Schöneberg had big-city ambitions even back at the beginning of the 20th century. The former independent municipality, which had over 100,000 residents when it was granted town privileges in 1898 (today’s Schöneberg subdistrict has more than 123,000 people). It decided to get to work and, inspired by the neighbouring city of Berlin. It was build as an underground line between 1908 and 1910, thus becoming one of the first cities in the world with its own underground line. The famous high-end KaDeWe department store opened in 1907. The Schöneberg subdistrict has retained its urban middle-class flair for the most part. Potsdamer Straße, which was a famous social problem area for a time, is also gradually attracting new residents and businesses.