Berlin is the capital city of Germany and one of the 16 states (Länder) of the of Germany. Berlin is the largest city in Germany and has a population of 4.3 million within its metropolitan area and 3.4 million within the city limits. Berlin is best known for its historical associations as the German capital, for its lively nightlife, for its many cafes, clubs, and bars, and for its numerous museums, palaces, and other sites of historic interest. Berlin's architecture is quite varied: though badly damaged in the final years of World War II, Berlin has reconstructed itself greatly, and it is now possible to see representatives of many different historic periods in a short time within the compact city center, from a few surviving medieval buildings near Alexanderplatz, to the ultramodern glass and steel structures in Potsdamer Platz.
Districts
In Berlin there is more than one downtown area. Berlin has many districts or boroughs, called Bezirke, and each district has its unique style. Each Bezirk is composed of several Kieze - a Berlin term referring to "neighborhood", with their unique style. Some districts of Berlin are more worthy of the traveller's attention than others.
Following are the districts of greatest interest:
Areas of interest that are not districts but known rather by name than by district
Berlin has been officially divided into 12 large districts (Bezirke) since January 2001, a simplification of the previous 23 smaller districts (Stadtteile, Bezirke) that was undertaken purely for administrative efficiency. The smaller districts remain foremost in popular conceptions of the city, however, and are generally of a more practical size and cultural division for the purposes of the traveller. New names are usually compounded from the old names (e.g. Charlottenburg and Wilmersdorf merged to Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf)
| New borough | Old boroughs |
|---|---|
| Mitte | Mitte, Tiergarten, Wedding |
| Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg | Friedrichshain, Kreuzberg |
| Pankow | Prenzlauer Berg, Weißensee, Pankow |
| Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf | Charlottenburg, Wilmersdorf |
| Spandau | Spandau (unchanged) |
| Steglitz-Zehlendorf | Steglitz, Zehlendorf |
| Tempelhof-Schöneberg | Tempelhof, Schöneberg |
| Neukölln | Neukölln (unchanged) |
| Treptow-Köpenick | Treptow, Köpenick |
| Marzahn-Hellersdorf | Marzahn, Hellersdorf |
| Lichtenberg | Lichtenberg, Hohenschönhausen |
| Reinickendorf | Reinickendorf (unchanged) |
Understand
History
The foundation of Berlin was very multicultural. The surrounding area was populated by Germanic Swabian and Burgundian tribes, as well as Slavic Wends in prechristian times, and the Wends have stuck around. Their modern descendants are the Sorbian Slavic-language minority who live in villages southeast of Berlin near the Spree river.
In the beginning of the 13th century two towns (Berlin and Cölln) developed on each side of the river Spree (today the Nikolaiviertel and the quarter next to it beyond the river). As the population grew, the towns merged and Berlin became a center for commerce and the region's agriculture, but stayed small (about 10.000 inhabitants) up to the late 17th century - also because of the 30 years' war in the beginning of the 17th century, which led to death of about half of the population.
Since the the late 17th century, when large numbers of French Huguenots fled religious persecution, Berlin has welcomed asylum seekers, religious, economic or otherwise. 1701 Berlin became capital of Prussia and 1710 Berlin and surrounding former autonomous cities were merged to a bigger Berlin.
1871 Berlin became the capital of the new founded German Reich and a few years later, also because of the immensely growing industry, a city with more than one million inhabitants.
Shortly after the first world war, in 1920, the last of the annexations of surrounding cities of Berlin led to the foundation of the Berlin as we know it nowadays. After the coming into power of the National Socialists, Berlin became the capital of the so called Third Reich and the domicile and office of Hitler (though the triumph of Hitler and his companions started in the south of Germany).
WW II led to destruction of most of central Berlin, thus many of the buildings which we see nowadays are reconstructed or planned and built after the war, which led to a very fragmented cityscape in most parts of the inner town. Berlin was divided into four sectors (West Berlin into the French, American and British sector, East Berlin belonged to the USSR) because of the 2nd World War and in 1949 the GDR was founded with East Berlin as its capital - West Berlin belonged to West Germany (with Bonn as capital) and was a political Island in East Germany. Because of the growing tensions between West Germany and the GDR, latter built a wall between the countries - and around West Berlin, so the division was complete.
In 1989 the reunification started, the wall fell and in 1990 West and East Germany were merged officially together. Berlin became the capital of the reunified Germany in 1999.
