Am Kupfergraben
Am Kupfergraben is the name of an almost 500-metre long street in the Berlin district Mitte of the district of the same name. It is located in the historic Dorotheenstadt district. Position and course. "Am Kupfergraben" runs as a riverside road along the Kupfergraben, a section of the Spreekanal which gives the street its name, and the Spree between the streets "Hinter dem Gießhaus" and "Geschwister-Scholl-Straße" with the "Ebertsbrücke". The Monbijou Bridge "(Monbijoubrücke)" and the Eiserne Bridge "(Eiserne Brücke)" connect the street "Am Kupfergraben" with the Museum Island "(Museumsinsel)". History. A first development "Am Kupfergraben  was already carried out around 1580, as a contemporary depiction shows: The Kupfergraben was called "Ludwigsgraben" for a while after its former owner, the Privy Councillor of State. The artillery barracks, completed in 1773 [No. 1-3], occupy the largest part of the street. Opposite the barracks on the Graben is the royal gunsmith's shop [No. 8]." (Ernst Fidicin) However, most of the buildings were erected in the 18th century, after the regulation of the Spree arm, in the southern part of the street. "Am Kupfergraben" has been used by trams since the 1930s, initially only as the terminus  of line 75. Since 1997, tram lines M1 and 12 have been running on the street between "Dorotheenstraße" and "Georgenstraße". Prominent personalities. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel lived from 1819 to 1831 in the war-damaged house "Am Kupfergraben 4a". A plaque commemorating Hegel is attached to the neighbouring house, "Am Kupfergraben 5". By mistake, the number 5 is often mistaken for Hegel's house. This was the residence of the "Institute for Foreigners" of the Berlin University, which existed until 1945. In the GDR, the "Institute for Musicology" (Institut für Musikwissenschaft) of the Humboldt University of Berlin moved into the  building. After a thorough renovation, the "Department of Musicology" (Seminar für Musikwissenschaft) has been located in number 5 again since 2003. In the years 1825/1826 the mathematician Niels Henrik Abel also lived in the house "Am Kupfergraben 4a", where he spent a research-intensive period. In memory of Abel, a plaque has been attached to the new building which has been erected in the meantime since 2014.