Karl-Liebknecht-Straße

Karl-Liebknecht-Straße, or Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse (see ß), is a major street in the central Mitte district of the German capital Berlin. It is named after Karl Liebknecht (1871–1919), one of the founders of the Communist Party of Germany. The street connects the Unter den Linden boulevard with the Prenzlauer Allee arterial road leading to the northern city limits. Although part of the street dates back to medieval times, most of the buildings at its side were built in the 1960s, when East Berlin's centre was redesigned as the capital of East Germany.

== History == thumb|left|Kleine Burgstraße, 1875 The origins of the street lie in the quarter that arose about 1270 around St. Mary's Church, located north of Alt-Berlin's initial settlement. The "New Market" (Neuer Markt) square beneath the church was first mentioned in a 1292 deed; there were three alleys that went southwest from it down to the Spree river. They had had different names over the centuries and were ultimately known as Papenstraße (“Bishops' Street”, named for the Berlin residence of the Havelberg bishops), Brauhausstraße (“Brewery Street”) and Kleine Burgstraße (“Castle Street”, named for the Berlin Palace on the other side of the river).