Prenzlauer Berg - Prenzlauer Berg Today

Prenzlauer Berg Today

Countless pubs, restaurants, cafés, galleries and little shops create a day and nightlife atmosphere unique from the rest of Berlin. Along with Schöneberg, Neukölln and Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg is a focal point of the Berlin art scene. Along with Friedrichshain, Neukölln and Kreuzberg it is also a popular neighbourhood with the student population; however, in recent years, popularity has caused the rent to rise, resulting in an exodus of students to cheaper neighborhoods while Swabians, Americans and other immigrants have redefined the area's image.

Prenzlauer Berg is one of the most popular districts in Berlin, is one of Berlin's prettiest neighbourhoods, still central, yet quieter than Berlin Mitte. Much of Prenzlauer Berg escaped damage in the second world war and post war redevelopment. Nowadays Prenzlauer Berg offers trendy shopping with many streetstyle fashion designers selling their wares in trendy boutiques.

Prenzlauer Berg has become famous for being one of the few places in Germany where there has actually been a baby boom in recent years. There is an abundance of playgrounds Helmholtzplatz, Kollwitzplatz, kitas (child daycare centers) and shops selling toys and second hand children's clothing. However, the birthrate is not higher than elsewhere in Germany. Instead, the impression of a high number of children is based on the large percentage of people between 20 and 40 years who are potential parents of young children.

Prenzlauer Berg has recently become a popular area for the current wave of American and European immigrants into Berlin, many of whom are artists who have moved to Berlin in search of the cheap downtown apartments and studio space which are very hard to find in other capital cities and 'centres for the arts' like New York, London and Paris but which are abundant in Berlin. Conversations in English can often be heard in the street cafes along the Kastanienallee.

Kollwitzplatz and Helmholtzplatz have weekly street markets, and the former breweries Kulturbrauerei, Pfefferberg and Kastanienallee are the hot spots of interest.