After WW II and the building of the wall large numbers of immigrants from Turkey were invited to West Berlin to work in the growing industry sector - in east Berlin the jobs were done mostly by vietnamese immigrants. But also people from other communist countries, including the former Yugoslavia, not to mention Soviet soldiers who refused to return home, have helped to make Berlin more multicultural than ever.
Berlin is also a youth-oriented city. Before German unification, West Berliners were exempt from the West German civil/military service requirement. Social activists, pacifists and anarchists of all stripes moved to Berlin for that reason alone. Musicians and artists were given state subsidies. It was easy to stay out all night thanks to liberal bar licensing laws, and staying at university for years without ever getting a degree was a great way to kill time. In constrast with most of Germany, Prenzlauer Berg is said to have the highest per-capita birth rate in Europe (in fact it just seems so because of the high percentage of young women in the district).
After the fall of the wall, Berlin - especially the former East - has evolved into a cultural mecca. Artists and other creative souls flocked to the city in swarms after reunification, primarily due to the extremely low cost of living in the East. Despite the increased prices and gentrification as a result, Berlin has become a center for art, design, multimedia, electronic music, and fashion among other things. The particularly high number of students and young people in the city has only helped this cause. Just stroll down a street in Prenzlauer Berg, Friedrichshain, or Mitte to get a glimpse of the new East Berlin.
Some famous artists of the region and their best-known works include Lucas Cranach the Elder, Lucas Cranach the Younger, Johann Gottfried Schadow, Marlene Dietrich (The Blue Angel), Leni Riefenstahl (Triumph of the Will), Bertolt Brecht (Threepenny Opera), Käthe Kollwitz, Kurt Tucholsky, Thomas and Heinrich Mann, Walter Gropius, Paul Klee, FW Murnau (Nosferatu), Fritz Lang (Metropolis), Volker Schlöndorff, Wim Wenders (Wings of Desire (German: Der Himmel über Berlin)), Blixa Bargeld/Einstürzende Neubauten, Christopher Isherwood, Gunter Grass (The Tin Drum), members of the Bauhaus architectural movement and many more.
People
Berlin is a relatively young city by European standards, dating to the thirteenth century, and it has always had a reputation as a place filled with people from elsewhere. Someone who has lived in Berlin for ten years will see themselves as a "true Berliner," looking down on the person who has only been there for five. It may seem tough to find someone born and raised here! This is part of Berlin's charm: it never gets stuck in a rut.
A certain uneasy detente still exists between some former residents of East and West Berlin (and Germany). Wessi evolved as a derogatory nickname for a West German; its corollary is Ossi. The implication here is that after reunification, the West Germans automatically assumed the way they do things is the right way, and the way the Easterners should start doing it, too. Westerners got a reputation for being arrogant. They saw the Easterners as stubborn Communist holdouts only interested in a handout from the "rich West". Consider a shirt for sale in a shop inside the Alexanderplatz Deutsche Bahn station: Gott, schütze mich vor Sturm und Wind/und Wessies die im Osten sind ("God, protect me from the storm and wind, and Wessies who are in the East"). However, most part of the younger generation doesn't have such contradictions.
Economy
One of the most important "products" produced in Berlin by both academic and company-sponsored institutes is research. That research is exported around the world just like tangible goods. German labor is highly efficient but comes at high cost. Strong trade unions, the end of West Berlin's pre-reunification subsidies and Germany's dense regulatory environment forced industry to cencentrate on high quality and expensive products.
Students went on strike in Berlin to oppose tuition fees in recent years. The universities have grown to their limits and most schools do not get sufficient funding. Students, housewives and self-employed people are not included in Berlin's official unemployment rate, currently standing at a whopping 16 percent (may 2007).
Orientation
Berlin is - at least in many parts - a beautiful city so allow enough time to get to see the sights. A good map, such as the Rough Guide Berlin map, is highly recommended. While the public transport system is superb, it can be confusing to foreigners, due to a lack of signs in some of the larger stations, so a good rail map is also essential. Roads into Berlin can also be confusing, so plan your route and drive carefully. Signs point to city districts rather than indicating compass directions, so it's a good idea to get to know where the various districts lie in relation to each other. This also applies to cyclists.
Berlin's Tourist Information Office is an excellent resource for finding out more about Berlin, providing a wealth of practical information and useful links.
Get in
As the city was divided into two during the Cold War, many major parts of Berlin's infrastructure — such as airports — were built on both the east and west side. After the demolition of the Wall the challenge has been to merge these formerly independent systems into one that serves all people in the metropolitan Berlin area.
