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17

Majakowskiring

PANKOW

A tree-lined street of detached villas amidst well-to-do suburban normality, Majakowskiring was once the security-sealed home to the most powerful figures in East Germany, before their move to an even more isolated complex near Wandlitz in 1960.

Built for wealthy Berliners in the first three decades of the 20th century, the large houses on Majakowskiring were first requisitioned for official use by the Soviets following WWII. The imposing neoclassical villa at number 2 accommodated important guests of state visiting Berlin, then later served as a polling station, where functionaries were often photographed having made their votes.

A further wander round the ellipse-shaped street takes you past the homes of a who’s who of early East German politics. Number 29, with its fairy-tale tower, was home to Wilhelm Pieck, the GDR’s first president (a position later abolished). He also lent his name to the Wilhelm Pieck Kindergarten, at 13-15, where residents’ children were looked after.

Conspicuous by its absence is the house of First Secretary Walter Ulbricht and his wife Lotte at number 28. It was replaced by a ’70s accommodation block after his death, erasing any trace of him from the street, though Lotte later lived at number 12. Number 34 bears a metal plaque testifying that it was home to poet Johannes R. Becher, later Minister for Culture, who wrote the words to the GDR’s national anthem.

An expanse of grey stone forms the entrance to number 46-48, home of the first Soviet town major of Berlin, and later to Prime Minister Otto Grotowohl. Ulbricht’s replacement as First Secretary, Erich Honecker, made his home with his wife Margot at number 58. The prominent circular bay and gabled windows of the ’20s house evoke something from an Expressionist film.

These days, suburban ordinariness has thoroughly reclaimed the street. Honecker’s house is now a children’s play center; the Wilhelm Pieck Kindergarten has become a day nursery. Many other houses are back in private hands, rubbing shoulders with a scattering of embassies and consulates. RC

Majakowskiring, 13156; S, U Pankow

Map: Overview E1