The Lietzensee is a small hourglass-shaped lake, located in the heart of Berlin, not far from the radio tower and the exhibition grounds. It is my favorite stop-by place when I am in Berlin and want a reprieve from the city’s hustle and bustle or spend an entire afternoon on a secluded park bench watching the world go by.
The Lietzensee is surrounded by a beautifully maintained park, created by garden director Erwin Barth in 1918-1920. The park’s southwest and northeast segments form roughly a figure eight, sinched at its center by the Neue Kantstrasse, an embankment road that divides the lake in two. Since 1954 the two lake halves are surrounded by parkland and connected by an underpass and a canal.
View of the southern half of Lietzensee with the Great Lietzensee Cascade in the background. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2014. www.walled-in-berlin.com
The southern half of the Lietzensee Park is quiet and invites introspection. The Great Lietzensee Cascade splashes from the park’s southernmost entrance. Meandering paths weave their way along the shore past maple, sycamore and willow trees until they reach a tunnel, which leads to the northern half of the park. There you find activities for all ages. There is a children’s playground, grassy fields for sun worshippers and ball players, exercise equipment for seniors, lots of benches and best of all, the popular “Bootshaus Stella.” This is an idyllic café and biergarten with a sun terrace from which to watch the swans, ducks and grebes float by.
History of the Lietzensee and its surrounding park
The Lietzensee is the northernmost lake of a chain of lakes formed during the ice ages. It is completely fed by groundwater and drains through pipes into the River Spree. Since it does not have any inflow, aeration devices keep its water from becoming stagnant. The history of the park goes back almost 200 years. Once entirely surrounded by woods, the Lietzensee Park belonged to the Benedictine convent of St. Mary. The nuns fished in the lake. When Lieutenant-General Job von Witzleben, an army officer, was rewarded 20,000 thalers by King Friedrich Wilhelm III in 1823, he used the money to acquire the parkland and constructed a summer residence for his wife and eight children. After his death in 1837, the family sold the property. At the turn of the century, a developer built prestigious multi-family residences along the water’s edge. He also opened the lake and park to the public. In 1910, the then city of Charlottenburg (now a district of Berlin) purchased the Lietzensee Park.
How the Lietzensee got its name
The name Lietzensee derives from the village Lietzow or Luetzow, which was incorporated in 1719 into the former city of Charlottenburg. Lietzow or Luetzow are derived from the Slavic word luccina, which means “swamp“ or “ pool.“ Although the lake reaches a depth of 13 feet now, there were times in the 1800s when it was only one foot deep.
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Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.
Tags: Berlin, Bootshaus Stella, Erwin Barth, Great Lietzensee Cascade, Job von Witzleben, Lietzensee, Lietzow, Luetzow