By air
Berlin has three airports :
Construction of the new Airport Berlin Brandenburg International has started at Schönefeld and the new airport is scheduled for opening in 2011. After this, all air traffic in the Berlin-Brandenburg region will be bundled at BBI, and other airports in the region closed down.
Various airlines, such as Lufthansa, British Airways and Air France have direct flight connections between Berlin and major German and European cities. Lufthansa, the German flag carrier airline, has several own counters in Tegel. It can be difficult to find a direct flight to Berlin from outside of Europe. Most airlines will fly to their major hub airports such as Frankfurt and Munich and offer connecting (or code-share) flights to Berlin.
Since end of 2005 Delta and Continental Airlines have established daily direct flights from New York (JFK and Newark).
By bus
As with all major cities, many bus companies offer connections to Berlin, both national and international, from over 350 destinations in Europe. Long distance buses arrive at Zentraler Omnibusbahnhof (Central Bus Terminal) in Charlottenburg. From there take the S-Bahn (station Messe Nord) or bus into town.
By train
Berlin is served by IC, ICE, EuroCity and InterRegio trains. The German train corporation Deutsche Bahn (DB) offers ICE connections between Berlin and other major German cities. If you arrive in Berlin on a national (non-regional) DB trip, you are entitled to use your ticket to travel by S-Bahn (local commuter trains), but not U-Bahn (the city's underground system), to your destination as the S-Bahn is operated by the DB.
Several night trains from/to Amsterdam, Paris, Zurich and Vienna (special offer for 29 euros in one direction) travel every day. They are popular with backpackers so reservations are recommended. Long-haul trains to Eastern European cities (Warsaw, Kaliningrad and Moscow) mostly use the Bahnhof Lichtenberg in Eastern Berlin. Make sure you have a reservation because these lines are also very popular.
=Stations=
During the times of its division, Berlin had two main train stations: Zoologischer Garten (Bahnhof Zoo for short) in the West, and Hauptbahnhof in the East. After the fall of the wall the former Hauptbahnhof has been renamed Ostbahnhof.
The new building for the central station Hauptbahnhof was opened in May 2006 and together with Südkreuz (southern cross) and Ostbahnhof (eastern station) - plus minor Gesundbrunnen in the north and Spandau in the north west - form the backbone of all connections. All are connected to either S- or U-Bahn (planned is both). All trains travel through central station and a second major hub (depending on the destination you travel to or arrive from). Trains in the regional area (Berlin and Brandenburg) mostly use these stations. Regional trains stop at several stations within Berlin.
By car
All main roads and motorways join the Berliner Ring, or the A10, from which you can access the inner city. The city motorway is usually very crowded during rush hour.
Get around
Berlin's city centers (in East and West) are compact and many of the major sights and venues there can be accessed easily enough on foot. Even so, a traveller can make use of the excellent bus, tram, train and underground services to get around. Taxi services are also easy to use and a bit less expensive than in many other big Central European cities. You can hail a cab (the yellow light on the top shows the cab is free), or find a taxi rank (Taxistand). Be sure you get the driver's attention before you get in at a taxi stand, he or she may be asleep. Taxi drivers are in general able to speak English.
Check the Berlin route planner (in English) to get excellent maps and schedules for the U-Bahn, Buses, S-Bahn and Trams, or to print your personal journey planner. The Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) have a detailed fare list on their web site .
A standard ticket is valid on all the different types of transportation with unlimited changes. Berlin uses a zone system, but you are unlikely to need to go beyond zone A & B, except on trips to Potsdam. This is a very large area, even including Schönefeld airport. If you're going to be traveling a lot by public transport, consider getting a Tageskarte day card (€6.10 for zone A & B) or the Berlin WelcomeCard , which gets you unlimited travel in zones A and B for €16/21 for 2/3 days (or in zones ABC for €17,50/24) plus discounts at many of Berlin's tourist attractions (you may check if you want to visit some of them, cause otherwise it's not profitable, as it's more expensive than 2 or 3 single day tickets). Weekly passes for all kind of public transport valid inside zone A and B are available for €25,40. (Most of the interesting places reported here are in the A zone, some in the B zone and only Potsdam is in the C zone)
There are vending machines selling all ticket types on the platforms at every station of the U-Bahn and S-Bahn. They offer instructions in many languages including English, but if you need assistance most larger stations have staffed ticket counters where you can ask questions and buy tickets.
Before you get on the train you need to validate your ticket using the machines on the platform (or in the bus). The machines are yellow/white in the U-Bahn and the bus, and red on S-Bahn platforms. Validation simply means the machine prints a time stamp onto the ticket. Once validated, a ticket which is still valid will not have to be re-validated before each single trip. You will pay a €40 fine if you are caught with an unvalidated ticket.
