Rotherbaum: Alsterufer

The subarea known as Alsterufer gives this part of Rotherbaum a more precise local identity. It is best understood through the immediate combination of housing, everyday routes, nearby open space and the way local streets connect with the rest of the district. Treating Alsterufer separately helps expose small-scale differences in urban form and daily life that are easily lost when Rotherbaum is described only as one large area. The main university campus, libraries and research institutes bring a large student population and constant intellectual activity, while nearby villas and grand late-nineteenth-century apartment buildings reflect the district’s affluent history. Dammtor, buses and nearby U-Bahn stations provide excellent connections. Rotherbaum’s special quality is the concentration of scholarship, memory and representative city life: students, diplomats, museums, Jewish heritage, sports and elegant housing coexist within a walkable district between the inner city and the Alster.