Yaam.de. National Geographic's Ultimate City Guides. The Scheunenviertel, or Barn Quarter, is a historic district whose web of crooked lanes has morphed into a trendy entertainment, art, and shopping zone over the past 15 years. The odd name harkens back centuries to when the area was home to highly flammable hay barns. It later became Berlin's main Jewish quarter, a role it has gradually resumed in recent years.