ABOUT

The heart of the heart - the Leipziger Platz project area is located precisely in the heart of this dynamic metropolis. This highly prominent location in the city of Berlin is absolutely unique and offers huge potential. Because of our proximity to Potsdamer Platz and Sonycenter, which are already extremely well visited locations, an extremely high volume of visitors is always ensured. This means that Leipziger and Potsdamer Platz combined will form the shopping centre of Berlin and will become a tourist highlight and a mecca for fashion and lifestyle.

The private traffic connection and, in particular, the excellent public transport links are advantageous for tourists and the approx. 322,000 inhabitants of the district. Over the past 20 years, the district has developed into a very popular, central office and service location and is growing increasingly attractive as a place to live.

Up until 100 years ago, Leipziger Straße was still a quiet residential street. However with the construction of the major department store, the Wertheim, it rapidly became a bustling commercial trade center with high traffic volumes. Soon thereafter the area around Leipziger Platz in the Mitte district became the center of fashion, lifestyle, music and art.

It was precisely here, which was one of Europe’s most attractive fashion hubs, where the Wertheim operated one of the largest department stores on the continent. The already impressive sales area was expanded to 108,000 square meters in 1911 and 1912. As such, the impressive shopping window facade of the building took up 330 meters of Leipziger Straße alone. Due to its attractiveness and above-average visitor frequency, traffic in this area was even controlled by traffic lights – a first in Europe.

The Department store was established in the 19th century and offered a variety of goods at favorable prices. At the time, department stores were very popular because customers were taken by the extensive product range. People were attracted to the ability to just look around without being obligated to buy something. The modern department store from Paris expanded in the middle of the 19th century. Its products, such as groceries from foreign countries, were a cultural experience for its customers. As a result, the department stores became increasingly successful.

Georg Wertheim was known as the big department store pioneer in Germany and in 1876 he opened the first ‘little’ department store in Stralsund. The Wertheim opened on Leipziger Straße set new precedences in fashion standards, which find their place in department store history. In its time, the Wertheim was just as attractive as many other noteworthy sights in Berlin.