Spandau

Spandau lies on the western edge of Berlin, where the Spree flows into the Havel, and borders the state of Brandenburg. It has its own historic old town (Altstadt) and a Renaissance fortress, the Citadel (Zitadelle). The district has nine localities (Ortsteile): Spandau, Haselhorst, Siemensstadt, Staaken, Gatow, Kladow, Hakenfelde, Falkenhagener Feld and Wilhelmstadt.

On 30 June 2026, 263,683 people were registered in Spandau (Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg). Staaken (about 47,500), Spandau itself (about 42,800), Wilhelmstadt (about 41,500), Falkenhagener Feld (about 39,900) and Hakenfelde (about 36,800) are the largest localities. Kladow has about 16,500 residents and Gatow only about 3,500. The district grew by about 9,500 residents between the end of 2022 and mid-2026.

Water and forest shape much of the district. Nearly two thirds of Hakenfelde consists of the Spandau forest (Spandauer Forst), and the Havel and its lakes form the south-eastern edge from Wilhelmstadt down to Kladow.

With its own old town and the Havel separating much of it from the rest of the city, Spandau often feels like a town of its own. Its localities are very different from one another.

• Spandau (Altstadt and centre): the historic old town with its pedestrianised shopping streets, the churches of St. Nikolai and St. Marien, and the area around Spandau station and the Rathaus. It is the district's main shopping and service centre.
• Haselhorst: home to the Citadel, Spandau's main landmark. The north is quiet and residential, including the green 1920s–1930s Reichsforschungssiedlung, while the south is more commercial. Part of the newer Wasserstadt Spandau on the Havel lies here.
• Siemensstadt: one of Germany's oldest industrial locations, still largely industrial, with housing estates in the 1920s Neues Bauen style. The Siemensstadt estate has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008.
• Wilhelmstadt: contrasts between modest older apartment blocks north of Heerstraße and detached houses, villas and old fishermen's cottages towards the Havel.
• Falkenhagener Feld: a large estate built between 1960 and 1990 to ease West Berlin's housing shortage, with the Spektegrünzug green corridor to the south and some single-family areas towards Falkensee.
• Hakenfelde: largely forest, with residential areas along the northern Havel, some of them new.
• Staaken: the western edge of the district on the border with Brandenburg.
• Gatow and Kladow: village-like localities in the south-west, with single-family homes, villas, fields and Havel beaches. Kladow has a ferry to Wannsee.

Spandau is well connected to the west of the city centre, but trips to the eastern inner city take time.

• U-Bahn: the U7 runs from Rathaus Spandau via Altstadt Spandau, Zitadelle, Haselhorst, Paulsternstraße, Rohrdamm and Siemensdamm through Charlottenburg, Wilmersdorf, Schöneberg and Kreuzberg to Neukölln and Rudow. It is a long line, so a trip right across the city takes a while.
• S-Bahn: the S3 and S9 run from Spandau along the Stadtbahn via Charlottenburg, Zoologischer Garten, Hauptbahnhof and Friedrichstraße. Together they give roughly a 10-minute service between Spandau and Ostbahnhof. The S9 continues to BER airport.
• Rail: Berlin-Spandau is also a mainline station with regional and long-distance trains.
• Ferry: the BVG ferry line F10 crosses the Havel between Alt-Kladow and Wannsee S-Bahn station.
• Bus: large parts of the district, including Staaken, Falkenhagener Feld, Hakenfelde, Gatow and Kladow, are reached mainly by bus. There are no trams.

• Older apartment buildings (Altbau): around the Altstadt, in Wilhelmstadt and in parts of Siemensstadt, often modest in size and finish.
• 1920s and 1930s estates: the Siemensstadt and Haselhorst estates, with their green courtyards and listed architecture.
• Post-war large estates: above all Falkenhagener Feld (1960–1990), along with other estates around the district.
• New builds: the Wasserstadt Spandau and other new quarters along the Havel in Haselhorst and Hakenfelde. The district portal notes that rents in the west and south of Spandau tend to be higher than in the east.
• Single-family homes and villas: dominant in Kladow and Gatow and found in parts of Wilhelmstadt, Staaken and Falkenhagener Feld, mostly owner-occupied.

In the 2025 IBB housing market report, Spandau had the second-lowest median asking rent of the twelve districts, after Marzahn-Hellersdorf. Across Berlin, the seven state-owned housing companies manage almost one in four rental flats and advertise vacancies on their own portal. Many of their subsidised flats require a housing entitlement certificate (WBS).

Spandau combines comparatively lower rents with a lot of green space, which draws families. On 30 June 2026 about 15,200 children under six lived in the district. Outdoor options include the Spandau forest, the Havel bathing meadows near Gatow, the Gatower Heide and the Windmühlenberg nature reserve, the Spektegrünzug and the grounds around the Citadel.

In Kladow and Gatow, family life usually means houses with gardens but longer school and Kita journeys by bus or bike. In the estates and around the Altstadt, everyday infrastructure is closer at hand.

Use the city's Kita-Navigator to see daycare centres around an address and the Senate's school directory to find schools in Spandau by type. Our guides on childcare and schools explain the process.