He was a good man, he was a soulman, he was my friend.“ Said Friedrich the Great about Hans Karl von Winterfeldt. Winterfeldt and the king did not always share the same ideas, but it was Winterfeldt´s loyalty and strategic brillance that impressed the King.

Since May 12th 1893 this square commemorates his name. To many people though he is not familiar anymore – too often the square is written without the t, as field „Winterfeld“. But  the similarities and the differences – just like the d and the t – are what makes this area so special.

This variety and vitality draws Berliners and guests every saturday towards the market, whereas the Wednesday market is a cozy neighbourhood market. But there was no such idyll in the early eighties: the houses were run down and objects of speculation, the drug- and prostitution-scene was just some blocks away and the police and the squatters were fighting heavily. Today it is chic to live here and again there are speculations – mostly with the rent for businesses. And for a lot of people who build this neighbourhood, there are again fights, fights for payable rents for their stores. Would Hans Karl von Winterfeldt have had the right strategy?

Stefan Maria Rother in the Introduction