Day trip through multicultural city landscapes & photo highlights

TV tower entrance

Pariser Platz

The Brandenburg Gate made of sandstone is one of the largest and most beautiful creations of German classicism. It was built in the years 1788 to 1791 based on designs by Carl Gotthard Langhans the Elder, who was strongly oriented towards the propylaea of the Athens Acropolis. King Friedrich Wilhelm II had previously ordered the construction of the Brandenburg Gate because he was looking for a worthy architectural conclusion for the boulevard Unter den Linden.

Significant turning points and events in German history are associated with the Reichstag building. On November 9, 1918, SPD politician Philipp Scheidemann called the Republic from the balcony on the west portal. The "Reichstag fire" occurred on the evening of February 27, 1933. The plenary hall and the dome were completely destroyed. A red flag of the Soviet Union, raised on April 30, 1945 by two Red Army soldiers, symbolized the victory over the "Third Reich".

The 36-meter high "administration building" rises between and above the two five-story administrative wings, which houses the offices of the Chancellor and his Ministers of State, the cabinet room and conference rooms. A large arch is cut into the bare wall to the north and south, to the east (to the main entrance) and to the west the outer walls are broken up into large glass surfaces that span between high concrete pillars. This gives the large building an astonishing transparency and lightness. The two side wings, whose floor plans resemble a comb, appear completely different. The offices are grouped around atriums that are completely glazed. The long side walls with their alternation of windowless concrete walls and large glass surfaces appear compact and defiant.

Flanked by two "T 34" tanks, there is a bronze statue of a Red Army soldier carrying his rifle on his shoulder in the middle of the square. Texts with the names of fallen Soviet soldiers are attached to the pillars behind them. In the rear part of the memorial are the graves of around 2500 soldiers.

History of the zoo At the end of the 17th century, Elector Friedrich III. create a "pleasure park for the population" from the former hunting ground. Over time, the park was redesigned according to several models, including Between 1833 and 1838 the famous landscape designer Peter Joseph Lenné transformed the zoo into an English public park. Sights in the Tiergarten But it is not just trees, shrubs and green spaces that determine the face of the approximately 200-hectare zoo. Many sights such as monuments and memorials, bridges, the Victory Column, the Federal President's Office, the House of World Cultures or the English Garden invite you to take a day stroll through the park. The English garden created around a pond gives an insight into the English landscape architecture and is today one of the most beautiful corners of the zoo.

Potsdamer Platz was planned as an entire district by architects. With success - the cafes, cinemas and shops between the futuristic high-rise buildings are used by Berliners and tourists alike. The city planners' calculation worked: The Berliners have accepted the cafes, cinemas and the large shopping arcade of the new Daimler City very well. A whole new district was created on 6.8 hectares between Potsdamer Platz and Reichpietschufer.

The area, which became known as the "Topography of Terror" in 1987, was the central location for the planning and control of most Nazi crimes. Between 1933 and 1945, the most important institutions of the National Socialist terror apparatus of the SS and police were housed here with the Secret State Police Office, the Reichsführung SS and the Reich Security Main Office.

The Martin-Gropius-Bau is dedicated to cultural history, contemporary art and photography.

Wall

The former military checkpoint Checkpoint Charlie was the most famous border crossing of the three border points controlled by the Americans next to the Glienicke Bridge during the division of Berlin. The others were the border control points Helmstedt-Marienborn (Checkpoint Alpha) and Dreilinden-Drewitz (Checkpoint Bravo). The transition could only be used by foreigners and employees of the Permanent Representation of the FRG in the GDR and by GDR officials.

Friedrichstrasse runs through Berlin as a north-south axis. A popular shopping mile developed between Checkpoint Charlie and Friedrichstrasse station after the fall of the wall.

The square was created at the end of the 17th century according to plans by Johann Arnold Nering. At that time, French immigrants, mainly French Protestants (Huguenots), settled in this area. The market place was first called Esplanade, then in chronological order Lindenmarkt, Friedrichstädtischer Markt and Neuer Markt. Finally it was renamed Gendarmenmarkt in 1799, since from 1736 to 1782 the guard and the stables of the "Gens d'armes" ward regiment were located there.

The permanent exhibition "Ways - wrong trails - detours" in the German Cathedral shows the historical development of liberal parliamentary democracy in Germany on five floors.

The Konzerthaus am Gendarmenmarkt is a masterpiece of classicist architecture and is one of Karl Friedrich Schinkel's main works. As early as 1776, at the instigation of Frederick the Great, a small comedy house was opened here, which was designed according to the plans of the Prussian director of construction, Johann Bouman the Elder. was built. The renaming to the Royal National Theater in 1787 illustrated the rise to one of the leading theaters in the country

In the middle of the museum center of Berlin, Bebelplatz gives an idea of what a beautiful city was like almost 300 years ago. The Nazis desecrated the place by burning books, which is now a memorial. On May 10, 1933, the National Socialists burned over 20,000 books at Bebelplatz. They believed that the volumes they selected were "non-German spirit". These included books by Erich Kästner, the Mann family, Magnus Hirschfeld, Lion Feuchtwanger, Karl Marx, Else Lasker-Schüler and almost 400 other authors. Heinrich Heine's books were also burned. If you had read them instead, you would have come across Heine's remark that wherever you burn books, you also have people

On the north side of the Spreeinsel in the center of Berlin is one of the most outstanding museum complexes in Europe, the Museum Island. Over the course of 100 years, an ensemble was created in 1930 in which five architects were involved. The museum district, which was included in the UNESCO list of world cultural heritage in 1999, has been gradually restored since the late 1990s and expanded with a new reception building. Tickets for the Museum Island

With its striking dome, the mighty Berlin Cathedral in the center of Berlin is hard to miss. As the former court and cathedral church of the Hohenzollerns, the cathedral was rebuilt between 1894 and 1905 under Emperor Wilhelm II.

