| Invalidenstrasse | |
 View east along Invalidenstraße fromChausseestraße, 2015 | |
 Interactive map of Invalidenstraße | |
| Former names | |
|---|---|
| Namesake | Invalidenhaus Berlin [de] |
| Type | Street |
| Location | Berlin, Germany |
| Quarter | Mitte,Moabit |
| Nearest metro station | |
| Coordinates | 52°31′43″N13°22′35″E / 52.5286°N 13.3764°E /52.5286; 13.3764 |
| East end |
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| Major junctions |
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| West end | Alt-Moabit [de]/Werftstraße |
Invalidenstraße, orInvalidenstrasse (seeß[2]), is a street inBerlin,Germany. It runs east to west for three kilometers (1.9 mi) through the districts ofMitte andMoabit. The street originally connected three important railway stations in the northern city centre: theStettiner Bahnhof (today Nordbahnhof), theHamburger Bahnhof and theLehrter Bahnhof, the present-dayBerlin Hauptbahnhof.
The street was laid out in the 13th century and originally namedSpandauer Heerweg. It was renamed after a hostel erected in 1748 by the order of KingFrederick II of Prussia, theInvalidenhaus, which served theveterans that fought in theSilesian Wars. Today the remaining parts of this building house offices for theFederal Ministry of Economics. On western Invalidenstraße was the site of the notorious Moabit cell prison and large barracks of the PrussianUhlans (Uhlanenkaserne).
After World War II Invalidenstraße was divided betweenEast andWest Berlin and theSandkrugbrücke crossing the Berlin–Spandau Shipping Canal was the location of aborder crossing. Nearby on August 24, 1961Günter Litfin attempting to flee to the west was shot byEast German border troops, becoming the second victim at theBerlin Wall erected eleven days before. A memorial marks the site.
AfterGerman reunification, Invalidenstraße became one of the most important arterial roads in Berlin, particularly after the opening of the newBerlin Hauptbahnhof. A further expansion including atramway line is planned.
Several public institutions and federal ministries are situated along the street: theMuseum of Natural History and thefaculties of agriculture and horticulture of theHumboldt University of Berlin as well as theFederal Ministry of Transport and, on the other side of theInvalidenpark, theFederal Ministry of Economics opposite of theCharité hospital Campus Mitte. Beyond theSandkrugbrücke in Moabit the former Hamburger Bahnhof train station has been converted into theMuseum für Gegenwart.
Steht der Buchstabe ß nicht zur Verfügung, so schreibt man ss. [If the letter ß is unavailable, then one writes ss.]
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| Border crossings | |||||||||||
| People who died breaching the Wall | |||||||||||
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| The Wall in speeches | |||||||||||
| In popular culture |
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