art:berlin - Grunewald villa colony - villa idyll between big city and forest

Among Berlin's villa colonies, one still stands out today: Grunewald, conveniently located between City West and Berlin's most famous forest. Protected by Reich Chancellor Bismarck, wealthy Berliners settled here from 1889 onwards, enjoying the tranquillity of their huge estates but also taking advantage of the proximity to Kurfürstendamm. Among the most famous residents were the industrialist and Reich Foreign Minister Walther Rathenau, the publisher Samuel Fischer, the banker family Mendelssohn, but also the dancer Isadora Duncan and film director Murnau or the writers Vicki Baum and Hermann Sudermann. The tour leads to the idyllic corners of the villa suburb, to preserved magnificent villas, picturesque lakes and places of little stories and great history.