Kladow

Kladow is the southernmost district of the Borough of Spandau in Berlin.

The district of Kladow is bordered by the District of Gatow to the north, by the Havel to the east and southeast and by the State of Brandenburg to the west and south west. The neighbouring villages of Sacrow and Groß-Glienicke are located in Brandenburg. With around 11,500 residents, Kladow has managed to keep its village character, even though it is a part of the German capital.

Kladow was first mentioned as "Clodow" in 1267, which makes it the oldest section of Spandau. Intensive settlement of what had previously been farming villages began in the early 19th century. At the border of Greater Berlin, Kladow was annexed into Spandau in 1920. Kladow has since 2003 contained part of the former airfield of RAF Gatow, which was, along with Tempelhof and Tegel, one of the three airports that made the Berlin Airlift possible.

Today, Kladow describes itself as a village in a city of millions. Buildings such as the Gut Neukladow (1800) and the Village Church (1818) date back to the 17th and 18th centuries, although there are also many new housing estates, such as the Finnenhaussiedlung erected in 1959/60. The newest housing estate in the area is the former Gatow Airport (most of which is again part of Kladow), known as the "Landstadt" for civil servants. Most of the building plots are still available due to a lack of demand. With the dedication of a new shopping center (The Cladow-Center), life has partially moved out from the village's center. Nevertheless, this area still offers a rich, long-established selection of stores and restaurants.

Kladow is well connected to the rest of Berlin with the Berlin Metro system. It was connected by bus as early as 1924, and it is now possible to reach the city centre in around 45 minutes using the Express Bus Line (X34). In addition, the F10 ferry travels hourly between Kladow and Wannsee.

Potsdam is around 40 minutes away by bus, but by car it can take only 30 minutes to reach Brandenburg's capital.

More than enough is provided in Kladow in terms of education: there is a grammar school, the Hans-Carossa-Oberschule, as wellas two primary schools named Grundschule am Ritterfeld and Mary-Poppins-Grundschule. They are complemented by an independent Waldorf school, the Eugen Kolisko School.

References

*The information in this article is based on its German equivalent.

External links

* [http://www.berlin-kladow.de/ Berlin-Kladow]
* [http://www.cladow-center.de/weiter/start/chronik/chronik.htm Kladower Chronical]
* [http://www.lezinsky.de/kladowdk1.htm Pictures of Kladow]
* [http://www.havelhoehe.net/schule/ Eugen Kolisko School]