Neukölln Berlin: The Neighbourhood That Keeps Reinventing Itself

Neukölln is Berlin's most talked-about neighbourhood — a working-class district in the south of the city that has undergone successive waves of transformation while somehow maintaining the raw energy and affordability that made it interesting in the first place. From the Turkish-Arab community of Sonnenallee (known as 'Arab Street') to the gallery-and-café-filled streets of northern Neukölln ('Kreuzkölln' to locals), the neighbourhood contains multitudes in a way few urban districts anywhere in the world can match.

Richardplatz, at the neighbourhood's historic core, preserves a village atmosphere that predates Berlin's 18th-century expansion — the old farmhouses around the square are among the city's most surprising architectural survivors. The Körnerpark is an unexpected formal garden (Versailles-scale in miniature) hidden behind apartment blocks, complete with baroque fountain and gallery space in the orangery. The area around Rixdorf is increasingly the focus of artists and small businesses seeking the space and affordability that Prenzlauer Berg and Mitte no longer offer.

Sonnenallee is a world unto itself — a 3.5km street where Arabic and Turkish are more commonly heard than German, shisha cafes operate until dawn, Lebanese and Palestinian restaurants serve the city's best hummus and falafel, and Arabic pastry shops sell knafeh and baklava that rival Amman and Beirut. The contrast between Sonnenallee's Arab-majority culture and the hipster cafes two streets north captures the complexity of contemporary Berlin in one walkable neighbourhood.