Krumme Lanke
Encyclopedia
Krumme Lanke is a lake in the south west of Berlin
, in the Steglitz-Zehlendorf
borough of the city and on the edge of the Grunewald forest
. After Nikolassee and the neighbouring Schlachtensee
, it is the southernmost of the Grunewald chain of lakes. To the north east, the Riemeistersee flows into the Riemeisterfenn nature reserve, the Langes Luch nature reserve, the Grunewaldsee and ultimately the Hundekehlesee. Krumme Lanke is 1100m long with a circumference of 2.5km, is up to 6.6m deep and has a surface area of 154,000m². A path running along the edge of the lake is popular with joggers and walkers. There are also two bathing spots on the lake, one of which is used for naturism. There is also a exercise area for dogs on the northern bank, although this is currently overgrown. Unlike other lakes in the area, which contain eels, tench, pike, carp, catfish and perch, the Krumme Lanke is home only to asp
.
On the northern bank is a memorial to Sergeant Fritz Göhrs, who was killed there in 1928. Whilst riding around the lake, Göhrs' horse was startled and threw him into the lake. The horse then fell on top of him and Göhrs drowned.
Around a kilometre from the lake is the Krumme Lanke
station of the Berlin U-Bahn
, on the U3
.
, Schlachtensee
and Nikolassee in 1242, the monks of the influential Cistercian Lehnin Abbey
sought nine years later to expand their estate further north into Teltow
. In 1251, they bought the village of Crumense by the Krumme Lanke for one hundred and fifty marks from the Ascanian Margrave
s Johann I and Otto III, who ruled the area together. As the village is not recorded in the Land Book of Charles IV
of 1375, it is very likely that the village was abandoned
soon after the purchase.
As excavations in the abandoned site have uncovered remnants of Slavic
pottery, it is thought the settlement was originally a Slavonic foundation. Crumense in Middle Low German
indicates a site by a crooked lake, meaning the village was named after the lake. There are references to the lake itself in documents from 1543 and 1591, in which it is referred to as the Krummensee.
property company built an SS
colony by the Krumme Lanke. The firm worked in co-operation with the Office for Race and Settlement to create what Reichsführer of the SS
Heinrich Himmler
called "a closed community for the officers of the SS." Since 1945, almost all of the streets have been renamed: Sigstraße was renamed Bürstadter Weg (after the town
in southern Hesse
); Treuepfad became Alsbacher Weg (the name of several places in Germany
); and Ahnenzeile became Jugenheimer Weg (after Jugenheim in Rheinhessen
). The name of one street, Im Kinderland (In the land of children) remained. The name was suggested by the wife of an SS officer, on the grounds that "the men, who represent the racial elite of the German people, pass on their high-quality genetic material to a large number of genetically wealthy offspring."
In 1973, the quartet, Insterburg & Co., sang about the Krumme Lanke in song of that title on their album, Die Hohe Schule der Musik (The High School for Music).
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, in the Steglitz-Zehlendorf
Steglitz-Zehlendorf
Steglitz-Zehlendorf is the sixth borough of Berlin, formed in Berlin's 2001 administrative reform by merging the former boroughs of Steglitz and Zehlendorf.-Demographics:...
borough of the city and on the edge of the Grunewald forest
Grunewald (forest)
Grunewald is a German forest located in the western side of Berlin on the east side of the Havel, mainly in the Grunewald district...
. After Nikolassee and the neighbouring Schlachtensee
Schlachtensee
Schlachtensee is a lake in the south west of Berlin, in the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough , on the edge of the Grunewald forest. The lake lends its name to the surrounding area and to the nearby Studentendorf Schlachtensee, a student residence...
, it is the southernmost of the Grunewald chain of lakes. To the north east, the Riemeistersee flows into the Riemeisterfenn nature reserve, the Langes Luch nature reserve, the Grunewaldsee and ultimately the Hundekehlesee. Krumme Lanke is 1100m long with a circumference of 2.5km, is up to 6.6m deep and has a surface area of 154,000m². A path running along the edge of the lake is popular with joggers and walkers. There are also two bathing spots on the lake, one of which is used for naturism. There is also a exercise area for dogs on the northern bank, although this is currently overgrown. Unlike other lakes in the area, which contain eels, tench, pike, carp, catfish and perch, the Krumme Lanke is home only to asp
Asp (fish)
The Asp is a European freshwater fish of the Cyprinid family. It is protected by the Bern Convention of endangered species and habitats . Asps are also on the IUCN Red List of endangered species....
.
On the northern bank is a memorial to Sergeant Fritz Göhrs, who was killed there in 1928. Whilst riding around the lake, Göhrs' horse was startled and threw him into the lake. The horse then fell on top of him and Göhrs drowned.
