Hackesche Höfe

In front of you are the Hackesche Höfe, a complex of eight linked courtyards where, in the early 20th century, homes, workshops, shops and dance halls all mixed together. Go through the gateway and into the first courtyard.

1A city inside a block

The architect Kurt Berndt built the complex between 1906 and 1907. It was a very Berlin idea: making the most of deep city blocks with a series of courtyards, each with its own function. The first courtyard was decorated by August Endell, one of the great names of German Art Nouveau, or Jugendstil, with those glazed bricks in geometric patterns. After years of neglect in East German times, the courtyards were restored between 1995 and 1997.

2The Spandau quarter

You're in the old Spandau quarter, which once had a large Jewish population. The name of the square next door, Hackescher Markt, recalls Count Hans Christoph Friedrich von Hacke, the city commandant who had the area developed in the 18th century.

In the building next door, Otto Weidt, owner of a broom and brush workshop, protected blind and deaf Jewish workers during the Nazi era.

Today that workshop is a small museum, the Museum Blindenwerkstatt Otto Weidt, and Weidt is recognised by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations. To find it, go in through the graffiti alley, the courtyard of Haus Schwarzenberg.

3What to look for

• August Endell's tiles in the first courtyard.
• The succession of courtyards: each one has its own character.
• The Haus Schwarzenberg alley, with its street art.