Lichtenberg

Lichtenberg
Borough of Berlin
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Lichtenberg in Berlin
Lichtenberg Show map of Germany Lichtenberg Show map of Berlin
Coordinates: 52°32′N 13°30′E / 52.533°N 13.500°E / 52.533; 13.500
Country	Germany
State	Berlin
City	Berlin
Subdivisions	10 localities
Government
• Borough Mayor	Michael Grunst (Left)
Area
• Total	52.30 km2 (20.19 sq mi)
Population  (2023-12-31)[1]
• Total	311,881
• Density	6,000/km2 (15,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Vehicle registration	B
Website	Official homepage

Lichtenberg (German: [ˈlɪçtn̩ˌbɛʁk] ^ⓘ) is the eleventh borough of Berlin, Germany. In Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it absorbed the former borough of Hohenschönhausen.

The district contains the Tierpark Berlin in Friedrichsfelde, the larger of Berlin's two zoological gardens. During the period of Berlin's partition between West and East, Lichtenberg was the location of the headquarters of the Stasi, the East German state security service. Prior to the establishment of the GDR it housed the main office of the Soviet Military Administration in Berlin, and before that it was an officers' mess of the Wehrmacht. The complex is now the location of the Stasi Museum. The Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial is on the site of the main remand prison of the Stasi. Additionally, Lichtenberg is the location of the German-Russian Museum, the historical venue of the unconditional surrender of the German armed forces (Wehrmacht) on 8 May 1945.

The population is ethnically diverse, and has a significant Vietnamese community.

Lichtenberg is divided into 10 localities:

The historic village of Lichtenberg together with neighbouring Friedrichsfelde, Karlshorst, Marzahn, Biesdorf, Hellersdorf, Kaulsdorf and Mahlsdorf was incorporated as the 17th borough of Berlin by the 1920 Greater Berlin Act.

In the 1970s, the East German government had large pre-fabricated high-rise housing estates (Plattenbau) built in the east of the Lichtenberg borough. This area was separated off and became the new borough of Marzahn, which included Biesdorf, Hellersdorf, Kaulsdorf and Mahlsdorf in 1979. In 1986, this district in turn was split into the two boroughs of Marzahn and Hellersdorf in 1986, and again merged as Marzahn-Hellersdorf by the 2001 administrative reform.

The governing body of Lichtenberg is the district council (Bezirksverordnetenversammlung). It has responsibility for passing laws and electing the city government, including the mayor. The most recent district council election was held on 26 September 2021, and the results were as follows:

Party		Lead candidate	Votes	%	+/-	Seats	+/-
	The Left (LINKE)	Michael Grunst	36,283	24.8	5.0	15	3
	Social Democratic Party (SPD)	Jutta Feige	28,739	19.6	2.0	12	1
	Christian Democratic Union (CDU)	Martin Schaefer	19,224	13.1	0.5	8	1
	Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)	Daniela Ehlers	19,057	13.0	4.8	8	3
	Alternative for Germany (AfD)	Karsten Woldeit	17,528	12.0	7.2	7	5
	Free Democratic Party (FDP)	Rico Apitz	8,009	5.5	2.5	3	3
	Tierschutzpartei	Katja Michel	6,528	4.5	New	2	New
	Die PARTEI		3,744	2.6	New	0	New
	Free Voters		3,214	2.2	New	0	New
	dieBasis		2,179	1.5	New	0	New
	Pirate Party Germany		1,124	0.8	2.1	0	±0
	National Democratic Party		433	0.3	0.7	0	±0
	Liberal Conservative Reformers		214	0.1	New	0	New
Valid votes			146,276	98.8
Invalid votes			1,767	1.2
Total			148,043	100.0		55	±0
Electorate/voter turnout			216,202	68.5	8.4
Source: Elections Berlin

The district mayor (Bezirksbürgermeister) is elected by the Bezirksverordnetenversammlung, and positions in the district government (Bezirksamt) are apportioned based on party strength. Michael Grunst of the Left was elected mayor on 16 December 2016. Since the 2021 municipal elections, the composition of the district government is as follows:

Lichtenberg is twinned with:^[2]

• Ilse Stöbe (1911–1942), German journalist and resistance fighter
• Hans Kempin (1913–1992), German Waffen-SS combat and training officer
• Bommi Baumann (born 1947), German construction worker, co-founder of the German organization Movement 2 June and author
• Gregor Gysi (born 1948), German politician (SED, The Linke)
• Katja Lange-Müller (born 1951), German writer
• Gesine Lötzsch (born 1961), German politician (SED, The Linke)
• Annett Fleischer (born 1979), German actress
• Alexander Fehling (born 1981), German actor
• Christoph Sydow (1985–2020), German journalist
• Daniel Siebert (born 1984), German football referee
• Patrick Hausding (born 1989), German diver

• Berlin-Lichtenberg (electoral district)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lichtenberg.

• "Lichtenberg" . New International Encyclopedia. 1905.
• "Lichtenberg" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.
• Official homepage
• Official homepage of Berlin
• Event- und Informationportal of Berlin Lichtenberg