1. historical outline
"BERLIN – ick liebe dir!"
instead of „Berlin - ich liebe dich“ that's what you hear old Berliners say. That's Berlin dialect - that's Berlin charm!
You should know a little about Berlin's history if you want to understand some of the events and peculiarities of today's metropolis. That's why I'm starting my notes with a brief history of Berlin.
Farmers settled in the Barnim (northern Platow) and Teltow (southern Platow) on both sides of the Berlin glacial valley as early as the Neolithic period - over 4000 years before Christ.
At the end of the 6th century AD, Slavic tribes, predominantly Semnones, took possession of the Berlin glacial valley. They settled along the rivers, lakes and in the lowlands, as they needed the water for their livestock. [1]
They were two Slavic tribes who settled along the Havel and Spree rivers, separated by a forest belt about 20 km wide. TheHavellerslived in the arc of the Havel to the Elbe with a center in Brennaborg (Brandenburg) and manor houses in Spandow (Spandau) and Potsdum (Potsdam). In the local area between the Panke and the Teltow, theSprewanssettled mainly along the Spree, the Dahme and around the Müggelsee with a center in Copnik (Köpenick). [1] The Sprewan prince Jaxa settled on a castle on Copnik Island - now Schlossinsel - around 825 AD. Farmers who were in bondage to the castle lords settled under the protection of the castles.
Around 750 AD, the Havell family owned a castle in Spandow opposite the mouth of the River Nuthe on the Havel. This is still represented today by the Burgstraße in Potsdam.
On several occasions, Germanic Franks attempted to drive out the Slavs. However, Germanic victories and attempts at Christianization through the founding of missionary bishoprics in Havelberg and Brandenburg were quickly reversed by Slavic uprisings. [1]
The first successes of Germanization came about through a friendship between the Margrave of Nordmark, Albrecht the Bear, and the Havell Prince Pribislaw in Brennaborg. The latter appointed the margrave as his successor in his will, as he had remained childless. However, after Pribislaw's death in 1150, the Köpenick Slavic prince Jaxa succeeded in occupying Brennaborgt.
It was not until 1157 that Albrecht the Bear was able to defeat Jaxa with the help of the army of the Archbishop o