Marzahn-Hellersdorf

Marzahn-Hellersdorf lies on the eastern edge of Berlin and borders Brandenburg. It was formed in 2001 from the former districts of Marzahn and Hellersdorf and has five localities (Ortsteile), each built around an old village: Marzahn, Biesdorf, Kaulsdorf, Mahlsdorf and Hellersdorf.

On 30 June 2026, 297,570 people were registered in the district (Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg). Marzahn (about 120,700) and Hellersdorf (about 95,400) are the most populous localities, while Biesdorf (about 31,100), Mahlsdorf (about 30,500) and Kaulsdorf (about 19,900) are much less densely built. The district has grown by about 12,000 residents since the end of 2022.

According to the district office, about two thirds of residents live in the large estates, which hold around 100,000 flats. Meanwhile, the low-rise residential areas cover about two thirds of the district's area. Green and park areas make up around 18 % of the district, above the Berlin average of 14.4 %.

• Marzahn: home to the largest prefabricated housing estate built in East Germany, mostly ten- and eleven-storey buildings with some lower and some taller blocks. Many have been renovated or partly demolished and replaced with green space. When they were built, the flats were popular as an alternative to draughty older buildings without private bathrooms. The listed village centre of Alt-Marzahn, with its church and windmill, survives in the middle of the estate, and Marzahn also has some single-family areas.
• Hellersdorf: a large prefabricated estate built in the 1980s and still under construction when the Wall fell. Most of its five- and six-storey buildings have since been thoroughly modernised, with colourful facades and landscaped courtyards. The district portal describes it as family-friendly and quiet, with a suburban atmosphere, and notes that many young families have moved there.
• Biesdorf, Kaulsdorf and Mahlsdorf: village-like localities with single-family and semi-detached houses, spacious gardens, old village centres and cobblestone streets. Together they form Germany's largest continuous area of detached and semi-detached houses. Biesdorf has a restored late-classicist palace and park, and Mahlsdorf has Bruno Taut's 1920s garden city, Lichtenberger Gartenheim.

The district is often described in clichés. In practice, it is a quiet, green, largely residential part of Berlin that has seen extensive renovation and new building.

• U-Bahn: the U5 runs from Hönow via Louis-Lewin-Straße, Hellersdorf, Cottbusser Platz, Kienberg (Gärten der Welt), Kaulsdorf-Nord, Wuhletal, Elsterwerdaer Platz and Biesdorf-Süd through Lichtenberg and Friedrichshain to Alexanderplatz and Hauptbahnhof.
• S-Bahn: the S5 serves Biesdorf, Wuhletal, Kaulsdorf and Mahlsdorf on its way from Strausberg Nord via Lichtenberg and the Stadtbahn. The S7 serves Poelchaustraße, Marzahn, Raoul-Wallenberg-Straße, Mehrower Allee and Ahrensfelde, running every 10 minutes into the city until about 10 pm.
• Tram: lines M6, M8, 16 and 18 cross Marzahn and Hellersdorf towards Lichtenberg, Friedrichshain and Mitte. Line 27 reaches Mahlsdorf-Süd and line 62 runs from Mahlsdorf to Köpenick.
• Road: Landsberger Allee, Märkische Allee, Allee der Kosmonauten and the B1/B5 are the main roads, and there is good access to the eastern city centre and the Berlin ring motorway.

Journeys to Alexanderplatz are direct on the U5, S5 or S7 but take a while from the outer stations. Check the time from your specific address.

• East German prefabricated buildings (Plattenbau): the dominant housing type in Marzahn and Hellersdorf. The berlin.de portrait of Marzahn alone counts around 60,000 renovated and upgraded flats. They are often bright, with lifts in the high-rises, balconies and functional layouts.
• Newer buildings: infill and new estates on former demolition sites and open land in all five localities.
• Single-family and semi-detached houses: dominate Biesdorf, Kaulsdorf and Mahlsdorf, many of them owner-occupied, with substantial new building in recent years.
• Village cores and garden cities: the historic village centres and the Lichtenberger Gartenheim garden city in Mahlsdorf.

In the 2025 IBB housing market report, Marzahn-Hellersdorf had the lowest median asking rent of all twelve districts. Much of the estate housing belongs to large landlords. Across Berlin, the seven state-owned housing companies manage almost one in four rental flats and advertise vacancies on their own portal, and many of their subsidised flats require a WBS.

The district has a reputation as a family-friendly area. On 30 June 2026, about 16,800 children under six and 28,700 children aged 6 to 15 lived here. Green spaces include the Gärten der Welt (43 hectares of themed international gardens) with the neighbouring Kienbergpark, created for the 2017 International Garden Exhibition and reached by a cable car, the Wuhletal valley, the Kaulsdorf lakes, the park at Schloss Biesdorf, and the Ahrensfelde hills.

The estates are generally close to schools, Kitas, shopping centres and trams. In Biesdorf, Kaulsdorf and Mahlsdorf, families get houses and gardens but often rely more on bikes and cars for everyday trips.

Use the city's Kita-Navigator to find daycare centres near an address and the Senate's school directory to look up schools by type. Our childcare and schools guides explain the process.