Living in Siemensstadt, Berlin
WG-Zimmer Living in Siemensstadt, Berlin - direkt von privat, ohne Makler - Berlin
Born as a Siemens company town in north-western Berlin: industry and housing, plenty of greenery and the UNESCO-listed modernist Großsiedlung. On the U7.
Siemensstadt is a neighborhood in the Spandau district, in north-western Berlin, born at the start of the twentieth century as a company town around the Siemens factories. It's a place with a precise identity: industry and housing coexist, and greenery is everywhere. The most famous piece is the Großsiedlung Siemensstadt, part of the Ringsiedlung, declared a UNESCO heritage site in 2008 for its 1920s modernist architecture (Hans Scharoun and Walter Gropius worked here, among others). Anyone after a quiet, orderly area far from the chaos of the center finds it here.
Who lives here
A historic working-class and clerical mix, many long-established German families, employees of the area's companies, retirees. In recent years workers and students have arrived, drawn by rents more affordable than in the center and by spacious apartments in the 1920s and 1930s complexes. Little expat presence, a very German and residential atmosphere.
What it's like during the day
Calm and functional. The streets of the Ringsiedlung are well kept, full of trees and green courtyards: it's good for walking, almost an open-air museum of modernist architecture. There are neighborhood shops, supermarkets and the odd café along the Siemensdamm and the Nonnendammallee, but don't expect trendy storefronts. The pace is slow, ideal for those who work from home or study.
What it's like in the evening
Quiet, at times silent. The odd Kneipe, pizzeria and ethnic restaurant near the U7 stops, but real nightlife is not here: for bars and clubs you head toward Charlottenburg or the center. In the evening Siemensstadt is above all a place to come back and sleep in peace.
Getting around
The backbone is the U7, which crosses the neighborhood with the Paulsternstraße, Rohrdamm, Siemensdamm and Halemweg stops, connecting Charlottenburg and the center directly without changes. Several bus lines (123, 139, M27) round out the local network. Not far away, Jungfernheide station adds the S-Bahn ring (S41/S42) and a U7 hub.
Eating and shopping
For everyday shopping you're covered: Rewe, Edeka, Aldi, Lidl and various discounters are well distributed. Dining is simple and honest - döner, pizza, German cuisine, the odd Asian place near the metro stops. For a wider gastronomic choice and markets, it's better to head a handful of stops toward Charlottenburg.
When NOT to pick it
If you want nightlife, fashionable venues and that central Berlin buzz, Siemensstadt will bore you. It's peripheral and residential: getting to Mitte takes time. And if you're after a young, international neighborhood with lots of foreign peers, you'll find few here.
Siemensstadt is the right pick for those who put calm, greenery, space and a good metro line direct to the center first, gladly giving up the nightlife.