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Charlottenburg is an area of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf.

Charlottenburg was an independent city to the west of Berlin until it was incorporated into "Groß-Berlin" (Greater Berlin) and transformed into a borough. In the course of Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was merged with Wilmersdorf becoming a district of a new borough called Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Later, in 2004, the new borough's districts were rearranged, dividing the former Charlottenburg into the districts Westend, Charlottenburg-Nord and Charlottenburg. The following article deals with the former borough Charlottenburg.

Charlottenburg celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2005.

Contents 1 Geography 1.1 Districts 2 History 2.1 Early settlements 2.2 Charlottenburg palace 3 Miscellaneous

Charlottenburg is located to the east of the river Havel and to the south of the river Spree with the exception of Charlottenburg-Nord at the other side of the river Spree. The eastern part of Charlottenburg is part of the Berlin-Warsaw glacial valley while most of the rest is on the Teltow plateau.

As mentioned above, the former borough Charlottenburg is officially divided into three districts: Charlottenburg, Charlottenburg-Nord and Westend. In addition to that, Charlottenburg features a number of popular kiezes.

On the land occupied by Charlottenburg there were three settlements in the late middle ages: the farmsteads Lietzow (pronounced leat-tsov) and Casow (pr. caasov) and a settlement called Glienicke (pr. gleanicke). Although these are Slav names, the settlements are likely to have had a mixed Slav and German population.

Lietzow (also called Lietze, Lutze, Lutzen, Lütze, Lützow, Lusze and Lucene) is first documented in 1239, and was in the area of the present day Alt-Lietzow Street, behind the town-hall of Charlottenburg. Casow lay opposite Lietzow, on the other side of the Spree. In 1315, Lietzow and Casow became the property of the St Marien nunnery in Spandau. As a result, it is possible that Lietzow was expanded to a village. In the course of the Reformation, the nunnery was closed. While Lietzow has been populated continuously, Casow and Glienicke were abandoned. From old field names it is believed that Glienicke lay in the area of the present day streets Kantstraße, Fasanenstraße, Kurfürstendamm (known as Ku'damm) and Uhlandstraße, and by the former Gliniker Lake (now dry).

The development of Lietzow is well documented. For more than four hundred years, members of the Berendt family were mayors and thus had to pay lower taxes. Ecclestiastically, Lietzow came under the pastor of Wilmersdorf, who reached it from there by the so-called 'Priesterweg' (Priest's Way), on the line of the streets now called Leibnizstraße, Konstanzer Straße and Brandenburgische Straße.

Main article: Charlottenburg Palace

In 1695, Sophia Charlotte of Hanover received Lietzow from her husband Frederick of Prussia, in exchange for her estates in Caputh and Langerwisch, near Potsdam. There she built a summer residence, which was completed in 1699. After the her husband's coronation, Sophia Charlotte had this house expanded into a palace. Shortly after her death, the settlement facing the palace was called 'Charlottenburg' and the palace itself Schloss Charlottenburg, and the settlement was chartered as a town. The king was the town's mayor until Lietzow was incorporated into Charlottenburg in 1720.

Frederick's successor, Frederick William, rarely stayed at the palace, which depressed the small town of Charlottenburg. Frederick even tried to revoke the town's privileges. It was not until 1740, at the coronation of his successor Frederick II, that the town's significance increased, as regular celebrations were held again at the palace. Later, Frederick II preferred the palace of Sanssouci, which he had partly designed himself.

In the late 18th century, Charlottenburg's development did not depend only on the crown. The town became a recreational area for the expanding city of Berlin. Its first true inn opened in the 1770s, in the street then called 'Berliner Straße' (now Otto-Suhr-Allee), and many other inns and beer gardens were to follow, popular for weekend parties especially.

When Frederick II died in 1786, his nephew Frederick William II succeeded him, and Charlottenburg became his favourite residence, as it was for his son and successor Frederick William III.

After the defeat of the Prussian army at Jena in 1806, Charlottenburg was occupied by the French. Napoleon occupied the palace, while his troops made camp nearby.

It is best known for Charlottenburg Palace, the largest surviving royal palace in Berlin, and the adjacent museums. It is also home to Berlin's Olympic Stadium (1936), the International Congress Centre, Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, and Gedenkstätte Plötzensee, a memorial to those murdered by the Nazi justice system between 1933 and 1945.

Elector Frederick III had a summer residence built for his wife Sophie Charlotte by the architect Johann Arnold Nering between 1695 and 1699. After Frederick became the first Prussian King in 1701 (Frederick I of Prussia), the palace was extended into a stately building with a cours d'honneur. This work was supervised by the Swedish master builder Johann Friedrich Eosander. The eastern New Wing was built by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff between 1740 and 1747 as Frederick the Great's residence.

Charlottenburg was an independent city until 1920, when it was incorporated into Greater Berlin.

Charlottenburg is twinned with Linz, Trento, and Lewisham in South East London, England.

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v • d • e Boroughs and localities of Berlin

Boroughs: Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf • Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg • Lichtenberg • Marzahn-Hellersdorf • Mitte • Neukölln • Pankow • Reinickendorf • Spandau • Steglitz-Zehlendorf • Tempelhof-Schöneberg • Treptow-Köpenick Boroughs (west), 1920-2001: Charlottenburg • Kreuzberg • Neukölln • Reinickendorf • Schöneberg • Spandau • Steglitz • Tempelhof • Tiergarten • Wedding • Wilmersdorf • Zehlendorf Boroughs (east), 1920-2001: Friedrichshain • Hellersdorf (1986) • Hohenschönhausen (1985) • Köpenick • Lichtenberg • Marzahn (1979) • Mitte • Pankow • Prenzlauer Berg • Treptow • Weißensee Localities: Adlershof • Britz • Dahlem • Friedrichstadt • Friedenau • Frohnau • Gatow • Grunewald • Hansaviertel • Haselhorst • Heiligensee • Hermsdorf • Karlshorst • Kaulsdorf • Kladow • Lichterfelde West • Mariendorf • Marienfelde • Märkisches Viertel • Moabit • Nikolaiviertel • Rote Insel • Scheunenviertel • Tegel • Wannsee

Coordinates: 52°31′N, 13°18′E