Majakowskiring

The Majakowskiring is an oval-shaped street in Berlin's Niederschönhausen district, now known as a historic site of East German history. The complex originally consisted of Kronprinzenstrasse and Viktoriastrasse, which were renamed in 1950 after the Russian poet Vladimir Mayakovsky. Until the end of the war, the neighborhood was home mainly to industrialists, who lived in villas. After 1945, the Soviet occupation authorities declared the area a restricted zone, which was referred to internally as the "Little Town" ("Städtchen") and was secured by the military. With the founding of East Germany, the SED (the ruling Socialist Unity Party) took over the properties and, beginning in 1949, converted the ring into a sealed-off residential area for the political elite. Many of the original owners were expropriated, while architects such as Hans Scharoun adapted the houses for the new residents.

Until they moved to the Waldsiedlung Wandlitz compound in 1960, high-ranking members of the East German government lived here, including chairmen of the Council of State and ministers. The Majakowskiring lay in close proximity to Schönhausen Palace, the official seat of the head of state, which made the Pankow district a byword for governmental power. The settlement was separated from the outside world by fences and later a wall. These barriers remained in place even after the politicians left, until they were removed in 1973, when Lotte Ulbricht, the widow of Walter Ulbricht, returned to the ring. Her original home had previously been blown up in order to erase the memory of her husband.

Today, a permanent exhibition at the Center for Contemporary History Research (Zentrum für Zeithistorische Forschung) recalls the history of this unusual residential neighborhood. The exhibition documents the living conditions of East Germany's power elite and the political significance of the site. Some of the former residences now house cultural institutions, such as a children's and youth recreation center or a center for historical research, while others are in private use. The Majakowskiweg, which once crossed the ring, was renamed Rudolf-Ditzen-Weg in 1994 to avoid confusion.