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Berlin

Location: Berlin

Description of Berlin

Berlin is the federal capital of the Federal Republic of Germany and at the same time one of its countries. The city of Berlin has approximately 3.6 million inhabitants the most populous with 892 square kilometers, the area's largest community of Germany. It is the center of Berlin / Brandenburg Metropolitan Region (about 6 million inhabitants) and the agglomeration Berlin (4.5 million inhabitants). The city ​​state consists of twelve districts, In addition to the rivers Spree and Havel are located in the city of smaller streams and numerous lakes and forests.

First documented in the 13th century, Berlin was barely a fishing village in the 18th century, Berlin grew to be one of the most important and biggest cities in the world by the 1920s, only to lose much of its importance and historic architecture as a result of World War II and German partition. With the German reunification in the year 1990 Berlin became again all German-German capital and in the consequence seat of the Federal Government, the Federal President, the Bundestag , the Federal Council as well as numerous Federal Ministries and embassies.

Among the major sectors in Berlin include the tourism , the creative and cultural industries , the biotechnology and healthcare industry with medical and pharmaceutical industries, information and communication technologies, the construction and property industry, trade, optoelectronics, energy technology and Trade fair and congress industry . The city is a European hub of rail and air traffic. Berlin is one of the emerging, international centers for innovative company founders and registers high annual growth rates in the number of employed persons.

Berlin is considered a cosmopolitan city of culture, politics, media and science. Berlin's universities, research institutions , sports events and museums enjoy an international reputation. The metropolis has the UNESCO title City of Design and is one of the most visited centers on the continent. Berlin's architecture, festivals, nightlife and diverse living conditions are known worldwide.

Travel Destinations in Berlin

Once Tiergarden was the royal hunting ground. Tiergarten became a park in the 18th century. In the 19th century, a series of buildings, mostly department stores and banks, were erected on Potsdamer Platz. During World War II, many of these buildings were destroyed. The division of Berlin has changed the character of this area. The territory of the Tiergarten ended with the creation of the Kulturforum (Cultural Forum) and Hansavirtel. The area around Potsdamer Platz came to East Berlin and became wasteland. However, after reunification, this area has witnessed an exciting development. The Tiergarden with its government building in the Reichstag is the center of Germany’s political and financial center.

History of Berlin

The historically first association of Berlin took place in 1307 from the cities Cölln and Berlin. Cölln lay on the Spreeinsel, where today also the Museum Island and the cathedral are; Berlin was on the other side. Spandau was first mentioned in documents in 1197, which was not incorporated into Berlin until 1920. Köpenick was mentioned in 1209, Cölln in 1237 and finally Berlin in 1244.

The two important trade routes from the Elbe to the Oder and from Saxony and Bohemia intersected here. The river crossing was narrow as anywhere else in the wider area. From this crossroads, the whey market , Berlin could develop as a trading city.

In the following period, the cities separated by the Spree sought independence, bought estates and small settlements in the area, decided to merge and joined the Hanseatic League as Berlin-Cölln. Elector Frederick II ( Eisenentahn ) took the young city, however, the independence and made it against the will of the population to the residence of the Hohenzollern. The suburbs of Spandau, Georgen and Stralauer Vorstadt as well as the Köpenick and the Teltow suburbs played a major role in the supply. There were vineyards, dairies, sheep farms, wood markets and much more.

When he took office in 1640, Elector Friedrich Wilhelm, who was twenty years old, pursued the goal of reorganizing the city, which had been shattered by the Thirty Years' War, and repositioning it in Europe. A strong army and appropriate fortifications should form the foundation, which imposed heavy burdens on the councils, but above all on the subjects. Whole estates were rededicated, many houses torn down, the city wall given over to the elector, new city gates and fortifications built, and a moat created.

Under Frederick the Great these plants were decorated with colonnades or demolished. Boulevards emerged. It was tried to settle the many craftsmen needed in Berlin. The Brandenburg Gate got its present form, which fit better to the new self-confidence of the city than the old gate, which had been more the gate of a soldier king.

Despite the financial hardships of the post-war period after 1815, the ever-increasing population urgently required the creation of housing. Entire residential areas were rebuilt, new roads created according to development plans. The first railway stations were built for the railway, which has become increasingly important. With the founding of the empire in 1871, Prussia had reached its peak, and in 1888, the last German emperor and King of Prussia William II conquered the throne. The development of Berlin was now marked by technical inventions. Industrialization and reforms replace Prussian consciousness with German national feeling.

Until the First World War in 1914, the transport network, especially the subway, was expanded to connect the individual parts of the city. The following years were marked by hardships. The Russian Revolution of 1917 set in motion domestic political changes that ultimately led to the proclamation of the Republic in 1918.

The consequences of the lost war and conditions of the Treaty of Versailles, inflation and economic crisis contributed to the radicalization. In 1933, Reich President Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler Chancellor. In 1936, the "Third Reich" staged the Olympic Games in Berlin as a propaganda event. The Second World War began with the invasion of Poland in 1939, which led to the extensive destruction of Berlin from 1943 onwards.

Berlin was occupied after the German capitulation 1945 by the allied ones and divided in the consequence into four sectors. Due to the different views of the occupiers, no agreement on currency reform and political development could be found, which led to the formation of two camps: East and West, with the Soviet Union on the one side and the Allies France, USA, Great Britain on the other side. The economic division and political division became final with the foundation of the GDR and the entry into force of the Basic Law of 1949.

The two parts East and West experienced - influenced by the Cold War - different developments. West Berlin was market-economy oriented. East Berlin with planned socialist economy, which led to an uprising on 17 June 1953 and drove about one million people to flee to the West. The government responded by constructing the wall on August 13, 1961, preventing its people from entering the western part of the city. In 1989, the GDR was economically and politically at the end; on November 9, 1989, the wall was opened. In 1990 the border was lifted and on 3 October 1990 the city and both states were reunited. A few years later Berlin became the capital of Germany again.

Most famous sentences of the post-war history:

Ernst Reuter "You peoples of the world - look at this city"
John F. Kennedy "All free men, wherever they live, are citizens of Berlin. And therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words: I am a Berliner! "
Ronald Reagan "Mister Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"