[2] The name Plänterwald derives from the German word Plenterwald, referring to a timber forest.

[citation needed] The 89 hectares of the forest were first economically used in 1760, and in 1969 the northern side became part of the Spreepark (better known as Cultural Park Plänterwald [3]).

Crossed by the "Berlin Wall" on its borders with Neukölln from 1961 to 1989, the locality became autonomous in 1997, separated from Alt-Treptow and Baumschulenweg.

The Spree also divides it from the peninsula of Stralau (a zone of Friedrichshain, in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district) and Rummelsburg (in Lichtenberg).

[citation needed] The locality is served by the S-Bahn lines S8, S85 and S9 at the homonymous railway station.