Start of the tour: Hermsdorf S-Bahn station
The village of Hermsdorf.
A master settler named Hermann is said to have divided the land around the village among German settlers in the 13th century. Hermsdorf was first mentioned in a document in 1349 under the name Hermanstorp.
The semicircular shape of the village, also known as a dead-end village, suggests an older Slavic settlement. During excavations by the State Monuments Office, burials from the time of Christianization of the Slavic population of Barnim in the 13th century were also found. These dead were buried in a crouching position, facing west and with a coin in their mouth. This form of burial indicates pagan tradition.
A knight Johann von Buch auf Birkenwerder is named as the owner of Hermsdorf in Charles IV's land register from 1375. Low productivity and dramatic depopulation due to the plague impaired the economic growth of the village until the 17th century. This only changed in the first half of the 17th century, after the von Götze family made Hermsdorf the mill location for the surrounding area and all the farmers' hooves united into one manor. However, the estate was almost completely destroyed in the Thirty Years' War. In 1694 Elector Friedrich III bought the Götze Hermsdorf family. It was later placed under the control of the Niederschönhausen office and leased out as hereditary property. In 1840, landowner Johann Carl Wernicke founded the clay and brick factory. Building in Berlin was booming, Hermsdorf bricks were in demand. They were even used at the Red Town Hall. In 1877 a railway connection to Berlin was established. Hermsdorf also became a residential and villa suburb. Although the clay pit had to be closed in 1880, the town's growth could no longer be stopped. In 1899 a brine spring was discovered, a sanatorium was built and Hermsdorf became a health resort. In 1913 Hermsdorf received its own train station and in 1920 it was incorporated into Berlin.
One of the most famous residents of Hermsdorf is the writer Erich Kästner, who lived in the beautiful villa on Waldsee at Parkstrasse 3a from 1966 to 1969.