Lichtenberg is located in the east of Berlin and borders Pankow to the northwest, Friedrichshain to the southwest, Treptow to the south and Marzahn-Hellersdorf to the east. Compared to other districts in terms of area, Lichtenberg has quite a few districts - ten in total. Lichtenberg includes Fennpfuhl, Lichtenberg, Rummelsburg, Friedrichsfelde and Karlshorst. In addition, there are the parts of Hohenschönhausen with Malchow, Wartenberg, Falkenberg, Neu-Schönhausen and Alt-Schönhausen.

A small digression: Hohenschönhausen is often considered an independent district with its own neighborhoods because it has not belonged to the district of Lichtenberg for too long, but de facto it belongs to Lichtenberg. Therefore, Lichtenberg is a single and not a double district like for example Kreuzberg-Friedrichshain. Lichtenberg is a single district with ten districts, five of which are located on the territory of the former independent district of Hohenschönhausen.

Before we get into the specifics of some of the districts, we would like to talk to you about Lichtenberg's neighborhoods. Lichtenberg's neighborhood list is by far not as long as in some other districts. But that doesn't mean that the neighborhoods that are there are any less exciting and lovable.

Let's start with the Weitling-Kiez: If you're looking for real Berlin charm, this is the place to be! Located right next to the Lichtenberg train station, this neighborhood spans the lively Weitlingstraße and its side streets. Long-established and newly arrived Berliners of all ages live here in an architectural mix of pretty Gründerzeit buildings and modern new-build apartments. There are several cozy-rustic pubs and bars, as well as many stores for daily needs.

Exactly the opposite of the Weitlingkiez can be found in the Kaskelkietz. Here you can expect a dreamy old town flair with cobblestones, lots of greenery and charming old buildings around the wonderful Tuchollaplatz. The landmark of this neighborhood is the Schrotkugelturm, a 38-meter-high brick tower built in 1908. Until 1939, bullets for shotguns were cast in this narrow tower structure, which is now a listed building.

As far as the different residential areas are concerned, Lichtenberg - as already described at the beginning - has a lot of variety to offer. At Lake Orankesee, in Karlshorst and Rummelsburg, there are beautiful villas, old buildings and chic new buildings. In Alt-Friedrichsfelde, Lichtenberg or Fennpfuhl, the first thing that catches the eye are the prefabricated buildings. Basically, however, it can be said that development is also taking place in the comparatively less attractive districts. Students and young families are drawn to the not-so-expensive apartments, and there is a lot of modernization and greening going on. These are therefore residential areas with potential.

Fans of equestrian sports will certainly be enthusiastic about the harness racing track in the Karlshorst district. The equestrian park is located on historic grounds: spectators were able to watch exciting races here as early as 1894. The entrance through which one enters the equestrian park is from 1913 and the spectator grandstand is from 1937, so a visit could be interesting not only for horse lovers, but also for history buffs. By the way, the trotting track even hosted the World Championship of Icelandic Horses in 2019.

The youth of today is occupied only with smartphones and gaming? Far from it! The Theater an der Parkaue is Germany's only state theater for children and young people. Since 1950, it has been staging productions suitable for children and young people, designed to appeal to audiences from the age of five. Crooked Dog, You Stupid Darkness or Weekend Rebels - the names of the productions definitely arouse curiosity!

If you feel like taking a walk after a visit to the theater, then a visit to the Stadtpark Lichtenberg is a great place to start. The park, which covers more than five hectares, is quietly situated by a large pond, and there are several sports facilities, barbecue facilities, a playground and lots of old trees.

Now we move from culture to history: In Lichtenberg on Normannenstraße is the Stasi Museum, and it's located right in the former Stasi headquarters. As soon as you enter the building, you are in another world. On the so-called Minister's Floor, you get the feeling that you are traveling back in time, as the office and meeting rooms have hardly been changed in their furnishings. Here, you can learn everything about the work and its effects of the former state security agency.

Absolutely worth seeing is the Tierpark Friedrichsfelde, the largest landscape animal park in Europe. All kinds of animals live on a huge park landscape of 160 hectares. Tigers, giraffes, polar bears, but also smaller animal specimens make you forget that you are actually in a big city.

If you ask Lichtenbergers how satisfied they are with the gastronomic offerings in their district, the answer often comes back, "Could be a little more." But if you choose Lichtenberg, you know what you're getting into. If you want nightlife, bars and tons of restaurants, you take a short trip across the Spree and dive into Kreuzberg's nightlife 20 minutes later, for example.

Nevertheless, there are two gastronomic highlights that we would not like to withhold from you here. One is the restaurant "Jelänger Jelieber" on Tuchollaplatz in the Kaskelkiez. Simple-modern old building charm and the special flair of the neighborhood meet here with Mediterranean cuisine. The small store is an insider tip - even among Berliners.

And then there's the beer garden at Orankesee. This beer garden really has everything you could want from a beer garden. Pretty seating under tall trees and that too directly on the water - just great! The interior of the restaurant is also very appealing and invites you to linger on cooler evenings.

Otherwise, there are shopping streets and shopping centers in Lichtenberg, a well-known one is the Linden Center. It is located in Neu-Hohenschönhausen and offers the usual large chain stores and other stores. If you want to indulge in further shopping cravings, you can quickly reach the other Berlin districts, such as Charlottenburg or Mitte.

Lichtenberg seems to be a very sporty district: There are more than 100 sports clubs here with a total of over 20,000 members. The best-known sports export from Lichtenberg is the Berlin Polar Bears, whose training camp is located in the legendary Wellblechpalast in Lichtenberg. Volleyball is most strongly represented with 35 clubs, beating soccer with 29 clubs. You can get all the information you need about a wide variety of sports at the Lichtenberg District Sports Association.

Here comes one of the superlatives that we briefly mentioned at the beginning: Sportforum Hohenschönhausen is Germany's largest sports and training center, used by Berlin's competitive athletes. It is also the venue for regional to international competitions, and the 35 sports facilities are used for top-level sports, but also for popular sports.

Next, for the golfers among you, we would like to recommend a visit to the Pankow Golf Resort. Although the resort belongs to Pankow, it is located right on the border with Lichtenberg, so we don't want to leave this sporting opportunity unmentioned here. The beautiful clubhouse in country house style in the midst of the idyllic landscape will surely make every golfer go into raptures.

And for wet fun in hot summer months we recommend the outdoor pool Orankesee with sandy beach, sunbathing lawn and 52 meter long water slide. There is also enough to eat and drink. After a day of swimming, you could also pay a visit to the lovely beer garden at Orankesee.

The infrastructure in Lichtenberg is very good and is simply what you would expect for a metropolitan district. Schools, doctors, stores for daily needs - everything can be found here. There are good transport connections in Lichtenberg. By S-Bahn from Hohenschönhausen station, you can reach Berlin's main train station in about 35 minutes, and from Lichtenberg station in 20 minutes. By car, for example, it takes about 15 minutes from Lichtenberg to Alexanderplatz. Otherwise, Lichtenberg is well served by suburban trains, subways and bus lines.