Berlin is the capital city and one of the sixteen states of the Federal Republic of Germany. With a population of 3.4
million in its city limits, Berlin is the country's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the ninth
most populous urban area in the European Union. Located in northeastern Germany, it is the center of the Berlin-Brandenburg metropolitan area,
comprising 4.9 million people from over 180 nations.[2]
First documented in the 13th century, Berlin was successively the capital of the Kingdom
of Prussia (1701-1918), the German Empire (1871-1918), the Weimar Republic (1919-1933) and the Third Reich
(1933-1945).[3] After World
War II, the city was divided; East Berlin became the capital of East Germany while West Berlin became a Western enclave, surrounded by the Berlin Wall from 1961-1989.[4]
Following the reunification of Germany in 1990, the city regained its status as the
capital of all Germany.[5]
Berlin is a major center in European politics, culture, media, and science.[6][7][8] It serves as a continental
hub for air and rail transport. The city's economy is primarily based on the service sector, encompassing a diverse range of
creative industries, media corporations, environmental services, congress and
convention venues.[9][10] Berlin is the third most-visited
tourist destination in the EU.[11] Other industries include traffic
engineering, optoelectronics, IT,
vehicle manufacturing, health care,
biomedical engineering, and biotechnology.
The metropolis is home to world-renowned universities, research institutes, sporting
events, orchestras, museums and personalities.[12] Berlin's urban landscape and historical legacy has made it a popular setting for international
film productions. Recognized for its festivals, contemporary architecture, nightlife and avant-garde arts,[13] Berlin has evolved into a focal point for individuals attracted by
liberal lifestyle, modern zeitgeist and low cost of
living.[14][15]
History
-
The name Berlin, which is pronounced IPA: /bɚˈlɪn/ in English and /bɛɐˈliːn/ (help·info) in
German, is of unknown origin, but may be related to the Old Polabian stem berl-/birl- "swamp".[16]
The first written mention of towns in the area of present-day Berlin dates from the late 12th and early 13th century. The
suburb of Spandau is first mentioned in 1197, and
Köpenick in 1209, though these areas did not join Berlin until 1920. The central part of Berlin
can be traced back to two towns: Cölln (on the Fisher
Island) is first mentioned in a 1237 document, and Berlin (across the Spree in what is now called the Nikolaiviertel) in one from 1244. From the beginning, the two cities formed an economic and social unit.
In 1307, the two cities were united politically. Over time, the twin cities came to be known simply as Berlin, the larger of the
pair.
In 1415 Frederick I became the elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, which he ruled
until 1440. His successor, Frederick II, established Berlin as
capital of the margraviate, and subsequent members of the Hohenzollern family
ruled until 1918 in Berlin, first as electors of Brandenburg, then as kings of Prussia, and
finally as German emperors. In 1448 citizens rebelled in the “Berlin Indignation” against the construction of a new royal palace
by Elector Frederick II Irontooth. This protest was not successful,
however, and the citizenry lost many of its political and economic privileges. In 1451 Berlin became the royal residence of the
Brandenburg electors, and Berlin had to give up its status as a free Hanseatic city. In
1539 the electors and the city officially became Lutheran.
17th–19th century
Berlin became the capital of the
German Empire in 1871 after its proclamation in
Versailles-France (
Bismarck at the center in white)
The Thirty Years' War between 1618 and 1648 had devastating consequences for
Berlin. A third of the houses were damaged and the city lost half of its population. Frederick William, known as the “Great Elector”, who had succeeded his father
George William as ruler in 1640, initiated a policy of promoting
immigration and religious tolerance. With the
Edict of Potsdam in 1685, Frederick William offered asylum to the French Huguenots. More than 15,000 Huguenots went to
Brandenburg, of whom 6,000 settled in Berlin. By 1700, approximately twenty percent of Berlin's residents were French, and their
cultural influence on the city was immense. Many other immigrants came from Bohemia,
Poland, and Salzburg.
With the coronation of Frederick I in 1701 as king, Berlin became the capital
of the Kingdom of Prussia. In 1740 Friedrich II, known as Frederick the Great (1740-1786) came to power. Berlin became, under the rule of the
philosophically-oriented Frederick II, a center of the Enlightenment. Following
France's victory in the War of the
Fourth Coalition, Napoleon Bonaparte marched into Berlin in 1806, but
granted self-government to the city. The Industrial Revolution transformed Berlin
during the 19th century; the city's economy and population expanded dramatically, and it became the main rail hub and economic
center of Germany. Additional suburbs soon developed and increased the area and population of Berlin. In 1861, outlying suburbs
including Wedding, Moabit, and several others were
incorporated into Berlin. In 1871, Berlin became capital of the newly founded German
Empire.
