Marzahn-Hellersdorf

Arms	Map
Area:	61.74 km²
Inhabitants:	248,264 (2010-03-31)
Population density:	4,021 inhabitants per km²
Website:	official homepage
Politics
Mayor of Borough:	Dagmar Pohle (The Left)
Parliament of Borough BVV:	The Left Party.PDS 22, SPD 15, CDU 7, Alliance '90/The Greens 3, FDP 3, NPD 3, WASG 2 (last election 2006)
Map of the localities

Marzahn-Hellersdorf is the tenth borough of Berlin, formed in 2001 by merging the former boroughs of Marzahn and Hellersdorf.

Geography

It is situated in the northeast of Berlin. Marzahn-Hellersdorf borders to the Berlin boroughs of Lichtenberg in the west and Treptow-Köpenick in the south as well as to the Brandenburg municipalities of Ahrensfelde in the north and Hoppegarten and Neuenhagen in the east.

Subdivision

The borough consists of five former villages which all became part of Greater Berlin in 1920:

• Biesdorf
• Hellersdorf
• Kaulsdorf
• Mahlsdorf
• Marzahn

History

Each of the five districts the borough consists of, originally came from one administrative district called "Landkreis Niederbarnim" and where incorporated into the city due to the establishment of Greater Berlin in 1920. Together with the two other boroughs Lichtenberg and Friedrichsfelde, they formed the borough Lichtenberg until 1979. At the end of the 1970s especially the district Marzahn grew as a result of the building of the developing area Marzahn. Consequently Marzahn was formed out of the five districts the borough consists of today in 1979.

As a result of the building of two more developing areas (Hellersdorf and Kaulsdorf) the number of inhabitants increased so that the borough Hellersdorf was founded out of the three districts Hellersdorf, Kaulsdorf and Mahlsdorf on 1 June 1986. The borough remained independent until 2001.

In view of whole Berlin, Marzahn-Hellersdorf shows the biggest changes concerning demography. In 1991 the average age of the two boroughs reached a number of 30,5 years which increased to 39,6 years due to the migration of the younger people.

Politics

Historically, the PDS (Party of Democratic Socialism) dominated politics in the borough of Marzahn-Hellersdorf. In 2001, the PDS garnered 51,1% of the vote in the elections for the borough assembly (Bezirksverordnetenversammlung), and captured four of the six seats on the borough council (Bezirksamt). In the 2006 borough assembly elections, the PDS won 38,2%; the SPD, 25%; the CDU, 13%; the Greens, 5,1%; the NPD, 6,4%; and the FDP 5% of cast ballots. The district Kaulsdorf/Mahlsdorf was won by the CDU; the remaining six were won by the PDS. Dagmar Pohle (PDS, now the Left Party) was elected as mayor of the borough (Bezirksbuergermeister), Stefan Komoss (SPD) is the deputy mayor. The five councilors on the borough council (Bezirksamt) are Christian Graeff (CDU), Stephan Richter (SPD), Manuela Schmidt (Left Party) and Norbert Luedtke (Left Party). Bernd Mahlke resigned his post as deputy mayor after a long bout of illness.

Twin towns

Marzahn-Hellersdorf has seven twin towns:

• Halton, England since 1993
• Kastrychnitski district, Minsk, Belarus since 1993
• Lauingen, Germany since 1999
• Partyzanski district, Minsk, Belarus since 1993
• XV. kerület (Rákospalota), Budapest, Hungary since 1991
• Tychy, Poland since 1992
• IV. kerület (Újpest), Budapest, Hungary since 1992

External links

• Official homepage
• Marzahn-Hellersdorf Website (in German)
• Photo essay

Coordinates: 52°32′23″N 13°35′03″E / 52.53972°N 13.58417°E / 52.53972; 13.58417