatre – widely considered the best German-language theatre – shows mainly German classics, often in new interpretations (for further details see Deutsches Theater).
4.Berliner Ensemble
Bertolt-Brecht-Platz 1 • 030 28 40 81 55 This theatre, established in 1891–2 by Heinrich Seeling, was the main venue for Bertolt Brecht’s plays.
5.Hochbunker
Albrechtstr. corner of Reinhardtstr. One of the last surviving World War II bunkers in Berlin.
6.Monbijoupark
Oranienburger Str./Spree A small park, in which once stood the little Monbijou palace. It is now an attractive green space for a break.
7.Auguststraße
Between Oranienburger and Rosenthaler Str. The area round this road harks back to old Scheunenviertel, featuring interior courtyards and now brimming with art galleries.
8.Koppenplatz
Near Auguststr. In this small square, a monument of a table and upturned chair recall the expulsion of the Jews.
9.Sophienkirche
Große Hamburger Str. 29 This parish church, built in 1712, has managed to preserve its traditional old Berlin charm. Be sure not to miss the Baroque pulpit.
The imposing Baroque Sophienkirche
10.Tucholskystraße
This narrow street is typical of the transformation of Scheunenviertel – trendy shops next to both decaying and beautifully renovated façades.
Old Courtyards
1.Sophie-Gips-Höfe
Sophienstr. 21–22 Famous for the Hoffman art collection, which is based here, this former sewing machine factory is a popular meeting place.
2.Sophienhöfe
Sophienstr. 17–18 The 19th-century red-brick artisans’ workshops have been transformed into artists’ studios and a theatre.
3.Heckmann-Höfe
Between Oranienburger Str. 32 and Auguststraße 9 These lavishly restored yards in a candy factory attract visitors with a restaurant and fashionable shops.
Courtyards of Heckmann-Höfe
4.Sophienstr. 22 and 22A
Two small inner courtyards, partially planted, are surrounded by yellow and red-brick walls.
5.Rosenthaler Straße 37
This green-tiled courtyard is unique. Once part of the Wertheim department store, it now houses a boutique and tapas bar. The 1775 townhouse through which it is accessed has a beautiful wooden staircase.
6.Schulhof
Auguststr. 21 Time seems to have stood still around 1900 in this courtyard, which houses an elementary school.
7.Hof Auguststraße 5A
The extensive courtyard of the former Postfuhramt permits a glimpse of the original façade of the building.
8.Rosenthaler Straße 39
Berlin’s post-Wall subculture of edgy art collectives is still alive and well in this unrenovated courtyard.
9.Kunsthof
Oranienburger Str. 27 A courtyard full of nooks and crannies, which is today occupied by a number of workshops, offices and cafés. Take a look at the richly ornamented staircases.
10.Kunst-Werke (KW)
Auguststr. 69 Large-scale installations by the resident artists are regularly on display at this well-known centre for contemporary art; artists-in-residence have included Susan Sontag. The courtyard has a café designed by US artist and curator Dan Graham in the conservatory.
The Kunst-Werke courtyard
Pubs, Bars and Nightclubs
1.Riva
Dircksenstr., Arch 142 • 030 24 72 26 88 • 6pm–4am daily This elegant and trendy bar is named after an Italian football player.
The trendy interiors of Riva
2.Bellini Lounge
Oranienburger Str. 42 • 030 97 00 56 18 • 6pm–3am daily Some of the most authentic tropical cocktails north of the equator.
3.Betty F
Mulackstr. 13 • 030 304 717 440 • From 9pm daily A trashy gay and straight pub paying ironic homage to former US First Lady Betty Ford. Great cocktails.
4.Reingold
Novalistr. 11 • 030 28 38 76 76 • From 7pm Tue–Sat A relaxed, fashionable bar with a 1920s atmosphere. Perfect for a nightcap after dinner in Mitte.
5.Fire Bar
Krausnickstr. 5 • 030 28 38 51 19 • From 8pm daily In this friendly though somewhat dingy bar, a young crowd enjoys reasonably priced drinks and snacks.
6.B-flat
Rosenthaler Str. 13 • 030 283 31 23 • From 8pm Sun–Thu, from 9pm Fri–Sat Live jazz and occasionally dancing are on offer at this small venue.
7.CCCP Bar
Torstr. 58 • 0151 23 60 76 05 • From 7pm daily A retro Soviet-style bar, CCCP Club serves vodka and blinis to a lively crowd. The tiny stage hosts DJ nights and burlesque shows.
8.Yosoy
Rosenthaler Str. 37 • 030 28 39 12 13 • from 11am daily Tasty tapas, good wines and exciting cocktails are served at this attractively furnished Spanish restaurant – which is why it is usually crowded late into the night.
9.Kaffee Burger
Torstr. 58–60 • 030 28 04 64 95 • From 8pm daily Thanks to its quirky record release parties, readings and movie screenings, this pub and music venue is a firm favourite with East Berlin hipsters.
10.Oxymoron
Rosenthaler Str. 40–41 • 030 28 39 18 86 • From 9am daily This small bar, club and restaurant in popular and lively Hackesche Höfe, features chintz decoration and serves light German and international meals.
Oxymoron restaurant and bar
Restaurants
1.Pan Asia
Rosenthaler Str. 38 • 030 27 90 88 11 • noon–midnight daily • € Asian dishes, many with seared fish and vegetables, are served in vintage 1960s surroundings.
2.Keyser Soze
Tucholskystr. 33 • 030 28 59 94 89 • 7:30am–3am daily • € Unpretentious restaurant serving breakfast until 6pm and hearty German snacks.
3.Monsieur Vuong
Alte Schönhauser Str. 46 • 030 99 29 69 24 • noon–midnight daily • € This tiny Vietnamese snack joint serves delicious Asian dishes.
4.Pauly Saal
Auguststr. 11 • 030 33 00 60 70 • 3–6pm, 6pm–3am Mon–Sat • €€€ Classy Michelin star restaurant in a former school that also houses art galleries. Its wine list is extensive.
5.Beth-Café
Tucholskystr. 40 • 030 281 31 35 • 11am–5pm Fri, 11am–8pm Sun–Thu • no credit cards • € Small Jewish café of the Adass-Jisroel community, serving Jewish snacks and kosher wines and beers.
6.Hackescher Hof
Rosenthaler Str. 40–41 • 030 283 52 93 • from 8am Mon–Fri, from 9am Sat–Sun • €€ The best restaurant in Hackesche Höfe serves delicious local produce.
7.Nola’s am Weinberg
Veteranenstr. 9 • 030 44 04 07 66 • 10am–1am daily • € The Swiss cuisine served here is surprisingly inspired. Try one of their delicious fondues. There is a lovely outdoor terrace.
Fondue at Nola’s am Weinberg
8.Alpenstück
Gartenstr. 9 • 030 21 75 16 46 • 6pm–1am daily • € The best of the area’s homely restaurants serving traditional, hearty fare from southern Germany and Austria in a cosy setting, decorated in an Alpine style.
9.Kamala
Oranienburger Str. 69 • 030 283 27 97 • noon–11:30pm daily • € This hidden gem offers diners traditional Thai cuisine alongside a surprisingly impressive wine list. Good value for money.
10.Barist
Am Zwirngraben 13–14 • 030 24 72 26 13 • 10am– 2am Sun–Thu, 10am–3am Fri–Sat • €€ A mixture of French, Italian and Austrian dishes are on offer here. There is always a good atmosphere under the S-Bahn arches; live jazz plays at the weekends.