Simon-Dach-Straße is a street that was laid out towards the end of the 19th century and is located in Berlin’s Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district, Friedrichshain. In 1903 it was named after the German song writer Simon Dach. Together with the neighboring roads Wühlischstraße, Boxhagener Straße, Krossener Straße and Gabriel-Max-Straße, it forms the area known as Simon-Dach-Kiez, which has developed into the preferred tourist mile since the 2000s. Numerous clubs, restaurants, hotels and guest houses as well as trendy bars have settled in the areas mentioned.
Several private individuals, factory owners, trading companies or wealthy craftsmen had multi-storey rental houses built here in quick succession. In 1912, Simon-Dach-Strasse already had 46 built-up lots with more than a thousand apartments. The Gründerzeit style houses were largely preserved during the Second World War, they were structurally changed several times, but are still standing. After the fall of the Wall, many residential buildings went back to the former home owners or their heirs. They have been modernized and renovated. This is how the once quiet residential street became a lively café, pub, restaurant and bar mile from the second half of the 1990s. A few smaller designer shops have been set up next to them.
Like the neighboring streets, Simon-Dach-Straße has since been subject to increasing gentrification. In summer there are around 1900 open-air seats in around 20 restaurants. This was favored by the very wide sidewalks, the trees and the traffic calming.
The residents’ initiative Die Aufgeweckten was founded in March 2002 due to ongoing problems between the residents and the restaurant operators due to disturbances at night. It enforced a restriction on beer garden operations for the section of street between Kopernikusstrasse and Boxhagener Strasse: on weekdays until 10 p.m. and on weekends until 11 p.m., except for a few pubs with special permits. In the meantime, these restrictions have been neglected or largely lifted by the pubs, so that outdoor operations continue into the early hours of the morning without the police or the public order office intervening. Because of the complaints of the residents, the district office temporarily tried to calm down the party-goers by using mime artists. But that hardly had any effect. Finally, the fair.kiez initiative was founded around 2015, consisting of representatives from the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district office, the tourism industry and the Coopolis planning office. They had a few short films made to sensitize visitors to more consideration, more calm and correct waste disposal. In addition, regular neighborhood meetings take place between the tradespeople and residents, in which suggestions for improving the situation are presented and discussed. Mediators also ensure that the neighborhood is to be retained as a tourist attraction with solutions that are compatible with the city. In 2016, for example, there were 3.9 million overnight stays in the district and an estimated 1.4 million visitors. The Berlin Senate provided the district with 40,000 euros to implement the measures.
