Friedrichshain is the eastern bank of the Spree opposite Kreuzberg, and together the two districts form the centre of young, alternative Berlin. It was a working-class quarter in the GDR, bombed flat in the war, and rebuilt with the monumental Stalinist boulevards of Karl-Marx-Allee. After reunification the empty buildings filled up with students, artists and squatters drawn by cheap rents; by the 2000s it had become one of the most talked-about nightlife neighbourhoods in Europe. It is also home to the East Side Gallery, the longest surviving stretch of the Berlin Wall, 1.3 km of it covered in murals painted after the fall of 1989.
The heart of the district is around Simon-Dach-Straße and Boxhagener Platz, a dense grid of streets full of cafés, brunch spots, Balkan grills, vinyl shops and dive bars. Rents have climbed and the district has gentrified noticeably, but it has kept its young, international atmosphere. For green space, the Volkspark Friedrichshain north of the centre is one of the best parks in the city. For nightlife, Friedrichshain holds the most famous techno club in the world — Berghain, in an old power station on the border with Kreuzberg — and dozens of smaller venues that go all weekend.