Friedrichshain

As very few historical buildings were left after the bombings, the urban landscape was mostly dictated by the GDR architecture: big, wide streets with massive constructions for the upper working-class: the government wanted to build apartments up to the Western modern standards, but give them for free to their best workers. Many of such can be found now at the Frankfurter Allee.

After 1990 and reunification,  Friedrichshain neigbourhood has become attractive to many young creative people, including squatters. Vast spaces and empty factories attracted club owners, who had to move out of areas of Mitte and Prenzlauberg where gentrification was much faster than in Friedrichshain. The area was still not as over populated back then, so rents were much cheaper, which continued to attract young artists throughout the 2000s. As gentrification did not take over the area as fast as its neigbours, Friedrichshain remained for quite a while a cultural clash between the wild 90s and the "New Berlin", which resulted in what Friedrichshain is today: a vibrant mix of young creatives and young families, home to media industries such as Universal Music, as well as internet start ups. It is here when the new real estate developments are relatively fresh, so there is still lots of room for growth in this area, but today the development of the vast areas goes at such high pace, that soon it also will be completely gentrified as Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg.

The lifestyle here is a good mix for both those who seek nightlife and those who settled down to start a family: many clubs have managed to keep their status even throughout gentrification process (such as Watergate, Berghain, Holzmarkt project), and Simon-Dach-Strasse is still the number one address if you want to find cheap cocktails, however, there is plenty of day pleasures as well: the famous Boxhagener Platz with its farmers market during the week and flea market during the weekend, numerous coffee-shops, lunch restaurants, an open air swimming pool at the RAW-Gelände, as well as the biggest park of this area Volkspark Friedrichshain, where one can make bbq, play volleyball or other sports.