Mitte

File:2023 Berliner Dom - Westfassade -- 04.jpg and Television Tower]]

Mitte (German for "middle", "centre") is located in the central part of Berlin along the Spree River. It borders on Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf in the west, Reinickendorf in the north, Pankow in the east, Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg in the southeast, and Tempelhof-Schöneberg in the southwest.

In the middle of the Spree lies Museum Island (Museumsinsel) with its museums, Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom) and Berlin Palace (Berliner Schloss). A central square in Mitte is Alexanderplatz with the prominent Fernsehturm (TV tower), Germany's highest building, and the large railway station with connections to many subway (U-Bahn), tramway (Berlin trambahn), city trains (S-Bahn) and buses.

There are some important streets which connect Mitte with the other boroughs, e.g. the boulevard Unter den Linden which connects Berlin Palace with Brandenburg Gate and runs further as Straße des 17. Juni to the Victory Column and the centre of former West Berlin in Charlottenburg, or Karl-Marx-Allee from Alexanderplatz to Friedrichshain and the eastern suburbs.

File:Berlin - Checkpoint Charlie 1963.jpg,1963]]

The former Mitte district had been established by the 1920 Greater Berlin Act and comprised large parts of the historic city around Alt-Berlin and Cölln. Brandenburg Gate was the western exit at the Berlin city boundary until 1861.

Between 1961 and 1990, the area's East Berlin portion was surrounded by the Berlin Wall on the north, south and west. There were some border control points, the most notable of which was Checkpoint Charlie between Kreuzberg and Mitte, which was operated by the United States Army and was open to foreigners and diplomats.

Two other checkpoints were at Heinrich-Heine-Straße/Prinzenstraße east of Checkpoint Charlie, open to citizens of West Germany and West Berlin and on Invalidenstraße in the north on the border with the West Berlin Tiergarten district (the present-day Moabit locality).

The government district is located in the locality of Tiergarten around the Reichstag Building. Most institutions of the German government have their seat at the Regierungsviertel

• Bundestag, the German parliament in the old Reichstag Building
• Bellevue Palace, seat of the Federal President
• German Chancellery
• Offices of the Abgeordneten, members of the parliament, in the Paul-Löbe-Haus and the Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Haus
• Federal Ministry of the Interior

Berlin reichstag west panorama.jpg|Reichstag Building

2006-09-19 Berlin Bellevue.jpg|Bellevue Palace

Bundeskanzleramt Berlin 2010.jpg|German Chancellery

Reichstagsgebäude und Paul-Löbe-Haus, Berlin-Mitte, 170327, ako.jpg|Paul-Löbe-Haus

Berlin, Tiergarten, Otto-von-Bismarck-Allee, Botschaft Schweiz.jpg|Swiss Embassy

The historic center is located in the locality of Mitte proper around the Berlin Palace.

• Berlin Palace / Humboldt Forum
• Berlin Cathedral
• Museum Island
• Nikolaiviertel
• Gendarmenmarkt
• Unter den Linden
• Brandenburg Gate

Berlin-BerlinerSchloss-2-Asio (cropped).JPG|Berlin Palace / Humboldt Forum

Berlin Aussicht vom Humboldt Forum asv2023-02 img04.jpg|Altes Museum and Berlin Cathedral on Museum Island

Berlin Museumsinsel Fernsehturm.jpg|Bode Museum on Museum Island

Mitte Nikolaikirchplatz-001.jpg|Nikolaiviertel

Gendarmenmarkt Panorama.jpg|Gendarmenmarkt

Unter den Linden Berlin2007.jpg|Unter den Linden

2005-10-26 Brandenburger-Tor.JPG|Brandenburg Gate

Many embassies and the Federal Ministry of Defence in the historic embassy quarter in the south of the Tiergarten Park.

Italienische Botschaft - panoramio.jpg|Italian Embassy

Tiergarten Japanische Botschaft-002.JPG|Japanese Embassy

Berlin - Spanische Botschaft.jpg|Spanish Embassy

Tiergarten Indische Botschaft.JPG|Indian Embassy

Be Embassy of UAE 03.jpg|Embassy of the United Arab Emirates

Großer Tiergarten is the name of the biggest urban park in Mitte, located in the same-named locality. Tiergarten Park was established as a hunting ground in the 16th century by the Prussian kings. Today it is enclosed by densely built-up areas by Hansaviertel and Moabit in the north, the Government District in the east and the City West and the Embassy Quarter in the southwest.

Many cultural monuments and memorials are located in the Tiergarten Park, like the Siegessäule, the Soviet War Memorial and a historic rose garden. The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the biggest victim group of the Nazi dictatorship, is located on the east side of the park, near the Brandenburg Gate and near the place where Hitler's New Reich Chancellery once was.

