Lost in thought, I wonder how many feet have tread upon this very ground. This is Wildenbruchplatz. It is a square in Berlin-Neukölln.
Neukölln is not exactly known as a local recreation area. Yet there is more to discover than just traffic jams on Karl-Marx-Strasse. There is more than run-down social housing and gentrified old buildings. Wildenbruchplatz is worth discovering.
If you are fed up with the overflowing Sonnenallee, make your way to Wildenbruchplatz. If you have no desire for Weichselplatz, make your way to Wildenbruchplatz. The area was recently renovated. The square is rectangular and football field-sized. It sits between the canal and the cooperative blocks of North Neukölln. The Wildenbruchplatz no longer slumbers behind weed hedges.
Now, cheerful people populate the benches. They are armed with beer bottles. Academic parents push strollers. They direct their offspring whizzing around on running bikes. Hipsters discuss art on the grass. They have American East Coast accents. Joggers dart through the area every minute. Migrant neighbors chill in family mode on the lawn. A handful of teenagers run through the park shouting loudly.
The nearby bridge over the extension of the Landwehr Canal offers free seats on the parapet at sunset. Here, the canal is called the Neukölln Shipping Canal. The bridges further west are hopelessly overcrowded. Consider the Admiralbrücke. The Wildenbruchplatz offers a social mix that has become rare in Berlin’s inner-city districts. People with very different incomes and social backgrounds still meet on the lawns and paths. This gives the square a magical tension. It is disappearing from many of our cities. You can still find it at Wildenbruchplatz.
The district authority of Neukölln created flower strips in several places in the district in 2023. The new flower meadows should not only offer insects and other small animals a habitat. They should also beautify the cityscape.
In autumn 2023, the first soil preparations for new flower strips took place at Wildenbruchplatz. In spring 2024, the flower mixtures were sown on the edge of the green space. To protect the sensitive sowing, the district office erected fences around the individual flower meadows. Additionally, at the request of many residents, the inner area of the green space was sown with sturdy lawn. To give the lawn enough time to grow, this area was temporarily fenced off for around two months. This part of the park was then handed back to the public. The fences around the flower areas will remain in place for several years. This allows nature to develop on site. A date for dismantling them has not yet been set. However, permanent fencing is not planned.
The redesign of parts of Wildenbruchplatz was part of the renovation measures in the area. This strengthened its function as an important green, play, and sports area in the district. The redesign affected the edge and entrance areas. It also affected the area with the pergola and the former fountain system on the side of Wildenbruchstrasse. Extensive citizen participation took place at the beginning of 2020. Its results were incorporated into the draft of the building planning documents. The measure was completed in 2021.
In 2014, the Wildenbruch playground was renovated. It was supplemented by the new “Wilder Mann” play and slide equipment. In 2017 and 2018, the sidewalks in the park were renewed as part of urgent maintenance measures. The Wildenbruchplatz was officially named on October 14, 1904. It was named after Ernst von Wildenbruch.
Over there, you’ll see the historic toilet facility. It sits at the Wildenbruch bridge. It is now an art bridge. It is a bizarre place with extraordinary charm. In the summer of 2021, the facility was converted into an experimental cultural site. The Kunstbrücke am Wildenbruch comprises four small exhibition rooms. They are still reminiscent of the original use.