Köpenick

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The title of this article contains the character ö. Where it is unavailable or not desired, the name may be represented as Koepenick.

Köpenick is an area in the borough of Treptow-Köpenick in Berlin. It is located in the south-east of the city.

Prior to Berlin's 2001 administrative reform, Köpenick was a borough in its own right—Berlin's largest by area—consisting of the localities of Köpenick, Oberschöneweide, Grünau, Schmöckwitz, Müggelheim, Rahnsdorf, and Friedrichshagen. It also has the largest percentage of its area covered by forests and water (most notably the Müggelsee lake).

Until 2002 there was near Uhlenhorst a large radio facility for MW and FM with a 248 metre high self-radiating radio mast, which was insulated against earth. The FM services of this facility were moved to the central TV Tower near the Alexanderplatz and the AM transmitters were moved to a new aerial mast at Zehlendorf (near Oranienburg).

[edit] History

Before Köpenick became part of "Greater Berlin" in 1920, it had a long history as an independent town. Its first known mentioning in a document dates back to 1209, then under the name "Copanic" (Slavic Kopanica). For the most part of Köpenick's history, the town was known as Cöpenick - the modern name was officially adopted in 1931.

In 1906, a shoemaker called Wilhelm Voigt masqueraded as a Prussian officer and took over the city hall of Köpenick. He became famous as the "Captain of Köpenick" (Hauptmann von Köpenick), and the borough is still most well known for this incident.

During the Cold War, Köpenick was part of East Berlin.

Coordinates: 52°27′N, 13°34′E