20th century
The
Berlin Wall in 1986, painted on the western side. People crossing the so-called death
strip on the eastern side were at risk of being shot.
At the end of World War I in 1918, the Weimar
Republic was proclaimed in Berlin. In 1920, the Greater
Berlin Act united dozens of suburban cities, villages, and estates around Berlin into a greatly expanded city and
established Berlin as a separate administrative region. After this expansion, Berlin had a population of around four million.
1920s Berlin was an exciting city known for its liberal subcultures, including
homosexuals and prostitution and well known for its
fierce political street fights. This is portrayed in the 1972 film Cabaret, set in
1931.
After the 1933 elections, Adolf Hitler
and the Nazi Party came to power in 1933. Nazi rule destroyed Berlin's Jewish community, which numbered 170,000 before the Nazis came to power. After the pogrom of Kristallnacht in 1938, thousands of the city's German Jews were
imprisoned in the nearby Sachsenhausen concentration camp or, in early
1943, were shipped to death camps, such as Auschwitz. Hitler had planned to
rebuild Berlin on a massive scale, renaming it "Welthauptstadt Germania"; apart
from the Olympic Stadium, however, the plan never got off the ground because of
the war. During the war, large parts of Berlin were destroyed in the 1943–45 air
raids and during the Battle of Berlin. After the end of the war in Europe in 1945, Berlin received large numbers of refugees from the
Eastern provinces. The victorious powers divided the city into four sectors, analogous to the occupation zones into which Germany was divided. The sectors of the Western Allies
(the United States, the United Kingdom, and
France) formed West Berlin, while the Soviet sector formed East Berlin.[17]
All four allies retained shared responsibility for Berlin. However, the growing political differences between the Western
Allies and the Soviet Union led the latter, which controlled the territory surrounding Berlin, to impose the Berlin Blockade, an economic blockade of West Berlin. The allies successfully overcame the Blockade by
airlifting food and other supplies into the city from 24 June 1948
to 11 May 1949.[18] In 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany was founded in
West Germany and consisted of the American, British and French zones, but excluded those 3
countries' zones of Berlin, while the Marxist-Leninist German Democratic Republic was
proclaimed in East Germany. West Berlin remained a free city that was separate from the
Federal Republic of Germany, and issued its own postage stamps. Airline service to West Berlin was granted only to American,
British and French airlines. Lufthansa and other German airlines were prohibited from flying to West Berlin.
The founding of the two German states increased Cold War tensions. West Berlin was
surrounded by East German territory. East Germany, however, proclaimed East Berlin (which it described only as "Berlin") as its
capital, a move that was not recognized by the Western powers. Although half the size and population of West Berlin, it included
most of the historic center of the city. The tensions between east and west culminated in the construction of the
Berlin Wall between East and West Berlin and other barriers around West Berlin by East
Germany on 13 August 1961 and were exacerbated by a tank
standoff at Checkpoint Charlie on 27 October
1961. West Berlin was now de facto a part of West Germany with a
unique legal status, while East Berlin was de facto a part of East Germany.
The Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989
Berlin was completely separated. It was possible for Westerners to pass from one to the other only through strictly controlled
checkpoints. For most Easterners, travel to West Berlin or West Germany was no longer possible. In 1971, a Four-Power agreement guaranteed access across East Germany to West Berlin and ended the
potential for harassment or closure of the routes.
In 1989, pressure from the East German population brought a transition to a market-based economy in East Germany, and its
citizens gained free access across the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989, which was subsequently mostly demolished. Not much is left of it today; the East Side Gallery in Friedrichshain near the
Oberbaumbrücke over the Spree preserves a portion of the Wall.
On 3 October 1990 the two parts of Germany were
reunified as the Federal Republic of Germany, and Berlin became the German capital
according to the unification treaty. In 1999, the German parliament and government began their
work in Berlin.
