In the early 20th century, the eastern part of the Spandauer Vorstadt, known as the Scheunenviertel, became a social flashpoint marked by poverty, prostitution, and petty crime, it had a poor reputation amongst Berliners. By contrast, the western edge the Spandauer Vorstadt became a center of middle-class Jewish life. The Scheunenviertel was destroyed by the Nazis and World War II, and anything left largely fell into decay during the GDR era. Only Sophienstrasse was spruced up for Berlin’s 750th anniversary celebrations in 1987.
So it was a rather desolate Spandauer Vorstadt that entered the new Federal Republic in 1990. It was the first of Berlin’s districts to experience a real boom that shapes its atmosphere to this day. The Spandauer Vorstadt is home to artists, journalists, gallery owners, business people, and people of independent means. And Jewish life has returned to the area around the synagogue. At the southern end of the district, the Hackescher Markt area with the Hackesche Höfe courtyard complex, one of Berlin’s biggest tourist draws stands as a sort of gateway marking the border to the rest of Berlin.