Friedrichstraße, 1987: neo‐historical urban design in the German Democratic Republic

In East Berlin, the turn towards the historic city had its peak in 1987 with the celebration of Berlin’s 750th anniversary. Only two years before the unforeseen fall of the Berlin Wall, the socialist leaders planned to reconstruct a glitzy shopping and entertainment district unheard of under the ‘real existing socialism’, which was to be designed with garish references to the historic appearance. The redesign of the central boulevard Friedrichstraße and the adjacent Platz der Akademie (Gendarmenmarkt) square, of which only a small portion was carried out, was the most ambitious among several prestige projects for the 750th anniversary celebrations. This article will demonstrate how the state‐sponsored neo‐historical design of the Friedrichstraße area adapted international architectural and planning models in its own particular way, promoting individual consumption rather than collective production and aiming at a particular form of subjective experience (Erlebnis). It will also demonstrate how the new design guidelines were based on an increasing acceptance of social inequality present within the socialist state. Thus it will show that the urban design policy before and after the German reunification was more similar than is usually conceded.