Considering a village that became part of Berlin. That is Karow. Karow is a locality within the Berlin borough of Pankow. It offers a glimpse into a history that blends rural charm with urban growth. Karow was first mentioned in 1375. It was known then as Kare.
Before its incorporation into Greater Berlin in 1920, Karow was an autonomous Prussian municipality. It belonged to the Niederbarnim district. Karow has maintained its village character. This is despite significant settlement activity before the Second World War. A large new building project from 1992 to 1996 caused a sharp increase in population.
Karow lies in the northeast of Pankow. The A 10 autobahn bounds the locality to the north. The Berliner AuBenring defines its southern border. The Panke River marks the western boundary.
Karow’s origins trace back to around 1230. The village church was erected around 1250. An indirect reference in 1244 mentions Fridericus de Kare. The Landbuch of Emperor Charles IV in 1375 lists Kare. It included a pub and 42 hides.
The street Alt-Karow marks the original village center. Besides the church, the former school building and the community center, several farmhouses from the 19th century are still standing. Karow gained a railway connection in 1882. The Stettiner Bahn provided service to Berlin and Bernau. The outer areas of Karow developed mainly in the 1920s and 1930s. These areas consist mainly of smaller settlement houses. They offered plots for partial self-sufficiency.
From 1994 to 1997, many single-family houses, multi-family houses, and multi-story apartment blocks were built on the former sewage fields in the north and on some wet meadows in the south and east of the district. More kindergartens, schools, a church meeting center, stores, restaurants and a central business center with a weekly market place were added. The old-established citizens of Karow often call the settlement Neu-Karow. They express a certain distance from the modern appearance of the settlement. The new residential quarters comprise a total of 5092 residential units. About 13,000 inhabitants live in Neu-Karow.
The Dorfkirche Karow is the oldest building on the Barnim in Berlin. It is a late Romanesque structure from the mid-13th century. The Karower Bilderbibel inside the Dorfkirche Karow is a 33-part picture cycle from 1617. It shows scenes from the Old and New Testaments. Other notable sites include the Altes Schulhaus, Altes Feuerwehr-Spritzenhaus, and the Karower Kaisereiche.
The main traffic axis in Karow is the road Blankenburger Chaussee Alt-Karow Bucher Chaussee. It connects the district of Blankenburg in the south with the district of Buch in the north. Karow is connected to the Berlin S-Bahn network via the Karow station. The regional train line RB27 to GroB Schonebeck starts in Karow.