Schwanenwerder - Monopoly, Goebbels & Brad Pitt

The small Havel island, Schwanenwerder, situated between Wannsee and Griebnitzsee in the south of Berlin, has a turbulent history. Ulf Meyer explained to us the arc from an exclusive island for wealthy Berliners through the dark chapter of the Nazi era to never-ending legends.

In 1882, Friedrich Wilhelm Wessel, a manufacturer of kerosene lamps, acquired the barren sandy island "Cladower Sandwerder", built a bridge, a circular island road, and placed sculptures there, including an artificial ruin of a Tuileries column from the Parisian palace. Renamed "Schwanenwerder," the island became a luxurious estate for industrialists and bankers. In the first German edition of the board game "Monopoly", the most expensive street was not Schlossstraße but “Inselstraße Schwanenwerder”. With the Nazis' rise to power, prominent Nazis such as Josef Goebbels and Albrecht Speer acquired properties from their Jewish owners at far below market value.

Even today, Schwanenwerder without public transport connections, remains an attractive residential area for the wealthy. A rumor persisted for a long time that Brad Pitt intended to build a villa on Inselstraße. The trigger was his friendship with the Berlin-based Graft architects, who designed the villa, which can only be seen from the water. The most expensive luxury villa in Germany is still available if you are interested!