Siegessäule10.jpg|Siegessäule

Siegessaeule Aussicht 10-13 img4 Tiergarten.jpg|View from the Siegessäule to Brandenburg Gate

Berlin Großer Tiergarten Rosengarten.jpg|Rose Garden

Memorial to Homosexuals persecuted under Nazism.jpg|Memorial to Homosexuals Persecuted Under Nazism

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europeabove.jpg|Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

The Kulturforum was built in the 1950s and 1960s at the edge of West Berlin, after most of the once unified city's cultural assets had been lost behind the Berlin Wall. The Kulturforum is characterized by its innovative modernist architecture; several buildings are distinguished by the organic designs of Hans Scharoun, and the Neue Nationalgalerie was designed by Mies van der Rohe, albeit originally as a private house.

Among the cultural institutions housed in and around the Kulturforum are:

• Neue Nationalgalerie
• Gemäldegalerie
• Museum of Decorative Arts
• Musical Instrument Museum
• Kupferstichkabinett (Print room)
• Art Library
• Berliner Philharmonie
• Chamber Music Hall
• Berlin State Library
• Ibero-American Institute
• Wissenschaftszentrum
• St. Matthäus-Kirche

• Berlin Alexanderplatz, a 1929 novel by Alfred Döblin
• Mitte 1, a 2013 novel by Albrecht Behmel
• Berlin-Mitte, Norman Ohler
• Unter diesem Einfluss, Henning Kober

File:Berlin Mitte.svg

The present-day borough of Mitte consists of six localities:

{{As of|2010}}, the borough had a population of 322,919, of whom 144.000 (44.5%) had a migration background. In the former West Berlin areas of Wedding, Gesundbrunnen and Moabit, foreigners and Germans of foreign origin compose nearly 70% of the population, while in Mitte proper the share of migrants is relatively low. The immigrant community is quite diverse, however, Turks, Africans{{who|date=April 2015}}, Eastern Europeans {{who|date=April 2015}} and East Asians{{who|date=April 2015}} form the largest groups.{{Cite web|url=http://www.statistik-berlin-brandenburg.de/Publikationen/Stat_Berichte/2011/SB_A1-5_hj02-10_BE.pdf|title=Seite wird geladen|access-date=2011-08-16|archive-date=2013-09-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130922050834/https://www.statistik-berlin-brandenburg.de/Publikationen/Stat_Berichte/2011/SB_A1-5_hj02-10_BE.pdf|url-status=live}}

The governing body of Mitte is the borough assembly (Bezirksverordnetenversammlung). It has responsibility for passing laws and electing the borough administration, including the mayor. The most recent borough assembly election was held on 26 September 2021, and led to a coalition between the Greens and the social democrats.{{Cite web |title=Bündnis 90/Die Grünen Kreisverband Mitte und Fraktion in der BVV Mitte |date=3 November 2021 |url=https://www.spd-berlin-mitte.de/dl/ZG_Vereinbarung.pdf |website=SPD Berlin Mitte |access-date=3 March 2023 |archive-date=7 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407095216/https://www.spd-berlin-mitte.de/dl/ZG_Vereinbarung.pdf |url-status=live }}

The 2021 results were as follows:

{{election table}}

! colspan=2| Party

! Lead candidate

! Votes

! %

! +/-

! Seats

! +/-

|-

| bgcolor={{party color|Alliance 90/The Greens}}|

| align=left| Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)

| align=left| Laura Neugebauer

| 44,653

| 28.5

| {{increase}} 4.6

| 18

| {{increase}} 4

|-

| bgcolor={{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}}|

| align=left| Social Democratic Party (SPD)

| align=left| Ephraim Gothe

| 28,997

| 18.5

| {{decrease}} 5.3

| 12

| {{decrease}} 2

|-

| bgcolor={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}|

| align=left| The Left (LINKE)

| align=left| Christoph Keller

| 26,256

| 16.8

| {{decrease}} 1.1

| 10

| ±0

|-

| bgcolor={{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}}|

| align=left| Christian Democratic Union (CDU)

| align=left| Carsten Spallek

| 20,088

| 12.8

| {{decrease}} 0.7

| 8

| {{increase}} 1

|-

| bgcolor={{party color|Free Democratic Party (Germany)}}|

| align=left| Free Democratic Party (FDP)

| align=left| Bastian Roet

| 10,419

| 6.7

| {{increase}} 0.6

| 4

| {{increase}} 1

|-

| bgcolor={{party color|Alternative for Germany}}|

| align=left| Alternative for Germany (AfD)

