Ober den Birken in Oberursel, Germany
One of my son’s new friends was staying over at our house one night, and knowing he lived in walking distance, I inquired about his address. When he answered “Ober den Birken”, I was sure he had gotten his new address wrong and asked some more about it. No, the address was “Ober den Birken”, which is grammatically totally wrong.
Ober is not a preposition, but a noun or adjective and stands for:
waiter, chief (nouns)
senior, superior, upper (adjectives)
Den Birken stands for:
the birch trees
Most German speakers, upon hearing this street name, will offer a “correction” by saying: “You mean Ãœber den Birken” (Above the birch trees).
A few of my expat friends tell of having to repeat the address a few times to Germans who believe the foreign resident got it wrong…. Sounds familiar.
This street name is unfathomable to any educated German speaker. Ober - a noun or adjective – might sound like a preposition, but isn’t.
I just really wonder who is in charge of giving street names to new communities.
Tags: German prepositions, Ober den Birken, Oberursel
May 31st, 2008 at 10:28 pm
Perhaps there was once a CiC called “den Birken”. Hence Ober(befehlshaber) den Birken?
May 31st, 2008 at 10:30 pm
btw, there is another road with the same name in Kelkheim
June 2nd, 2008 at 6:38 pm
Well, in Kelkheim they have “Ober den Birken” as well as “Unter den Birken”.
“Unter den Birken” means “below the birch trees” which is grammatically correct!
August 30th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
I live on the same street and have often found that people correct me when I state my address, and even more frequently my non-native German speaking husband.
It turns out the name Ober den Birken is an old, old name for the section of town according to the Amt für Bodenmanagement in Bad Homburg. Apparently there was a time when Ober den Birken was considered correct grammar.
September 1st, 2008 at 9:31 pm
@Sabine,
This must have taken some extensive research – the Amt for Bodenmanagement in Bad Homburg! I am sure at one time it was correct and it is nice to have historical reminders, but not when it makes communication a bit complicated.
One of my acquaintances told me she never has herself taken home to “Ober den Birken”. She just tells the taxi driver to go up Hohemarkstrasse and then points to the right corner to stop. She – and other foreigners I know of – just got tired of not seeming coherent to locals.
On the other hand – where we live in “Im Rosengärtchen” (German for: in the little rose garden) is not as idyllic as it sounds either. It is a high-rise development from the 70s and getting to our place has disappointed some of my first-time visitors…:(
September 19th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
Did you know that “Im Rosengärtchen” used to be called “Im Rosengarten” – at least when they were planning it at the end of the 1960s.
Take a look in your Grundbuchauszug if you don’t believe me
September 19th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
I wonder what made them change the wording from “In the rose garden” to “In the little rose garden”. Is there any way of finding this out ?
September 20th, 2008 at 12:18 am
You could try asking at the Katasteramt.
October 23rd, 2008 at 11:14 am
Dear Maria, I believe you tutored my husband and I. I happened upon your contact because I was looking for a “pension” in Oberursel. Do you remember tutoring us..?
October 23rd, 2008 at 12:19 pm
@Darlene,
I do know of a very good pension here in Oberursel. Most of my expat friends stay there when visiting.
Take a look here:
http://www.wobo.info/224.0.html
Very recommendable and reasonably priced.
October 25th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
[...] and convenient places to stay when visiting Oberursel. The last one came in on my post about Ober den Birken under “comments”. This inquiry could be from friends visiting Germany for the first [...]
January 2nd, 2009 at 3:10 am
hey…
usefull…
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February 15th, 2009 at 1:51 am
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March 1st, 2009 at 11:16 am
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March 3rd, 2009 at 12:17 pm
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March 15th, 2009 at 1:31 am
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July 24th, 2009 at 11:15 am
VRy interesting to read it
November 16th, 2009 at 9:29 pm
Interesting article. Were did you got all the information from…
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Well, the blogger lives … across the street:)
March 31st, 2010 at 12:10 pm
Seu site é bem interessante. Sempre venho visitar e ver as novidades.