Das Nibelungenviertel in Berlin

This article explores the “Nibelungenviertel” in Berlin-Lichtenberg, an unofficial designation for a group of streets named after figures from the Nibelung tradition. Focusing on the period around 1900, when most of these names were introduced, the study situates the phenomenon within the rapid urban and social transformation of Lichtenberg into an industrial working-class district. Drawing on the reception history of the Nibelungen myth in nineteenth-century Germany – particularly its political and ideological instrumentalisation through Wagner and the cult of national heroes such as Siegfried – the article argues that this toponymy was far from neutral. Instead, it functioned as a form of symbolic inscription in the urban space, reflecting national-conservative values and contributing to the ideological shaping of the modern cityscape.