Imagine the chilling echo of a Spandau machine gun. It inspired the grim slang “Spandau Ballet”. During World War I, it described dying soldiers on barbed wire. Today, let’s explore Spandau, the westernmost borough of Berlin. Spandau sits where the Havel and Spree rivers meet. It is Berlin’s smallest borough by population. But it ranks fourth in land area.
Spandau’s history stretches back to the 7th or 8th century. Slavic Heveller people first settled here. They built a fortress. German King Henry I conquered it in 928. However, Slavic rule returned after a rebellion in 983.
In 1156, Albrecht the Bear took control. The first documented mention of Spandau was in 1197. This predates the first mention of Cölln, part of medieval Berlin, by forty years. Spandau received city rights in 1232.
During Ascanian rule, construction began on the Spandau Citadel. Joachim II of Brandenburg completed it between 1559 and 1594. In 1558, Gatow became part of Spandau. The Thirty Years’ War saw Spandau surrendered to Sweden in 1634.
French troops under Napoleon occupied Spandau after the Battle of Jena and Auerstedt in 1806. They remained until 1807. Napoleon returned in 1812. Prussian and Russian troops besieged the Citadel the following year.
From 1849, the poet Gottfried Kinkel was imprisoned in Spandau town prison. His friend Carl Schurz freed him on the night of November 6, 1850. Before World War I, Spandau was a center for arms production. It housed government cannon foundries and gunpowder factories. Spandau was also a garrison town. It was home to the 5th Guard Infantry Brigade and the 5th Guard Foot Regiment. In 1920, Spandau became part of Greater Berlin.
During World War II, a subcamp of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp was located in Spandau. It primarily held Polish and Hungarian women. After World War II, Spandau fell into the British sector of West Berlin. The Spandau Prison housed Nazi war criminals sentenced at the Nuremberg Trials. After Rudolf Hess’s death in 1987, the prison was demolished. A shopping mall replaced it.
The Royal Air Force used Gatow airfield during the post-war Allied occupation. It played a key role in the Berlin Airlift. Since 1995, the airfield has been home to the Gatow Museum of Military History.
Modern Spandau has metalworking, chemical, and electrical factories. BMW Motorrad’s Spandau factory produced all BMW motorcycles from 1969. Final assembly plants later opened in Thailand and Brazil. Rathaus Spandau, the seat of Spandau’s government, was built in 1913. Other landmarks include the Renaissance-era Spandau Citadel. St. Marien am Behnitz Catholic church designed by August Soller is another notable site.
Interestingly, the English New Romantic band Spandau Ballet named themselves after the “Spandau Ballet” slang. Spandau’s district council governs the borough. Carola Brückner of the SPD was elected mayor on November 4, 2021.
The Wasserfreunde Spandau 04 are a very successful water polo team. They have won 85 national and international titles. The team plans to move to a newly constructed arena in Spandau in 2027. LSV Spandau won the first German basketball championship in 1939.
So, remember Spandau. It is more than just a name from a machine gun or a band. It is a borough rich in history, industry, and culture. As you leave Spandau, consider its journey. From a Slavic fortress to a modern Berlin borough, Spandau stands as a testament to resilience and transformation.