If you don't know how to get somewhere, or how to get home at night call 030 19449, the Customer Service of the BVG. There are also facilities in most U-Bahn and some S-Bahn stations to contact the Customer Service directly. In 2005 the BVG introduced Metro lines (buses and tram) that run 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All lines are marked with a big orange plate and a white M.
In some places like Zoologischer Garten and Eberswalder Straße people will try to sell used tickets to you. Be aware that you can go only one direction with a single-journey ticket(check the validation stamp and be careful as this could also be a pickpocket trick). Don't pay more than half the price.
It's also worth noting that the house numbers do not necessarily run in one direction (up or down). On a lot of streets, the numbers ascend on one side and descend on the other. Especially on long streets check the numbering scheme first: you can find the name of the street and the numbers on that block at nearly every street corner.
By train
The Berlin U-Bahn (subway/metro) is something to behold; it is so charmingly precise! There are no turnstiles to limit access, so it is technically possible to ride without a ticket, but if caught by a ticket checkers you will be fined €40. All U-bahn stations now have electronic signs that give the time of the next train, and its direction based on sensors along the lines.
Detailed maps can be found in every U-bahn station on the trains. Don't be confused by the alternative tram maps. U-Bahn stations can be seen from far by their big, friendly blue U signs. Together with the S-Bahn (which is administered by Deutsche Bahn and mostly runs aboveground), the U-Bahn provides a transportation network throughout greater Berlin that is extremely efficient and fast. On weekend (friday to sunday), as well as during the Christmas and New Year holidays, all U-Bahn and S-Bahn lines (except line U4) run all night, so returning from late night outings is easy, especially given the average start time of most 'parties' in Berlin (11 p.m. to 1 a.m.). During week is no U-Bahn or S-Bahn service from appr. 1 a.m. to 4.30 a.m., but metro trams/buses and special Night Buses (parallel to the U-Bahn line) run every half an hour from 0.30 to 4.30 a.m.
For a single journey you can buy a cheap Kurzstrecke for €1.20, but this is only valid for 3 stops on the U-Bahn or S-Bahn (six stops by bus or tram). You may not change. For a longer single journey you must pay €2.10, which is valid for anywhere in zone A & B for two hours after validating. Note that you may only ride in one direction with one single journey, you are not allowed to go around.
By tram
The trams are mostly in East Berlin, as in the West the tram lines were removed to facilitate more vehicular traffic. If you don't have a ticket already, you can buy one inside the tram.
Two types of tram service are available. Metrotrams frequent more often as well as by night. Tram routes not so identified stop more frequently and may even include picturesque single-track rides through forested areas far east of the Mitte district.
By bus
Buses are of course the most slow public transport vehicles, but they will get you in every corner of Berlin. There are also tram buses and normal buses, comparable to the tram system.
The most famous bus line especially for tourists is 100, which leaves from Zoo Station ("Berlin Zoologischer Garten") or - if you wanna go the other way round - Alexanderplatz, and crosses most of historic Berlin, including many of the sites listed here. For the price of a city bus ticket or daily pass it's possible to see much of the city from one of these double-decker tour buses. Sit up top as it's easier to see the Reichstag, as well as the many historic buildings on Unter den Linden. If you're lucky, you'll get the legendary bus-driver who delivers a commentary (in Berlin-accented German) on the trip. Line 200 takes nearly the same route, but it goes through the modern quarters around Potsdamer Platz. Either ride is a must do on any trip to Berlin.
By cycle
Bicycle is another great way to tour Berlin. Berlin offers many bicycle paths (Radwege) throughout the city (although not all are very smooth), and has very few steep hills. Bicycles are a very popular method of transportation among Berlin residents, and there is almost always a certain level of bicycle traffic. Bicycle rentals are available in the city, although the prices vary (usually from €7.50 per day). In addition, the Deutsche Bahn (DB) placed many public bicycles throughout the city in 2003. These can be unlocked by calling a number on the bicycle with a cellphone (called "handy" in German). Seeing Berlin by bicycle is unquestionably a great way, that will acquaint the traveler with the big tourist sites, and the little Sprees and side streets as well. Although it's good to carry your own map, you can also always check your location at any U-Bahn station and many Bus Stations. Individual arranged cycling maps you can create online, optimized by less busy routes or fewer traffic lights or your favorite paving .
