Berlin-Reinickendorf offers a range of starting points for planning a trip: the architecture of the White City, the village history around Alt-Reinickendorf, and landscaped green spaces at Kienhorstpark and Schäfersee. If you are looking for hotels in Berlin-Reinickendorf, you can choose your focus based on whether you are especially interested in architectural history, village heritage or a walk by the water.
The White City and Modernist Architecture
The White City was built along Schillerpromenade between 1928 and 1931 by Bruno Ahrends, Wilhelm Büning and Otto Rudolf Salvisberg. It is one of the six Berlin Modernism housing estates and has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008. Its style is New Objectivity. The site covers 14 hectares and provides space for more than 1,000 homes. Kindergartens, shops and doctors’ offices were also included in the plans. The history of the White City therefore encompasses not only architecture and style, but also the scale of the housing estate’s design and its planned everyday functions.
Village Church and BĂĽdnerhof in Alt-Reinickendorf
The exterior of the late medieval village church in Alt-Reinickendorf has remained unchanged for more than 500 years. Its semicircular apse is unique in Berlin. Inside the church is a winged altar from the 16th century, created by an unknown painter based on motifs from Albrecht Dürer’s “Small Woodcut Passion.” The church thus brings together a distinctive architectural feature and an art-historical detail.
Another link to the village’s history is the Büdnerhof Ribbe at Alt-Reinickendorf 35. It is the oldest surviving residential building in the Angerdorf (green village) and gives an impression of Reinickendorf’s original village character. Together with the village church, the house offers a different perspective on the area’s built heritage: the history of a residence stands alongside that of a church building.
Historic Garden, Pond and Schäfersee
Kienhorstpark is a historic garden dating from 1931 to 1932. It contains a pond with landscaped banks. On the eastern side of the pond, where the Kienhorstgraben stream flows out of it, there is a viewing platform made of masonry rubble concrete. Its precise location connects the platform to the transition from pond to stream; in addition to the historic garden’s date, this makes a specific element of its design tangible.
At Schäfersee, there are several ways to combine exercise with time by the water. Walking around the lake takes between 20 and 25 minutes. The wide paths at Schäfersee invite you to enjoy a relaxing walk or a short bike ride. Birds use the reeds along the shore as a nesting area. The stated time for walking around the lake and the description of the paths help distinguish a walking loop from the other options for walking or cycling.
Route 5 offers a different way to plan your journey: this 17-kilometre cycling route runs from Heiligensee to the Panke Greenway. Alt-Reinickendorf is among the named sights and highlights along the route. Unlike the walk around the lake, for which a walking time is given, the route is described by its endpoints and distance in kilometres. This lets you choose between a walking loop with a specified duration and a longer bike ride without confusing the two.
Discover more destinations: Mahlsdorf, Marienfelde, Schöneberg, Charlottenburg, Wilmersdorf, Biesdorf, Karlshorst, Pankow
Return to the main travel overview: Berlin.
