Alt-Hohenschönhausen

Alt-Hohenschönhausen
Quarter of Berlin
Bruno-Taut-Siedlung
Coat of arms
Alt-Hohenschönhausen
Location of Alt-Hohenschönhausen in Lichtenberg district and Berlin
Coordinates: 52°35′55″N 13°30′27″E / 52.59861°N 13.50750°E / 52.59861; 13.50750Coordinates: 52°35′55″N 13°30′27″E / 52.59861°N 13.50750°E / 52.59861; 13.50750
Country	Germany
State	Berlin
City	Berlin
Borough	Lichtenberg
Founded	1230
Area
• Total	9.33 km2 (3.60 sq mi)
Elevation	52 m (171 ft)
Population (2008-06-30)
• Total	41,780
• Density	4,500/km2 (12,000/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	(nr. 1110) 13053, 13055
Vehicle registration	B

Alt-Hohenschönhausen (Old Hohenschönhausen) is a district (Ortsteil) in the borough (Bezirk) of Lichtenberg, Berlin. Known also as Hohenschönhausen it was, until 2001, the main and the eponymous locality of the former Hohenschönhausen borough. In 2008 the population was in excess of 41,000.

The earliest evidence of settlement in Alt-Hohenschönhausen are from the Bronze Age, and when the settlement history of the wider Berlin area is taken into consideration, there could have been settlements there since 10,000BC. Alt-Hohenschönhausen was first mentioned in 1230. In the initial centuries of the Common Era the area was mainly inhabited by the Sprevane and Hevelli tribes. By the 13th century the area had been colonised by Germans, particularly from the settlement of Schönhausen, during the eastward migration and settlement of Germans in the medieval period. By the 14th century, the prefix Hoh (high) was added to the name of the village to distinguish itself from the southerly village of Niederschönhausen. The first definitive written record of Hohenschönhausen is from an official certificate to Conradus de Schonehusen, dated 19 August 1284.

From 1626 Hohenschönhausen was affected by the Thirty Years' War. Apart from the Swedish forces who were passing through the area, the troops of Albrecht von Wallenstein also plundered the area and its surroundings, with only the village church remaining undamaged. The result of this was a large-scale desertion of the area by its inhabitants and widespread famine. In the following years, The Plague and other epidemics were reported, including a plague of locusts in 1651. As a result of these factors, the village had lost 58% of its inhabitants by the mid-17th century.

Hohenschönhausen was affected by the Seven Years' War, and was plundered by Austrian and Russian troops after Frederick the Great's defeat at the Battle of Kunersdorf. From 1817 the village and the surrounding estates were under the control of the local state councillor, Christian Friedrich Scharnweber. Under his tenure and those of his successors, Hohenschönhausen began expanding along the road to Berlin. Apart from the settlements, at this point cereals were also widely grown and, after the easing of restrictions in 1810, milled on-site. As the 19th century progressed and Germany began to industrialise, Hohenschönhausen benefitted from investment in infrastructure, such as the opening of an electric tram line in 1899, and a brewery which opened in the early 1890s.