The Bergmannkiez is unusually idyllic for the otherwise lively and wild Kreuzberg district in the center of Berlin. Where Kreuzberg SW 61 was located during GDR times, today the Bergmannkiez residential district stretches between Südstern, Mehringdamm, Gneisenaustraße and Fidicinstraße. Most of the residential buildings, which were largely spared during the Second World War, originally date back to the second half of the 19th century. Today, the old buildings have been freshly renovated in the splendor of the Wilhelminian era and exude the typical Berlin flair of the Bergmannkiez. On a stroll through the residential area, you will come across unusual shopping spots, interesting architectural buildings, casual street cafés and sights.
We want to take a closer look at the Bergmannkiez and its real estate market in particular. How expensive are the condominiums and houses here on average and what predictions can be made for the future?
Interesting facts about the Bergmannkiez
If you live in Bergmannkiez, you live in the heart of one of the world’s largest metropolitan areas. Berlin never sleeps in this neighborhood and there is always something to discover. But even though the Bergmannkiez is known for its lively character, it is also an idyllic place to live.
If you take a look at the Bergmannkiez in Kreuzberg in Berlin, you will automatically come across Chamissoplatz. The area around the emblematic square is also known as the Chamissokiez in Berlin.
The name Bergmannkiez is derived from Bergmannstraße. This in turn takes its name from Marie Luise Bergmann. The large landowner owned most of the land in the area at the beginning of the 19th century. She had the former cart track turned into a road according to her deceased husband’s ideas and also had a great influence on the development of the region in other ways.
Today, the Bergmannkiez is located in the south of the Kreuzberg district in the German capital. Whether you’re in a restaurant on Chamissoplatz or a bar on Bergmannstrasse, it’s quiet time at 10 pm. To be considerate to the residents of the neighborhood, the noise level has to be lowered considerably at this time of night.
The area around Bergmannstrasse as a neighborhood conservation area
The milieu protection area in Bergmannkiez is called Bergmannstraße Nord. Around 17,500 people live in this residential area in the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district. The apartments are in high demand due to their excellent quality and special location. As a result, prices have risen sharply in recent years, leading to a large proportion of the population moving away. In order to counteract the change in the cityscape and social distribution in Berlin’s districts, so-called milieu protection areas have been established. The modernization of old buildings has cost a lot of money, and rents have risen for new tenants. In addition, more and more apartments are being used as condominiums. As a result, tenants are being pushed out of their original residential area. The social preservation ordinance is intended to counteract this development. Find out here which milieu protection areas there are in Berlin and what effects the laws have on property owners.
What is the real estate situation in the Bergmannkiez?
More than 15,000 residents live in over 8,000 apartments in the Bergmannkiez. Most of the buildings date back to the Wilhelminian era and have been extensively renovated over the last two decades. Some of them have even been completely renovated and now shine in new splendor. These are high-quality apartments with old wooden floors, high ceilings and ornamentation. Although there are condominiums for sale, demand is huge.
Properties that come onto the open market in the Bergmannkiez in Berlin are usually sold within a very short time. If you want to buy a condominium here, you have to be quick.
The purchase price trend for real estate in Bergmannkiez
The development of purchase prices for condominiums and residential buildings in the Bergmannkiez is analyzed here using Bergmannstrasse 52 as an example. There are no generally valid figures for the Bergmannkiez as a whole, which is why a representative example is chosen here.
Properties in Bergmannkiez cost around € 1,500 more in the third quarter of 2023 than in Berlin as a whole. After prices have risen steadily in parallel in recent years, they have been moving slightly downwards since the third quarter of 2022. Nevertheless, prices in Bergmannkiez are still well above the €5,000/m2 mark. If you want to buy a property in the Bergmannkiez in Berlin, you will have to dig deep into your pockets.
How much does a condominium in Bergmannkiez cost?
In the third quarter of 2023, the average price for a condominium in the Bergmannkiez in Berlin was € 5,698/m2. For the 12-month period, this represents a 2.6 percent decline in prices, as the average purchase price in the third quarter of 2022 was still €5,852/m2.
A continuous price increase for condominiums could be observed until mid-2022. Even though the growth curve has been declining slightly for around a year, prices are not expected to plummet in the near future. Today’s prices are roughly at the level of the second quarter of 2022.
How much does a house in Bergmannkiez cost?
There are very few detached houses in Bergmannkiez. It is more of a residential area with apartment buildings and large apartment blocks. Nevertheless, we would like to explain the average purchase prices for houses in the region in more detail here.
The purchase price for houses is developing in line with Berlin as a whole. However, prices are currently around € 1,000 above the average level for the capital as a whole. In the third quarter of 2023, the average price for a house in Bergmannkiez was € 5,579/m2. Over the 12-month period, prices therefore fell by 8.2 percent.
The rental price trend for apartments in Bergmannkiez
Here, too, the values for Bergmannstrasse 52 are used as representative for the entire neighborhood. Exact prices can be determined on the basis of specific real estate offers.