| align=left| Sabine Schüler

| 7,565

| 4.8

| {{decrease}} 5.1

| 3

| {{decrease}} 2

|-

| colspan=8 bgcolor=lightgrey|

|-

| bgcolor={{party color|Volt Germany}}|

| align=left| Volt Germany

| align=left|

| 3,668

| 2.3

| New

| 0

| New

|-

| bgcolor={{party color|Human Environment Animal Protection}}|

| align=left| Tierschutzpartei

| align=left|

| 3,410

| 2.2

| New

| 0

| New

|-

| bgcolor={{party color|Die PARTEI}}|

| align=left| Die PARTEI

| align=left|

| 3,358

| 2.1

| New

| 0

| New

|-

| bgcolor={{party color|Grassroots Democratic Party of Germany}}|

| align=left| dieBasis

| align=left|

| 2,193

| 1.4

| New

| 0

| New

|-

| bgcolor={{party color|Klimaliste}}|

| align=left| Klimaliste

| align=left|

| 1,927

| 1.2

| New

| 0

| New

|-

|

| align=left| The Greys

| align=left|

| 1,112

| 0.7

| New

| 0

| New

|-

| bgcolor={{party color|Pirate Party Germany}}|

| align=left| Pirate Party Germany

| align=left|

| 919

| 0.6

| {{decrease}} 2.9

| 0

| {{decrease}} 2

|-

| bgcolor={{party color|Free Voters}}|

| align=left| Free Voters

| align=left|

| 903

| 0.6

| New

| 0

| New

|-

| bgcolor={{party color|Party of Humanists}}|

| align=left| The Humanists

| align=left|

| 602

| 0.4

| New

| 0

| New

|-

| bgcolor={{party color|Ecological Democratic Party}}|

| align=left| Ecological Democratic Party

| align=left|

| 287

| 0.2

| New

| 0

| New

|-

|

| align=left| The Eligible

| align=left|

| 99

| 0.1

| New

| 0

| New

|-

! colspan=3| Valid votes

! 156,456

! 99.1

!

!

!

|-

! colspan=3| Invalid votes

! 1,384

! 0.9

!

!

!

|-

! colspan=3| Total

! 157,840

! 100.0

!

! 55

! ±0

|-

! colspan=3| Electorate/voter turnout

! 247,338

! 63.8

! {{increase}} 10.0

!

!

|-

| colspan=8| Source: [https://www.wahlen-berlin.de/wahlen/BE2021/AFSPRAES/bvv/ergebnisse_bezirk_01.html Elections Berlin]

|}

The borough mayor ({{Lang|de|Bezirksbürgermeister}}) is elected by the borough assembly, and positions in the borough administration ({{Lang|de|Bezirksamt}}) are apportioned based on party strength. Stefanie Remlinger of the Greens was elected mayor on 20 October 2022. Since the 2021 municipal elections, the composition of the borough administration is as follows:

{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany}}

Mitte is twinned with:{{cite web|title=Städtepartnerschaften des Bezirks Mitte|url=https://www.berlin.de/ba-mitte/ueber-den-bezirk/staedtepartnerschaften/|website=berlin.de|date=25 August 2020|publisher=Berlin|language=de|access-date=2021-02-08|archive-date=2023-10-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007051157/https://www.berlin.de/ba-mitte/ueber-den-bezirk/staedtepartnerschaften/|url-status=live}}

{{div col|colwidth=22em}}

• {{flagicon|TUR}} Beyoğlu (Istanbul), Turkey (2008)
• {{flagicon|DEU}} Bottrop, Germany (1983)
• {{flagicon|RUS}} Central AO (Moscow), Russia (2006)
• {{flagicon|CHN}} Chaoyang (Beijing), China (2004)
• {{flagicon|JPN}} Chiyoda (Tokyo), Japan (1994)
• {{flagicon|NOR}} Frogn, Norway (1990)
• {{flagicon|JPN}} Higashiōsaka, Japan (1959)
• {{flagicon|ISR}} Holon, Israel (1970)
• {{flagicon|GER}} Kassel, Germany (1979)
• {{flagicon|RUS}} Petrogradsky (Saint Petersburg), Russia (1994)
• {{flagicon|DEU}} Schwalm-Eder-Kreis, Germany (1992)
• {{flagicon|JPN}} Shinjuku (Tokyo), Japan (1994)
• {{flagicon|FRA}} Tourcoing, France (1995)
• {{flagicon|JPN}} Tsuwano, Shimane, Japan (1995)

{{div col end}}

{{Wide image|View over Berlin Mitte.jpg|800px|View over Mitte from Berlin Cathedral}}

{{Portal|Germany}}

• Berlin-Mitte (electoral district)

{{Reflist}}

{{commons|Bezirk Mitte|Mitte}}

• [http://www.berlin-mitte.de/ Official homepage] {{in lang|de}}
• [http://www.berlin.de/en/ Official homepage of Berlin] {{in lang|en}}

{{Boroughs of Berlin}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Districts of Berlin

Category:Central business districts

Category:2001 establishments in Germany