Britz

The village church, the old mill, and the manor in Britz are all holdovers from medieval times when Britz was just a small hamlet. During the early part of the century, Britz was incorporated into Greater Berlin. It is now a collection of housing estates for the middle class and affluent. The suburb offers a comfortable lifestyle with plenty of green spaces in close proximity to the city center.

Britz has three small U-bahn stations and several bus lines for public transport. The roads are well-maintained, and the police pay attention to what is happening on the streets. Britz is known for being the location of Schloss Britz, the manor of Count Ewald Friedrich von Hertzberg. The residents keep to themselves; most of them are upper middle class families who lead busy lives.

## Sites

### Berlin-Britz Transmitter

* Communications 3

The transmitter appears like two radio antennas sticking high above the treetops. The trees used to belong to a former tree nursery. The location of this transmitter near the Berlin Wall allows radio signals to be broadcast deep into East German territory.

### Hufeisensiedlung (Horseshoe Estate)

The Horseshoe Estate is a result of German urban planning in the 1920's, carried out in response to housing shortages and crowded living conditions in Berlin at the time. The central apartment block is shaped like a horseshoe, surrounding a courtyard with a lake dating back to the ice age. The housing units are either flats or terraced houses, each with a garden and a small terrace. The architect Bruno Taut used bright colours and geometric designs in his work. The houses are painted in dark red or yellow ochre—or if they are at the end of a terraced row, deep blue or gleaming white. They may have contrasting doors, windows and stairwells, or contrasting colours in the front and back of the house.

All the residential units come with a kitchen, a bathroom, and a separate bedroom. They do not have central heating and instead use coal ovens with glazed tiles in attractive colours. The rooms are usually furnished with bright, simplistic designs.

### Schloss Britz

Schloss Britz is a stately manor that has been in existence since the early 1700's. It is painted white with a slate grey roof, and is two-storeys tall with a somewhat reserved Neo-Renaissance facade. The exterior of the building is rectangular in shape, with two rows of windows and a stair tower one storey taller than the building itself. The manor overlooks a lake in the schloss grounds. A central colonnade of lime trees is in front of the manor; two large trees stand on either side of the main double doors.

Inside, a vestibule leads directly into the terrace room. The grand piano and a set of walnut chairs can be seen before entering the second room—the hunting room, which was once used as a dining room. The third room, the ladies' room, is adorned with bright colours and sweeping ornaments. This is in stark contrast to the heavy oak panelling and leather wallpaper of the fourth room, the study. And finally, the banqueting hall—with its stucco ceiling and prestigious portraits—is the highest and most beautiful room in the building. Within the manor one may find rare lincrusta (a deeply embossed) wallpaper, and an original Victorian crystal perpetual table fountain.

A winding path leads through the manor grounds, passing exotic plants, water features, and various bronze sculptures. The grounds are 1.8 hectares in size, with some parts of it better maintained than others.

### U-bahnhof Parchimer Allee

The entrance to this U-bahn station is housed in a small, lone-standing building. A set of stairs takes you to the platform below. The walls are covered in a whitish-grey tile and it is reasonably well-maintained.