Die Kantstrasse

Which Berlin street has so many facets: theater district, writer's residence, political hotspot, Chinatown, red-light district, design mile? The approximately two-kilometer-long Kantstrasse has experienced its ups and downs and is currently stepping out of the shadow of the parallel Kurfürstendamm. Built in the 1890s, Kantstrasse was a preferred residential area for the upper middle class of the rapidly growing city of Charlottenburg, especially a street for musicians, painters, sculptors, and actors. At the beginning of the 20th century, the first wave of migration began with the arrival of Eastern European Jews, Russian immigrants, and Chinese students. After World War II, Kantstrasse became a main commercial street in the West. It has since recovered from the decline of the 1980s and 90s.