Friedrichshain is named after the
Volkspark Friedrichshain, a vast green park at the northern border with Prenzlauer Berg. In the
Nazi era, the borough was called Horst-Wessel-Stadt. Friedrichshain is
one of the trendy districts of Berlin and has experienced
gentrification. Alongside the neighboring districts of Mitte, Prenzlauer
Berg, and Kreuzberg.
Friedrichshain is now considered one of Berlin's most fashionable areas,
and is home to numerous design and media companies including MTV Central
Europe. It is known for its many bars, clubs, pubs, and cafes,
concentrated in the vicinity of Simon-Dach-Straße and Boxhagener Platz.
There were numerous squats in Friedrichshain, with many in and around
Rigaer Straße, Mainzer Straße and Scharnweber Straße. In contrast to the
districts of Prenzlauer Berg and Mitte, which have experienced high
levels of demographic change and rented accommodation is higher, it is
only since the late 1990s that Friedrichshain has undergone a similar
trend. Following German reunification, the availability of comparatively
cheap rented accommodation attracted students and artists. Nowadays
numerous restoration works are under way and Friedrichshain is
developing at a fast pace becoming more and more gentrified itself.