Berlin

:This article is about the city in Germany. For other uses, see Berlin (disambiguation).

Tourist attractions

Even though Berlin does have a number of impressive buildings from earlier centuries, the city's appearance today is mainly shaped by the key role it played in Germany's history in the 20th century. Each of the national governments which had their seat in Berlin — the 1871 German Empire, the Weimar Republic, Nazi Germany, East Germany, and now the reunified Germany — initiated ambitious construction programs, each with its own distinctive character. Berlin was devastated by bombing raids during World War II, and many of the old buildings that escaped the bombs were eradicated in the 1950s and 1960s in both West and East. Much of this destruction was caused by overambitious architecture programs, especially to build new residential or business quarters and main roads. It would not be an exaggeration to say that no other city in the world offers Berlin's unusual mix of architecture, especially 20th-century architecture. The city's tense and unique recent history has left it with a distinctive array of sights.

Related Topics:
20th century - 1871 - German Empire - Weimar Republic - Nazi Germany - East Germany - Germany - Construction - World War II - 1950s - 1960s - Architecture

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Not much is left of the Berlin Wall. The East Side Gallery in Friedrichshain near the Oberbaumbrücke over the Spree preserves a portion of the Wall. By looking at the architecture it is still possible to tell if one is in the former eastern or western part of the city. In the eastern part, many Plattenbauten can be found, reminders of Eastern Bloc ambitions to create complete residential areas with fixed ratios of shops, kindergartens and schools. Another difference between former east and west is in the design of little red and green men on pedestrian crossing lights (Ampelmännchen in German); the eastern versions received an opt-out during the standardisation of road traffic signs after re-unification, and have survived to become a popular icon in tourist products. They are however starting to appear in western Berlin too.

Related Topics:
Berlin Wall - East Side Gallery - Friedrichshain - Spree - Plattenbau - Eastern Bloc - Shop - Kindergarten - School - Ampelmännchen

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Historical sights in the city centre

• The Brandenburg Gate and Unter den Linden, symbols of Berlin, Prussia, and now Germany. The Brandenburg Gate appears on German Euro coins.
• Reichstag building, the old and new seat of the German parliament, renovated by Sir Norman Foster. Features a glass dome in which you can walk around and watch the parliamentarians from above.
• Gendarmenmarkt, arguably the most beautiful square in Berlin, surrounded by two famous cathedrals and the concert hall.
• Berlin victory column, monument to Prussia's victories.
• The Berliner Dom, an historic cathedral. A large crypt houses the remains of the Prussian royal family.
• Cathedral of St. Hedwig (St.-Hedwigs-Kathedrale)
• Nikolaiviertel with the Nikolaikirche an historical city core, founded in the 13th century.
• Schloss Bellevue, now the residence of the German President
• Schloss Charlottenburg, the largest surviving historical palace in Berlin
• Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, a stark Holocaust memorial opened in May 2005.
• The Neptunbrunnen, a famous fountain in Berlin Mitte.
• Tiergarten is Berlin's largest park and a masterpiece of park design.

Cold War and sightseeing in the former East Berlin

• The Palast der Republik, the old East German parliament building. It is seen by some as ugly, former East Berliners remember with affection restaurants, shops, clubs, and the concerts that took place there in the 1980s. Although it has some significance as a historical tourist attraction, the German Parliament voted for its demolition, which will commence in 2005. The Palast der Republik is built on the site of the Berlin City Palace, which was demolished in 1950 by the Communists. The Palace Square was renamed Marx-Engels-Platz at the same time.
• The Fernsehturm, the TV tower, the highest building in the city at 368 m (1207 ft), and the second largest structure in Europe (after Moscow's Ostankino Tower). The Fernsehturm is easily visible throughout most of the central districts of Berlin.
• Alexanderplatz, formerly East Berlin's major shopping center, and home to the Centrum-Warenhaus, which was the DDR's department store. It is now a thoroughly Westernized shopping center, belonging to the Kaufhof chain.
• East Side Gallery a memorial for freedom based on the last parts of the Berlin Wall
• Rotes Rathaus(the Red City Hall), historic town hall famous for its distinctive red-brick architecture
• Rathaus Schöneberg (West Berlin) with John-F.-Kennedy-Platz, whence John F. Kennedy made his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner!" speech.
• Checkpoint Charlie, remains and a museum about one of the crossing points (albeit restricted to Allied forces) in the Berlin Wall. The museum, which is a private venture, exhibits interesting material about people who devised ingenious plans to leave the East, but is controversial in the city for its propagandistic Cold War didactics and publicity stunts that many consider tasteless.