Around a kilometre from the lake is the Krumme Lanke
Krumme Lanke (Berlin U-Bahn)
Krumme Lanke is a Berlin U-Bahn station on the . It is the line's southwestern terminus, located in the Zehlendorf district of Berlin.-Overview:The station, named after a nearby lake in the Grunewald forest, opened on December 22, 1929...
station of the Berlin U-Bahn
Berlin U-Bahn
The Berlin is a rapid transit railway in Berlin, the capital city of Germany, and is a major part of the public transport system of that city. Opened in 1902, the serves 173 stations spread across ten lines, with a total track length of , about 80% of which is underground...
, on the U3
U3 (Berlin U-Bahn)
U3 is a line on the Berlin U-Bahn created in its current version on 12 December 2004. The routing is the same as the previous U2 until 1993, only run from Krumme Lanke to Wittenbergplatz....
.
Crumense
Having already bought the then villages of ZehlendorfZehlendorf (Berlin)
Zehlendorf is a locality within the borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf in Berlin. Before Berlin's 2001 administrative reform Zehlendorf was a borough in its own right, consisting of the locality of Zehlendorf as well as Wannsee, Nikolassee and Dahlem...
, Schlachtensee
Schlachtensee
Schlachtensee is a lake in the south west of Berlin, in the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough , on the edge of the Grunewald forest. The lake lends its name to the surrounding area and to the nearby Studentendorf Schlachtensee, a student residence...
and Nikolassee in 1242, the monks of the influential Cistercian Lehnin Abbey
Lehnin Abbey
Lehnin Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery in Lehnin in Brandenburg, Germany. Since 1911 it has accommodated the Luise-Henrietten-Stift, a Protestant women's community.-History:...
sought nine years later to expand their estate further north into Teltow
Teltow
Teltow is a town in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district, in Brandenburg, Germany.-Geography:Teltow is part of the agglomeration of Berlin. The distance to the Berlin city centre is , while the distance to Potsdam is ....
. In 1251, they bought the village of Crumense by the Krumme Lanke for one hundred and fifty marks from the Ascanian Margrave
Margrave
A margrave or margravine was a medieval hereditary nobleman with military responsibilities in a border province of a kingdom. Border provinces usually had more exposure to military incursions from the outside, compared to interior provinces, and thus a margrave usually had larger and more active...
s Johann I and Otto III, who ruled the area together. As the village is not recorded in the Land Book of Charles IV
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and the first king of Bohemia to also become Holy Roman Emperor....
of 1375, it is very likely that the village was abandoned
Abandoned village
An abandoned village is a village that has, for some reason, been deserted. In many countries, and throughout history, thousands of villages were deserted for a variety of causes...
soon after the purchase.
As excavations in the abandoned site have uncovered remnants of Slavic
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
pottery, it is thought the settlement was originally a Slavonic foundation. Crumense in Middle Low German
Middle Low German
Middle Low German is a language that is the descendant of Old Saxon and is the ancestor of modern Low German. It served as the international lingua franca of the Hanseatic League...
indicates a site by a crooked lake, meaning the village was named after the lake. There are references to the lake itself in documents from 1543 and 1591, in which it is referred to as the Krummensee.
SS colony
Between 1938 and 1940, the GAGFAHGAGFAH
GAGFAH is a Luxembourg-based realty company. It owns a portfolio of 175,000 rental units and an additional 25,000 apartments in Germany, particularly concentrated in Dresden and Berlin....
property company built an SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
colony by the Krumme Lanke. The firm worked in co-operation with the Office for Race and Settlement to create what Reichsführer of the SS
Reichsführer-SS
was a special SS rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945. Reichsführer-SS was a title from 1925 to 1933 and, after 1934, the highest rank of the German Schutzstaffel .-Definition:...
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
called "a closed community for the officers of the SS." Since 1945, almost all of the streets have been renamed: Sigstraße was renamed Bürstadter Weg (after the town
Bürstadt
Bürstadt is a town in the Bergstraße district in southern Hesse, Germany, 7 km east of Worms, and 17 km north of Mannheim.-Location:Bürstadt lies in the Rhine rift between the Rhine and the Odenwald, and thereby in the Hessisches Ried....
in southern Hesse
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
); Treuepfad became Alsbacher Weg (the name of several places in Germany
Alsbach
Alsbach mey refer to the following places in Germany:*Alsbach, Westerwaldkreis, in the Westerwaldkreis district, Rhineland-Palatinate*Alsbach-Hähnlein, in the Darmstadt-Dieburg district, Hesse...
); and Ahnenzeile became Jugenheimer Weg (after Jugenheim in Rheinhessen
Jugenheim in Rheinhessen
Jugenheim in Rheinhessen is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.-Location:...
). The name of one street, Im Kinderland (In the land of children) remained. The name was suggested by the wife of an SS officer, on the grounds that "the men, who represent the racial elite of the German people, pass on their high-quality genetic material to a large number of genetically wealthy offspring."
Music
In 1923, Berliner folk singer Fredy Sieg wrote Das Lied von der Krummen Lanke (The Song of Krumme Lanke).In 1973, the quartet, Insterburg & Co., sang about the Krumme Lanke in song of that title on their album, Die Hohe Schule der Musik (The High School for Music).