Ever wonder who gets a street named after them? The Wredestraße in Hanover bears the name of Rittmeister Konrad Wrede. This street wasn’t always called Wredestraße. Around 1930, during the Weimar Republic, it was part of Bömerstraße. The street gained its current name in 1952. This renaming honored Konrad Wrede. He had passed away in 1947. Wrede gifted his art collection to the city of Hanover.
The Wredestraße is located in the Südstadt district. It stretches from Jordanstraße to An der Weide. The apartment buildings that line Wredestraße were also built around 1930. These buildings reflect the architecture of the time.
In the early 1970s, Wredestraße 1 faced a transformation. The Bavaria Treuhand GmbH bought the building. Their plan involved renovations and selling the apartments. They wanted to turn them into condominiums. Tenants were offered up to 5,000 marks to move out quickly. Remaining tenants faced new private owners. These owners could evict them for personal use.
One long-term tenant, a pensioner, lived at Wredestraße 1. He paid 268 marks monthly for 84 square meters in 1971. He was offered the chance to buy the apartment for 70,600 marks. Museum director Helmuth Plath also lived there. He too declined the purchase offer.
The sellers acquired the Wredestraße building in 1970 for 670,000 marks. Just a year later, they aimed to resell the apartments for over a million marks. This information was uncovered by “Jungsozialisten und Sozialdemokraten” from Hanover’s Südstadt.
Buildings at Wredestraße 1 and 2 are now under historical preservation. These buildings are part of a larger complex. The Wredestraße is a residential street. It has sidewalks on both sides. The road surface is a mix of asphalt and cobblestones. The speed limit is 50 km/h. Streetlights illuminate the area at night.
The buildings on Wredestraße have five floors and saddle roofs. They stand approximately 19 meters tall. The Wredestraße is not just a street. It is a reminder of Hanover’s history and the people who shaped it. It links the past to the present, right here in Südstadt.