The average net cold rent for a rental apartment in Berlin as a whole was €12.13/m2 in the third quarter of 2023. Prices are significantly more expensive in the Bergmannkiez. Here, the average net rent is €15.71/m2.
Prices have risen continuously in recent years and will most likely continue to do so. Based on the third quarter of 2023, prices rose by 17.4% in the 12-month period alone. If you want to rent an apartment in Bergmannkiez, you will have to pay significantly more than in other residential areas of Berlin.
Special streets and locations in Bergmannkiez
In Bergmannkiez, you can still get a feeling of rural idyll in the middle of the big city. Hardly any other central district in Berlin manages to combine this atmosphere so skillfully with the lively everyday life of the neighbourhood. Of course, there are residential areas and streets in Bergmannkiez that are particularly beautiful, as in every district of Berlin.
The Bergmannstrasse
If you want to get to know the Bergmannkiez and Kreuzberg in general, you can’t miss Bergmannstraße in Berlin. It is known far beyond the borders of Kreuzberg for its international stores, the many restaurants and its Wilhelminian charm. At the beginning of the 19th century, the flat slopes up to Tempelhofer Berg were planted with vines, which is why the street was generally known as Weinbergsweg. But then the street became Bergmannstraße. Marie Luise Bergmann was a large landowner and owned most of the land in the district. She turned the former field path into a road and was given the honor of giving the road her name.
Market Hall XI, for example, is popular with the residents of the district. It was originally opened at the end of the 19th century. Everyday items could be bought at the market. Unfortunately, the market hall was almost completely destroyed during the Second World War. When it was later lovingly rebuilt, individual elements that had survived were preserved. Today, there are numerous small and large stalls in the market hall where you can buy delicacies, food from the region and other gastronomic specialties.
The Bergmannstraße churchyards are located just behind the Marheineke-Halle. These are four cemeteries located directly next to each other. You can walk from one cemetery to another through the openings in the wall and take a closer look at the park-like grounds. In Berlin Kreuzberg, Bergmannstraße is the central street for nice restaurants, evening rounds through the bars and unusual shopping tours.
The Chamissoplatz
If it weren’t for the parked cars on the sides of the street, the area around Chamissoplatz in the Kreuzberg district would feel exactly the same today as it did 100 years ago. The lanterns are still the same, even if they are no longer lit by gas. The façades are magnificently decorated with stucco and some of the streets are still paved with cobblestones. There is seating and flower pots on the well-kept balconies. Anyone who lives in this location is proud of their small balcony and their renovated old apartment.
It is hard to believe the conditions in which people lived here around 100 years ago. Behind the pretty facades were not spacious apartments, but the slums of the working-class districts. In imperial times, workers were crammed into their apartments, but the facades always had to be decorated. The precarious conditions under which people lived here are hard to imagine today. The apartments differ greatly from one another. While some are small and crooked, others surprise with spacious rooms, high ceilings and wooden floors. Today, the area around Chamissoplatz is one of the most beautiful residential areas in the whole of Berlin.
The Fidicinstrasse
The city historian and archivist Ernst Fidicin was the one who gave this pretty street its name in 1980. The street is a central traffic route and runs from east to west through the Bergmannkiez. Where many years ago shoemakers, bakers, coal merchants and butchers once found space in the stores to sell their wares, today there are small restaurants, cafés and bars. The residential buildings were already large 100 years ago, but over the course of time courtyard and side wings were added, so that today up to 30 different apartments have to be listed under one house number.
The street is not very green, but the apartments are very popular due to their good quality and great location. Many young families with small children now live here.
The Nostitzstrasse
When Nostitzstrasse got its name, there were just 52 plots of land on it. It was named after the Prussian cavalry general, August Ludwig von Nostitz. The street was named in 1865 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo. In the 1930s, the street made a name for itself thanks to the lesbian activist Selli Engler, among others.
The group of tenements, built at the end of the 19th century and only slightly damaged in the Second World War, is now a listed building. The old buildings, the central location and the interesting structure of the street make it an ideal place to live for students, intellectuals and alternatives.
Conclusion - Real estate in the Bergmannkiez
The Bergmannkiez is the landmark of Kreuzberg. Young people who want to live an idyllic life in the middle of Berlin live here. Young families with children live in the apartments in the houses, many of which date back to the Wilhelminian era. The Bergmannkiez was very lucky during the Second World War, as it was only slightly damaged by bombing raids and was spared other forms of decay.
The excellent location and the good condition of the apartments, some of which have been completely renovated, are causing prices to rise sharply. In recent years, an upward trend in purchase and rental prices has been observed, which will not stop in the near future. Properties are rare and change hands quickly when they are put up for sale. If you want to buy a property here, you have to be quick. The location is very popular with international investors.
Find out here what life is like in the Bergmannkiez, what activities you can do in your free time, what information there is about the neighborhood’s infrastructure and much more.
