Märkisches Viertel

The Märkischesviertel (MV for short; in Berlin vernacular: Strange Quarter) in Berlin is a large residential area in the Reinickendorf district. It was built from 1963 to spring 1974 and, with around 17,000 apartments, was designed for up to 50,000 residents. The Märkischesviertel is named after the Mark Brandenburg.

About the history of the district:
Until the 1960s, the area of today's Märkischesviertel was primarily populated by arcade colonies. In 1962, the Senate Building Administration developed the idea of a large settlement. Under the leadership of Werner Düttmann, Hans Christian Müller and Georg Heinrichs, a total of 20 mostly younger architects worked on the major urban development project. The concept, which was welcomed as progressive at the time, was based on the design of a structured urban landscape. The first construction phase began in 1963 and the first apartments could be moved into in 1964. In 1974, the large buildings in the Märkischesviertel with almost 17,000 apartments were completed. But the necessary infrastructure and the greenery that was planned from the start only grew very slowly. That's why the Märkischesviertel came under fire in the late 1970s and early 1980s. For years, the large settlement remained controversial politically and in the media. The Berlin vernacular also calls it a “strange district”.