Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg

For the museum, see Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg Museum. For the electoral district, see Berlin-Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg – Prenzlauer Berg East.

Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg
Borough of Berlin
Coat of arms
Location of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg in Berlin
Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg
Coordinates: 52°30′N 13°27′E
Country	Germany
State	Berlin
City	Berlin
Subdivisions	2 localities
Government
• Borough Mayor	Clara Herrmann (Greens)
Area
• Total	20.16 km2 (7.78 sq mi)
Population  (2020-12-31)
• Total	289,787
• Density	14,000/km2 (37,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Vehicle registration	B
Website	official homepage

Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg (Template:IPA-de) is the second borough of Berlin, formed in 2001 by merging the former East Berlin borough of Friedrichshain and the former West Berlin borough of Kreuzberg. The historic Oberbaum Bridge, formerly a Berlin border crossing for pedestrians, links both districts across the river Spree as the new borough's landmark (as featured in the coat of arms).

Subdivisions of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg

The counterculture tradition especially of Kreuzberg led to a plurality of votes for the Green Party, which is unique among all Berlin boroughs. The local MP Canan Bayram is the only Green politician directly elected to the federal Bundestag. While Kreuzberg is characterised by a high number of immigrants, the share of non-German citizens in Friedrichshain is much lower and the average age is higher. The merger between the distinct quarters is celebrated by an annual anarchic "vegetable fight" on the Oberbaumbrücke. Both parts have to deal with the consequences of gentrification.

Subdivision

Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg is divided into 2 localities, Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg.

Politics

District council

The governing body of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg is the district council (Bezirksverordnetenversammlung). It has responsibility for passing laws and electing the city government, including the mayor. The most recent district council election was held on 26 September 2021, and the results were as follows:

Party		Lead candidate	Votes	%	+/-	Seats	+/-
	Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)	Clara Hermmann	48,254	34.6	1.9	22	2
	The Left (LINKE)	Oliver Nöll	30,124	21.6	0.8	13	1
	Social Democratic Party (SPD)	Andy Hehmke	20,554	14.8	2.5	9	1
	Christian Democratic Union (CDU)	Timur Husein	10,898	7.8	0.1	5	1
	Free Democratic Party (FDP)	Marlene Heihsel	6,561	4.7	1.5	3	1
	Die PARTEI	Riza Cörtlen	5,214	3.7	0.9	2	±0
	Alternative for Germany (AfD)	Frank Scheermesser	4,333	3.1	3.1	1	2
	Tierschutzpartei		3,185	2.3	New	0	New
	Volt Germany		2,922	2.1	New	0	New
	Klimaliste		2,329	1.7	New	0	New
	dieBasis		2,267	1.6	New	0	New
	Bergpartei		989	0.7	New	0	New
	The Humanists		528	0.4	New	0	New
	We are Berlin		506	0.4	New	0	New
	Open List Friedrichshain		321	0.2	New	0	New
	Ecological Democratic Party		285	0.2	0.2	0	±0
Valid votes			139,270	99.3
Invalid votes			951	0.7
Total			140,221	100.0		55	±0
Electorate/voter turnout			198,561	70.6	8.5
Source: Elections Berlin

District government

The district mayor (Bezirksbürgermeister) is elected by the Bezirksverordnetenversammlung, and positions in the district government (Bezirksamt) are apportioned based on party strength. Clara Herrmann of the Greens was elected mayor on 6 December 2021. Since the 2021 municipal elections, the composition of the district government is as follows:

Councillor	Party		Portfolio
Clara Herrmann		GRÜNE	District Mayor Finance, Staff, Economy and Culture
Oliver Nöll		LINKE	Deputy Mayor Labour, Civil Service and Social Affairs
Annika Gerold		GRÜNE	Traffic, Green Spaces, Order and Environment
Andy Hehmke		SPD	Education, Sport and Logistics
Florian Schmidt		GRÜNE	Construction, Planning and Urban Development
Regina Sommer-Wetter		LINKE	Youth, Family and Health
Source: Berlin.de

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg is twinned with:

• Al-Malikiyah, Syria (2017)
• Bergstraße (district), Germany (1969)
• Ingelheim am Rhein, Germany (1971)
• Kadıköy, Turkey (1996)
• Kiryat Yam, Israel (1990)
• Limburg-Weilburg, Germany (1980)
• Porta Westfalica, Germany (1968)
• San Rafael del Sur, Nicaragua (1986)
• Szczecin, Poland (1996)
• Wiesbaden, Germany (1964)

See also

• Berlin-Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg – Prenzlauer Berg East

External links

• Official homepage (in German)
• Official homepage of Berlin Archived 13 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine