KiezExplorer Neukölln
Co-founder · Product & UX · 2010–2013
A pocket archive of Neukölln, 2010–2012: local stories, street photography and walks. A renewed free app is in preparation.
The renewed app
Your time-machine to Neukölln, 2010–2012.
The original map, 38 places, four walks with 42 stops, 13 street photographs, the documentary and ten Survival Guide lessons are coming back to iPhone and iPad, in German and English.
This is a historical collection. The Kiez keeps moving, and some places may be gone by now. The renewed app has no live events calendar.
Free app · Preparing for release
The original project, 2010–2013. The story, team and screenshots below document that original release.
iPhone App startup (2010 - 2013), Co-Founder
Our vision was to create a pocket travel guide focused on a small part of a city—a “Kiez.” In 2010, the iPhone was gaining momentum, GPS opened up new possibilities, and Berlin’s vibrant neighborhoods offered a place to explore how a content-rich app could support sustainable tourism.
Neukölln Video Documentary
Neukölln in Pictures
We spent two years capturing Neukölln’s urban beauty in street photographs, which became part of the app’s extended content.
Intro
A short introduction covered the basics of Neukölln. The Survival Guide explained its unusual features, and a video documentary could be watched on the go.
Tours
Guided multimedia tours explored Neukölln’s most vibrant areas through videos, background information, and GPS trails.
Explore
People could explore by category, map, or photo. We selected 38 of our favorite spots in Neukölln.
Events — original release
The original app included a daily event calendar. This discontinued feature is not part of the renewed archive app.
About
Berlin-based KiezExplorer explored a new approach to local travel guides, helping people discover the city’s vibrant neighborhoods. Our first release focused on Neukölln.
The app combined an introduction to Neukölln, a survival guide, and a short documentary with interviews about the neighborhood’s rapid changes and glimpses of its beauty.
Alongside hand-picked cafés, restaurants, shops, cultural spaces, nightlife, and outdoor spots, we created four guided tours. Each combined photographs and GPS trails with background information through video interviews and text. A regularly updated event planner helped people discover what was happening nearby.
We designed the app for visitors interested in Berlin beyond the familiar tourist routes, and for people who had just moved to Neukölln and wanted to get to know their neighborhood.
The app and all its content were available in English and German. It was free of ads and contained only editorial content. After downloading the photos and videos, people could use it offline.
The Neukölln app was released on the Apple App Store. This page documents the original project.
Original team
KiezExplorer was a bootstrapped startup founded by Markus Schmeiduch and Sebastian Schuster in summer 2011.
The project grew out of our shared interest in urban development, our love of Berlin, and our ambition to make a thoughtful local travel guide.
Special thx to the "make-it-real" crowd
Alexandra Strand (text, location photography), Beatrice Kiefer (interview), Brian Apteiker (interview), Christian Pitschl (press photography), Claudia Simon (interview), Florian Parzer (sound design), Judith Scheiböck (text), Justus Wunschik (consulting, beta-testing), Lukas Pitschl (thorough beta testing), Martina Gahleitner (press & PR), Markus Gahleitner (text), Matthew Richardson (interview, text), Michael Schmidt (consulting, beta-testing), Regina Jost (consulting, interview), Stefan Eder (website dev), Susanne Rainer (text).
