Weißensee

Weißensee

Weißensee is a locality of the Pankow borough in northeast Berlin, named after the small lake at its heart, the Weißer See ("White Lake"). First mentioned in 1313 as "Wittense," it grew from a village into a suburban district of Gründerzeit tenements mixed with postwar housing, and was itself an independent borough until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform folded it into Pankow. The district covers 7.93 km² and had 58,297 residents as of the end of 2025.

The lake and its surrounding park are the district's centre, with a public beach, a lakeside café, boat rental and an open-air stage. Beyond the water, Weißensee has Europe's largest Jewish cemetery (opened 1880), the Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weißensee art school, and early German film history around Caligariplatz. Trams connect it directly with Berlin Mitte.

This guide covers only Weißensee itself — for neighboring Prenzlauer Berg, Pankow or Hohenschönhausen, see their own Wikipedia articles.

Sections

• Getting there
• The lake and its parks
• History and culture
• Food and drink
• News

Checked: 2026-09-25