Ever wondered why this bustling road is called Spandauer Damm? It’s a tale of merchants, monarchs and a vital link to a city’s past. The Spandauer Damm serves as a major thoroughfare today. It connects the Berlin districts of Charlottenburg and Spandau.
Originally, the path between Berlin and Spandau took a different route. It ran north of the Spree River through the Jungfernheide. Charlottenburg merchants wanted a change. They petitioned Friedrich I to reroute traffic through their city. In 1708, Friedrich I agreed. However, the new route wasn’t established for another decade.
Friedrich Wilhelm I, focused on economic development, redesigned the Tiergarten. He opened it to public traffic in 1718. This allowed the Berlin–Spandau route to pass through Charlottenburg. To further encourage this new route, the king ordered the closure of the old Spandau path in 1723. This proved impractical. The old route reopened in 1727. Charlottenburg contributed to the road’s construction in exchange for inclusion in postal routes.
The road started at Schloßstraße. It ran via Magazinstraße, now Neufertstraße. It crossed the Klausenerplatz diagonally. Then it went over the sandy Spandauer Berg, part of Teltow. Around 1820, the road was straightened and paved. This was for a highway connecting Berlin and Hamburg. The Potsdamer government suggested routing the road past the palace in a straight line. This connected it to Berliner Straße, now Otto-Suhr-Allee. This rerouting caused water to pool in the palace courtyard during heavy rains. The courtyard had to be raised.
Before 1950, different sections of the Spandauer Damm had different names. From Luisenplatz to Schloßstraße, it was Spandauer Straße. From there to Sophie-Charlotten-Straße, it was Spandauer Straße. Spandauer Berg was the name from there to Ahornallee. Finally, Spandauer Chaussee ran to the Spandau border. On March 30, 1950, the entire stretch became known as Spandauer Damm.
In 1840, Bavarian brewer Conrad Bechmann bought land. This land was at the intersection of today’s Spandauer Damm and Reichsstraße. He opened a small tavern there. Locals called it “Spandauer Bock”. In 1854, he moved his brewery from Spandau. It was across the street on Spandauer Berg. It became known as “Spandauerberg-Brauerei”. The locals nicknamed the resulting restaurant “Zibbe”. Both the brewery and restaurants were destroyed in World War II.
The Spandauer Damm also had notable residents. Before World War I, physician and poet Gottfried Benn worked as a pathologist. He worked at the Westend-Krankenhaus. Swiss writer Robert Walser lived at Spandauer Berg 1 from 1912.
Public transport has a long history on the Spandauer Damm. The first German horse-drawn streetcar line ran here. It operated from 1865 between Brandenburger Tor and the intersection with Sophie-Charlotten-Straße. In 1871, a connection was made to Kastanienallee. This improved transport to the Westend colony. The line was extended in 1879 to the “Spandauer Bock” restaurant. Electric streetcars replaced the horse-drawn ones in the early 20th century. The streetcar line was discontinued in 1967. Today, the M45 bus line runs on the Spandauer Damm. It connects Bahnhof Zoo and Johannesstift in Hakenfelde.
Today, as you traverse the Spandauer Damm, remember its layered past. From royal decrees to beer gardens, it is a historic journey.