Sights of modern Berlin

• Potsdamer Platz, an entire quarter built from scratch after 1995. The historic Potsdamer Platz was not rebuilt as it was divided by the Wall. A must-see for people who like modern city planning. Just to the West of Potsdamer Platz is the Kulturforum, which houses the Gemäldegalerie, and is flanked by the Neue Nationalgalerie and the Philharmonie.
• Hackescher Markt, Spandauer Vorstadt and Scheunenviertel, the home to fashionable culture, with countless small clothing shops, clubs, bars, and galleries. This includes the New Synagogue area in Oranienburger Straße (originally built in the 1860s in Moorish style with a large golden dome and reconstructed in 1993), and the Hackesche Höfe, a conglomeration of several buildings around several courtyards, nicely reconstructed after 1996. This area was a centre of Jewish culture up until the 1930s.

Panoramic viewing points

• Berliner Funkturm— the only observation tower in the world which stands on insulators. Its open-air observation deck is popular for photography.
• Berlin Television Tower http://www.berlinerfernsehturm.de/ — 368-m high television tower, built in 1969 close to Alexanderplatz. The entire city can be viewed from its 204-m high observation platform.
• Grunewaldturm http://www.grunewaldturm.de — this 59-m high historic tower stands on a hill in Grunewald forest close to Wannsee lake.
• Französischer Dom http://www.franzoesischer-dom-berlin.de — located on Gendarmenmarkt in the very heart of the city, the platform of the cathedral offers unique views.
• Bierpinsel — literally "Beer Stick". 1970s style tower in the Berlin Borough of Steglitz with a café and bar at the top giving views over south-western Berlin.
• Restaurant of the Forum Hotel Berlin
• Berliner Dom http://www.berliner-dom.de — Protestant cathedral situated next to the Lustgarten, with a circular observation platform around the dome.
• Bell tower at the Olympic Stadium http://www.glockenturm.de — part of the Reichssportfeld complex, the tower offers a view of the Olympic Stadium and also of the Waldbühne, an open-air stage.
• Siegessäule http://www.berlin-tourist-information.de/cgi-bin/sehenswertes.pl?id=13353 — the monument at the Großer Stern situated in the middle of the Tiergarten Park where it was relocated in 1938–39 from its previous position in front of the Reichstag.
• Müggelturm — a tower giving panoramic views over the Müggelsee lake.
• Reichstag building— the roof of the parliament building, crowned by a large glass cupola designed by Lord Foster is open to the public giving an impressive view over the city, especially at night.

Further interesting structures (not accessible to public)

• Fernmeldeturm Berlin (Berlin Telephone Tower)
• Richtfunkstelle Berlin-Frohnau
• Transmitter Berlin-Britz
• Radio mast Berlin-Scholzplatz
• Transmitter Berlin-Alley of Stallupone
• Radio mast Berlin-Olympiastadium
• Radar facility Berlin-Teufelsberg
• TV Tower Berlin-Mueggelberge
• Power station Berlin-Wilmersdorf
• Power station Reutter

Famous streets and boulevards

• Unter den Linden is the street that heads east from the Brandenburg Gate. Many Classical buildings line the street. Part of Humboldt University is located there.
• Friedrichstraße, Berlin's legendary street of the "Golden Twenties" which combines the tradition of the last century with modern architecture of today's Berlin.
• Kurfürstendamm (Ku'damm), with the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche (Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church), which lies right at the top end of Kurfürstendamm, on Breitscheidplatz (underground station Kurfürstendamm). The church was bombed out in World War II and its ruins have been preserved in their damaged state. Near by is the Ka-De-We Berlin's equivelent to London's Harrods. Also nearby is the Zoologischer Garten, a zoo with a large number of species.
• The Straße des 17. Juni connects the Brandenburg Gate in the East and Ernst-Reuter-Platz in the West, commemorating the uprisings in East Berlin of 17 June 1953. It features the golden Siegessäule (Statue of Victory), which used to stand in front of the Reichstag.
• The Karl-Marx-Allee (formerly Stalinalle), a boulevard lined by monumental landmark buildings designed in the Socialist Classicism of the Stalin era. It is located in Friedrichshain and Mitte.