Spandau

Spandau (pronounced [ˈʃpandaʊ̯]) is the westernmost of the twelve boroughs (Bezirke) of Berlin, situated at the confluence of the Havel and Spree rivers and extending along the western bank of Havel. It is the smallest borough by population, but the fourth largest by land area.

For other uses, see Spandau (disambiguation).
Spandau
Borough of Berlin
Old town of Spandau
Coat of arms
Location of Spandau in Berlin
Spandau
Spandau
Coordinates: 52°33′N 13°12′E
CountryGermany
StateBerlin
CityBerlin
Subdivisions9 localities
Government
 • MayorHelmut Kleebank (SPD)
Area
 • Total91.91 km2 (35.49 sq mi)
Population
 (2012-11-30)
 • Total231,540
 • Density2,500/km2 (6,500/sq mi)
Time zoneCET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Vehicle registrationB
WebsiteOfficial homepage

Overview

Modern industries in Spandau include metalworking, and chemical and electrical factories. BMW Motorrad's Spandau factory made all BMW's motorcycles from 1969 until final assembly plants were added in Rayong, Thailand in 2000, and Manaus, Brazil in 2016.[1][2][3]

Rathaus Spandau, Spandau's seat of government, was built in 1913. Other landmarks include the Renaissance fortress Spandau Citadel, built in 1594, the 1848 St. Marien am Behnitz Catholic church designed by August Soller, and Spandau arsenal, Germany's arms development center until 1919, now a museum. That arsenal's Spandau machine gun inspired the slang Spandau Ballet to describe dying soldiers on barbed wire during the First World War, and later was applied to the appearance of Nazi war criminals hanged at Spandau Prison. The notorious prison, built in 1876, held Nazi war criminals after World War II until 1987, when it was demolished after the death of the last surviving prisoner, Rudolf Hess.[4] In 1979, the English New Romantic band Spandau Ballet again re-purposed the term for its name.

After World War II Spandau fell into the British and American sector of West Berlin during the Allied occupation. Gatow airfield in the south of the district, was used by the Royal Air Force, most notably during the Berlin Airlift. Since 1995 the airfield is now the Museum of Military History.

Geography

Spandau's neighbors outside Berlin are the districts (Kreis) of Oberhavel to the north, and Havelland to the west, and the city of Potsdam, Brandenburg, to the southwest. Within Berlin, it borders the boroughs of Steglitz-Zehlendorf to the south, Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf to the east, and Reinickendorf to the northeast. Its land area of 91.91 km2 (35.49 sq mi) is the fourth largest of the twelve boroughs.

Subdivisions
Subdivisions of Spandau

Spandau Borough is divided into nine quarters (Ortsteile):

Demographics

As of 2010, Spandau had a population of 223,962, the smallest of the twelve boroughs. There were 62,000 migrants or other non-ethnic Germans, comprising 27% of Spandau's population.[5]

Percentage of people with migration background[5]
Germans without migration background/Ethnic Germans165,000 (73%)
Germans with migration background or foreign citizens62,000 (27%)
Middle Eastern origin (Turkey, Arab League, Iran etc.)20,400 (9%)
(non-German) EU-European migration background (esp. Poles, Romanians etc.)13,600 (6%)
African background/Afro-Germans (Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon etc.)7,000 (3%)
Others (East Asians, Russians, Serbs etc.)20,400 (9%)

Politics
Borough council seats

At the 2016 elections for the parliament of the borough (Bezirksverordnetenversammlung) the following parties were elected:

People

Twin towns

Spandau's town twinning (sister city) partners are:

Boca Raton, Florida, United States was a sister city from 1979 to 2003.

See also

References
  1. "my FB Title". Be.berlin.de. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  2. Henry, Ian (6 January 2015). "BMW: Global growth". Automotive Manufacturing Solutions. Ultima Media. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  3. "BMW Motorrad expands production network with its own manufacturing site in Brazil. [press release]". BMW Group. 4 April 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  4. Goda, Norman J. W. (2006). Tales from Spandau. University of Florida. ISBN 978-0-521-86720-7.
  5. "Melderechtlich registrierte Einwohner im Land Berlin" (PDF). Statistik-berlin-brandenburg.de. 31 December 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2018.

Further reading
  • Zeller, Frederic (1989). When Time Ran Out: Coming of Age in the Third Reich. London: W H Allen. ISBN 0-491-03614-0.
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