Geography
Berlin is located in eastern Germany, about 70 kilometers (44 mi) west of the border with Poland in an area with marshy terrain. Berlin's
landscape was shaped by ice sheets during the last Ice Age. The city center lies along the river Spree in the
Berlin-Warsaw Urstromtal (ancient river valley), formed by water flowing from melting ice sheets at the end of the last
Ice Age. The Urstromtal lies between the low Barnim plateau to the north, and the Teltow plateau to the south. In Spandau, Berlin's westernmost borough, the Spree meets
the river Havel, which flows from north to south through western Berlin. The course of the Havel
is more like a chain of lakes, the largest being the Tegeler See and Großer Wannsee. A series of
lakes also feeds into the upper Spree, which flows through the Großer Müggelsee in eastern
Berlin.[19]
Natural and built environment
Substantial parts of present-day Berlin extend onto the low plateaus on both sides of the Spree Valley. Large parts of the
boroughs Reinickendorf and Pankow lie on the Barnim
plateau, while most of the boroughs Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf,
Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Tempelhof-Schöneberg, and Neukölln lie on the Teltow plateau. The
borough of Spandau lies partly within the Berlin Urstromtal and partly on the Nauen Plain, which stretches to the west of
Berlin. The highest elevations in Berlin are the Teufelsberg in the borough of
Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf and the Müggelberge in the borough of Treptow-Köpenick. Both
hills have an elevation of about 115 meters (377 ft). The Teufelsberg is in fact an artificial pile of rubble from the ruins of World War II.
Climate
The hinterland of Berlin is covered with woodlands and numerous lakes (
Havel river)
Berlin has a temperate/mesothermal climate (Cfb) according to the Köppen climate classification system. The mean annual temperature for Berlin-Dahlem (a
location within Steglitz-Zehlendorf) is 9.4 °C
(48.9 °F) and its mean annual precipitation
totals 578 millimeters (22.8 in). The warmest months are June, July, and August, with mean
temperatures of 16.7 to 17.9 °C (62.1 to 64.2 °F). The coldest are December, January, and February, with mean temperatures of
−0.4 to 1.2 °C (31.3 to 34.2 °F).[20] Berlin's built-up area creates a microclimate, with
heat stored by the city's buildings. Temperatures can be 4 °C (7.2 °F) higher in the city than in the surrounding
areas.
| Weather averages for Berlin |
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
| Average high °C (°F) |
3 (37) |
4 (39) |
9 (48) |
13 (55) |
19 (66) |
22 (72) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
19 (66) |
13 (55) |
7 (45) |
4 (39) |
| Average low °C (°F) |
-2 (28) |
-2 (28) |
-1 (30) |
4 (39) |
9 (48) |
12 (54) |
14 (57) |
14 (57) |
11 (52) |
6 (43) |
2 (36) |
0 (32) |
| Precipitation mm (inch) |
42 (1.7) |
33 (1.3) |
41 (1.6) |
37 (1.5) |
54 (2.1) |
69 (2.7) |
56 (2.2) |
58 (2.3) |
45 (1.8) |
37 (1.5) |
44 (1.7) |
55 (2.2) |
| Source: worldweather.org[20] 26 July, 2007 |
Cityscape
The city's appearance today is predominantly shaped by the key role it played in Germany's history in the 20th century. Each of the national governments based 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 initiated by municipal
architecture programs to build new residential or business quarters and main roads. Berlin's unique recent history has left the
city with an eclectic array of architecture and sights.
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
standardization of road traffic signs after reunification. The eastern Ampelmännchen design is now used in the western part of
the city as well.
Architecture
The Fernsehturm (TV tower) at Alexanderplatz in Mitte is the second highest building in the European
Union at meters ( ft). Built in 1969, it is visible throughout most of the central districts of Berlin. The city can
be viewed from its 204 meter (669 ft) high observation floor. Starting here the Karl-Marx-Allee heads east, an avenue lined by monumental residential buildings, designed in the
Socialist Classicism Style of the Stalin era. Adjacent to this area is the
Rotes Rathaus (Red City Hall), with its distinctive red-brick architecture. The previously
built-up part in front of it is the Neptunbrunnen, a fountain featuring a
mythological scene.
The East Side Gallery is an open-air exhibition of art painted directly on the last
existing portions of the Berlin Wall. It is the largest remaining evidence of the city's
historical division. It has recently undergone a restoration.
The Brandenburg Gate is an iconic landmark of Berlin and Germany. It also appears on German euro coins (10 Cent / 20 Cent and 50 Cent).
The Reichstag building is the traditional seat of the German Parliament, renovated in the 1950s after severe World War II damage. The building was again remodeled by
British architect Norman Foster in the 1990s and features a
glass dome over the session area, which allows free public access to the parliamentary proceedings and magnificent views of the
city.
Gendarmenmarkt, a neoclassical
square in Berlin whose name dates back to the Napoleonic occupation of the city, is bordered by two similarly designed
cathedrals, the French Cathedral with its observation platform and the German
Cathedral. The Konzerthaus (Concert Hall), home of the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, stands between the two cathedrals.
The Berliner Dom, a Protestant cathedral and the third church on this site, is located
on the Spree Island across from the site of the Berliner Stadtschloss and adjacent to the Lustgarten. A large
crypt houses the remains of some of the earlier Prussian royal family. Like many other
buildings, it suffered extensive damage
