Hohenschönhausen is a district part of the borough of Lichtenberg. During the separation of the city, this borough of East Berlin was part of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Tesserae has developed participatory workshops with local residents on topics related to issues of a memory culture being documented by residents of the district themselves, promoting activities of community storytelling.
Starting from an urban gardening project, the experience of Prinzessinnengarten extended to a wide range of innovative practices, political stances and networking activities fostering a DIY integrated approach. Since 2020, the gardens occupy two distinct areas, both organized on principles of self-sufficiency, food-independence and social inclusivity: the original site located in Moritzplatz (Berlin-Kreuztberg) and the recent acquisition of San Jacobi cemetery (Berlin-Neukölln). The Prinzessinnengarten project promotes gardening as a practice of community building and social emancipation from urban neo-liberal dynamics, while also offering its visitors and members a wide range of cultural and educational activities aimed at sharing different forms of knowledge and skills and at raising consciousness on current ecological issues and social challenges.