At Home in Französisch Buchholz - Impressions of my Berlin Neighborhood

Come to Berlin to experience the most famous tourist sites: Visit the Brandenburg Gate, the East Side Gallery, and all the locations of the former Berlin Wall. Go up to the TV Tower to get an astonishing panorama of the city. Stand in line for hours outside the legendary Berghain club before being told you can't come in. Or... you could come out to one the city's outskirts of Französisch Buchholz, where I have found a place to live!

Don't Say There's Nothing Here!

Sarcasm aside, this place out here is really not that bad after all. Sure, it my not have as many chique restaurants as Prenzlauer Berg, but also not nearly as many hipsters. You won't find chilled out drum circles here like in the Görlizer Park, but also not as much trash. And unlike on the Sonnenallee, you may have to walk a good number of blocks to find a döner-kebab shop, but on that walk you can at least hear that piano concerto playing in your head. Lovely! So in the end, this outer district is quite nice actually, and thus deserves a post of its own.

In the center of Französisch Buchholz there is a church, obviously, with another kind of landmark next to it: Der Eiserne Gustav is a restaurant, named after Gustav Hartmann, a carriage driver from Berlin who became famous for driving one to Paris and back in 1928 to raise awareness to his dying trade, being replaced by motorized taxis. I have not visited that restaurant, and Hartmann himself was from Berlin Wannsee on the opposite end of the city, but the appearance of the building in the main square makes it worth a mention. Otherwise, what you'll find in this neighborhood are mostly residential areas, apartment blocks of moderate size, and large one-family homes, of course with its fair share of supermarkets and other commercial places in between.

The French Quarter, or What?

The first thing I was a but puzzled by was the Französisch in the place's name, meaning French. Looking around, there are no real indicators to what could be so French about Buchholz, other than the names of the streets, and one Napoleon-like image on a restaurant at the Hugenottenplatz. But the name of that square actually tells the whole story: Apparently after the thirty years war Buchholz was completely depopulated, so in 1685 the ruling nobility of the time, the "Grand Elector" Friedrich Wilhelm invited religious refugees from France to settle here, and all over Brandenburg-Prussia. The Hohenzollern House were adherents of the Calvinist persuasion, and seeing how members of their religious group were facing persecution in France, they offered them asylum.

While the nobility may have been of the same Calvinist faith as the French refugees, the local population was Lutheran, German speaking, and anything but welcoming to the new arrivals. The word Hugenotte started out as slur demeaning the French Calvinists, which they later proudly adopted themselves. It took the French settlers a good one to two generations before they became fully acculturated.

Gradually they took on the German language, and the Germans found a liking to some of the previously unknown foods the French introduced, such as white beer or asparagus, which became famous staples in the local cuisine. By the time the 20th century rolled around, Französisch Buchholz was only French by name, and even that was removed in WWI due to its unpopular association with the enemy, only to be given back in 1999. Following in the spirit of receiving refugees, on the outskirts of Französisch Buchholz there is a block of container houses for people who have recently escaped war and persecution.

Gardens Between Tegel and Panke

When hearing Tegel, most people will think of the old West-Berlin airport, while for Berliners the lake next to it may also come to mind. However that lake is fed (among others) by the Tegeler Fließ, a small river separating the city from surrounding Brandenburg to the north, which is just a short distance from Französisch Buchholz. On the other side flows the Panke, after which Pankow is named, the administrative district this neighborhood belongs to.

So clearly, there is a lot of water around here, which also means things are grown left and right. Aside from large monoculture fields, there are numerous small garden clubs pretty much in all directions from the residential town center of Französisch Buchholz. It is truly a joy going for walks or bike rides on these small paths between tiny plots, with raised beds, small cabins, and blooming fruit trees. While apartment blocks small or large are a general turn-off for me, and town houses seem expensive and wasteful, I could totally imagine myself having a main home in such a tiny garden plot. Is that a seed that has been planted...? Maybe!

For now, this concludes my first impression of the place I am getting to call home. I bet with time I'll make more discoveries of interesting nooks and crannies, which this place is bound to have, for those who bother to find them. So if you're in Berlin, why don't you check it out for yourself? Or better yet, let me know, and I may even show you around myself!