Wilhelmsburg: Bei der Windmühle

The subarea known as Bei der Windmühle gives this part of Wilhelmsburg 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 Bei der Windmühle separately helps expose small-scale differences in urban form and daily life that are easily lost when Wilhelmsburg is described only as one large area. The International Building Exhibition and garden show left major projects including the Inselpark, new housing, educational facilities and the Energy Bunker, which combines remembrance, renewable energy and a viewing platform. Wilhelmsburg’s special quality is its scale of contrast and transformation: working-class streets, modern architecture, migrant entrepreneurship, nature reserves, port infrastructure and new urban projects coexist on one island, making it less a single neighbourhood than a diverse city within the city.