Guided walk

Your guided walking tour begins at the Gartenstadt Plaue [i. e. Garden City]  1  , a district of the city of Brandenburg since 1952. The settlement develops during the First World War according to plans by the architect Paul Schmitthenner for the workers of the Kirchmöser powder factory. The idea behind the settlement is to bring the city and its people back into harmony with nature. Thus, to some extent, the gardens permit self-sufficiency through the cultivation of food. The facility is one of the earliest and best preserved garden cities in Germany.

Towards town you will arrive via Plauer Landstraße at the second stop: the Kleinhaussiedlung Wilhelmshof  2  was built in1919/20 by Moritz Wolf, head of municipal planning and building, on Magdeburger Landstraße directly opposite the newly established steel mill. With its picturesque, symmetrical arrangement around the courts, it follows the simple style of Brandenburg classicism. The two-storey apartments are equipped with indoor toilets and bathrooms, which represents a level of comfort that is above-average for the time.

After that, follow the Magdeburger Landstraße to Nicolaiplatz. To the south, on the banks of the Havel, is the Wohlfahrtsforum [i. e. Social Services Forum]  3  . It is a symbol of urban social policy in the social-democratic era and houses a regional office of the German public health insurance scheme, a medical centre with a gymnasium as well as a public swimming pool and bath. As a result of the global economic crisis, the city abandoned the addition of a school and a block of apartments. The building was erected in 1929/30 according to plans from Karl Erbs and Willi Ludewig in the “Neues Bauen“ [i. e. New Buildung] style with graded structures, flat roofs, and horizontal ribbon windows. It establishes a direct connection between the new city and the old city and is of enormous importance in terms of urban planning.

Further south you will reach the Siedlung Wilhelmsdorfer Landstraße  4  . The four-storey houses were built in 1928/29 according to plans by the architect Werner Schenck. They are arranged in an enclosed type of construction around ample open spaces and follow the curve of the road. Flush exterior windows, brick bands, and bays effectively highlight the main features.