Alexanderplatz, popularly known as Alex, is a central square and transportation hub in central Berlin. It is one of the most visited places and at the same time one of the most famous sights in the city.

The Nikolaiviertel on the Spreeinsel is a kind of open-air museum of the destroyed old Berlin. In its current form, it was created for the 750th anniversary of Berlin in 1987. The Nikolaikirche in the Nikolaiviertel

The Neptune Fountain in front of the Red City Hall is known to Berliners as "Forckenbecken". This term was right in two ways: on the one hand, the then mayor of Berlin was called Forckenbeck, and on the other hand, the terminology fits perfectly with the fountain itself, because Neptune is standing in a basin with his trident. The four female figures at his feet symbolize the rivers Elbe, Rhine, Oder and Vistula.

The East Side Gallery is a painted 1.3 kilometer section of the former Berlin Wall along the Spree. With over a hundred original wall paintings, it is the longest open-air gallery in the world.

Between Gneisenaustrasse, Mehringdamm, Südstern and Fidicinstrasse, there is a well-kept area of old buildings in what used to be Kreuzberg SW 61. Along Bergmannstraße and its side streets you get an insight into the versatility of Kreuzberg and the way of life of its residents - a bit more sedate than in the wild SO 36, away from the notorious club scene and yet multicultural and lively.

One of the most important inner-city canals in Berlin flows straight through the districts of Treptow, Kreuzberg, Neukölln, Tiergarten and Charlottenburg. Berlin's first artificial waterway has been part of the cityscape since the 19th century. At that time, with the growing industrialization, the need for transport was increasing, road and rail were no longer sufficient. In 1841, the city planner and master gardener Peter Joseph Lenné was commissioned by King Friedrich Wilhelm IV to design a new transport canal near the then urban area. The construction of the 10.74 km long canal started in 1845 and was completed in 1850. Just a few years later, the Landwehr Canal proved to be indispensable for the transport of building materials for the rapid development of Berlin in the Gründerzeit.

Popular meeting place in summer When summer is over Berlin and the evenings are long, bright and warm, the old bridge with its cobblestone streets and old gas lanterns becomes a popular meeting place for Berliners and tourists. The Admiralbrücke is an island of big city romance and attracts numerous people in the summer months. As the sun goes down, fragments of English, Spanish and Italian words waft through the evening and small groups enjoy the cozy atmosphere on the Admiralsbrücke. Many sit together on the bollards and the paving stones to talk, have a drink, make music and admire the sunset over the Landwehr Canal. After local residents complained about the nightly volume, the bridge was cleared peacefully every evening at 10 p.m. with the support of the police.

Gastronomy and the scene dominate the streetscape of the street, which is also very lively at night. 100 small shops, bars and restaurants with international flair as well as the SO 36 await your visit.

The Görlitzer Park in Kreuzberg is the central recreation area in the district. It was created in the early 1990s on the site of the former Görlitz train station, today there are spacious lawns, several sports fields and playgrounds and a popular children's farm near Glogauer Straße. The district's indoor swimming pool, the Spreewaldbad, is located on Wiener Strasse. Prehistory of the Görlitzer Park The Görlitz train station was built in 1865 on the 14 hectare area, the former Köpenicker Feld, between the Emmaus Church and the Landwehr Canal. Tons of sand were dumped on the farmland, rails were laid, and buildings were built to transport people and goods. The large terminal station was inaugurated by the Prussian king in 1866 with the first troop transports.

The former Tempelhof Airport with the large check-in hall and its more than 300-hectare airfield was opened to the public in May 2010 after flight operations had ceased. As "Tempelhofer Feld", the site is to be carefully redesigned into a park that can be used in a variety of ways with the participation of the citizens. Development of the Tempelhof Park After the successful referendum in May 2014, the Tempelhof Field Law (ThFG) came into force in June 2014. This sees i.a. proposes that a development and care plan with the participation of the population is to be drawn up for the future use and further development of the open space at Tempelhofer Feld.

Park am Gleisdreieck in Kreuzberg is a park with urban flair. There are many small and large local recreation areas in the capital, especially in the inner city districts. But a healthy mixture of buildings and open spaces should also be found in the future. The most recent example of this urban planning concept is the newly created park at the Gleisdreieck in Kreuzberg. The railway area around the traffic junction of the Gleisdreieck lay fallow for a long time after the end of the Second World War and a varied vegetation developed almost unnoticed. Due to this unexpected retreat for flora and fauna and the dense development of the adjacent quarters, a group of citizens soon formed that wanted to green the area permanently and was ultimately successful.

TV tower entrance

Pariser Platz