The village of Pankow is named after the small
Panke river, a tributary of the
Spree. The settlement was first mentioned in a 1311 deed by the
Margraves of Brandenburg, though the "
Four Evangelists"
fieldstone church had already been erected about 1230. In 1691
Elector Frederick III acquired
Schönhausen Palace, in neighboring
Niederschönhausen, from the heirs of General
Joachim Ernst von Grumbkow, which promoted the development of the Pankow village. As Pankow grew, due to
industrialization, in the 19th century, it became a suburb – and popular day-trip destination – of Berlin. It was finally incorporated into the city by the
Greater Berlin Act of 1920. In the
East German period, from 1949 to 1990, Pankow, together with Niederschönhausen, was a prominent quarter of
East Berlin. From 1949 to 1960 Schönhausen Palace was the presidential residency of East Germany, and throughout the period many embassies were located in the vicinity. ==Geography==