Located on the very border between Berlin-Kreuzberg, Berlin-Schöneberg and Berlin-Tiergarten (once all boroughs, now localities) lies Dennewitzstraße. Lately, it has been somewhat pushed into the limelight in the context of the Gleisdreieck community protesting construction of seven high-rises along the park’s northern edge.
But otherwise, even though quite central, few people are aware of its existence. Even fewer know that it is not the first Dennewitzstraße that Berlin-Kreuzberg once had.
On this day in 1864 the original Dennewitzstraße was renamed Naunynstraße - a street you will find in the popular neighbourhood known as SO61. On October 31, 1864 it underwent a little switcheroo with what was envisaged as part of a magnificent new chain of boulevards, the Generalszug (The Generals’ Line).
The name Dennewitzstraße was moved further west to its today’s location: as part of the design for the 1864 Generalszug, which was a line of plazas and boulevards commemorating Prussian heroes and victorious battles Prussia fought in Napoleonic Wars.
This grand plan was slightly skewed by the Imperial Railways, who claimed a large piece of the land between today’s Potsdamer Platz and what eventually became Yorckstraße as their own, and erected a goods railways where elegant plazas were to be. Which explains the curious bends in what was to be a straightforward line (in yellow I marked the planned route, in blue you see what came out of it).
Also on this day in 1864 the old pioneers’ (as in a military Gardepionieren) road to the shooting stands and exercise grounds in the Hasenheide, Pionierstraße , was renamed Blücherstraße - back then it still ran between the city wall at the famous gate known as Hallesches Tor and what is Südstern today.
Today is also the birthday of the Generalzug itself. So happy birthday to Tauentzienstraße, Wittenbergplatz, Kleiststraße, Nollendorfplatz, Bülowstraße, Dennewitzplatz, Yorckstraße, Gneisenaustraße and the vanished Wartenburgplatz (where eastern edge of Gleisdreieckpark and the junction Hornstraße/Möckerstraße is today)! As long as you exist (plans to rename the plazas and boulevards honouring Prussian military are underway).
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Interesting to me that they used Waterloo instead of Belle Alliance, perhaps to avoid confusion with what is now Mehringsplatz).