See
Museums
Berlin has a vast array of museums. Most museums charge admission for people aged 16 or older - usually €6 to €8 (only available is a day ticket with which one can also visit the other state museums - except special exhibitions) for the big museums, discounts (usually 50%) are available for students and disabled people with identification. However, the state-run museums grant free entrance four hours before closing every Thursday. A nice offer for museum addicts is the three day pass for €15 (reduced €7.50), which grants entrance to all the normal exhibitions of the appr. 50 state run museums. Note that most museums are closed on Mondays!
The main museums (for a more detailed list check the district articles) are:
Private art galleries
As Berlin is a city of art, it is quite easy to find an art gallery on your way. They provide a nice opportunity to have a look at modern artists' work in a not so crowded environment for free.
Some gallery streets with more than about a dozen galleries are Auguststrasse, Linienstrasse, Torstrasse, Brunnenstrasse (all Mitte, north of S-Bahn station Oranienburger Strasse) and Fasanenstrasse (Charlottenburg).
Churches
As Berlin wasn't a very important town until the 17th century (and then it already became a protestant city), there are no really great churches in the city. However, there are some historically interesting and architecturally remarkable churches which are the following.
Landmarks with observation decks
While Berlin has relatively few high-rise buildings, there are several monuments with observation decks. Probably the most famous of all is the TV Tower near Alexanderplatz, the tallest tower in Germany and second largest in Europe, which has a rotating café at the top spinning 360 degrees in just 30 minutes! 40 seconds is all it takes to reach the top by lift. But there are also other great observation desks, the main ones are listed below (for others have a look in the district pages).
History
Berlin does not attempt to hide the less savoury parts of its history: a visit to the Topography of Terror (Mitte), for example, provides interesting but sobering insights into the activities of the Gestapo in Berlin during the Nazi years (1933-1945). Many of the walking tours also discuss scenes both of Nazi activity and Cold War tension and terror.
:The Memorial is on Bernauer Strasse which itself is a street with a great deal of Wall history: the first recorded Wall related death of the notorious Peter Fechter was here, as was one of the famous tunnels and that famous photograph of the GDR border guard leaping over the barbed wire. Various monuments can be found along the entire length of the street, documenting nearby escape attempts and tunnels; captions are in German, English, French, and Russian. The Memorial itself is a complete section of 4th generation wall - both inside and outside sections, and you can peer through from the east side to see the remains of the electric fence and anti-tank devices in the death strip. It really helps you understand what an incredible feat it was to get from one side to the other -- and why so many died doing it.
]
:At the intersection of Zimmerstrasse and Friedrichstrasse is the famous "You Are Leaving the American Sector" sign. The actual guardhouse from Checkpoint Charlie is now housed at the Allied Museum on Clayallee. For a more interesting exhibit go to the Haus am Checkpoint Charlie. This is a private museum with kitschy memorabilia from the Wall as well as the devices GDR residents used to escape the East (including a tiny submarine!).
:Checkpoint Charlie gained its name from the phonetic alphabet; checkpoints "Alpha" and "Bravo" were at the autobahn checkpoints Helmstedt and Dreilinden respectively. Checkpoint Charlie's atmosphere was not improved at all on 27 October 1961 when the two Cold War superpowers chose to face each other down for a day. Soviet and American tanks stood approximately 200 meters apart, making an already tense situation worse.
Zoo
Berlin has two Zoos and one Aquarium. The Berlin Zoo in the City West is the historic Zoo that has been a listed company since its foundation. It's an oasis in the city and very popular with families and schools.
Do
Explore
:*Brewer's Berlin Walking Tours, . English language walking tours. Famous for their 'All-Day' tour, the most complete introduction to the city's history, and 'Free Tour', their shorter sightseeing tour, on a tips-only basis. Tours meet outside the Bandy Brooks Shop (formerly Australian ice-cream) at Friedrichstrasse S/U-Bahn station.
:*Insider Tours, . English language walking tours with no reservation required. Simply show up at the pre-designated time and place. Choose the tour that interests you most. The classic 'Insider Tour' and 'Red Star' tours are both excellent. They also have a good Pub Crawl, where you get to see the coolest pubs in Berlin!
:*New Berlin Tours, . Runs on a tips-only basis. English and Spanish tours starting at 11am and 1pm and 4pm some of the year outside Starbucks at the Brandenburg Gate. Entertaining and performed by young people living in Berlin and interested in its history.
:*The Original Berlin Walking Tours,
:*Humboldt Tours Berlin, . High quality tours. All guides are local PhD and graduate students in German history or American Fulbright exchange students. Comprehensive and entertaining general tours as well as various more detailed tours such as Architecture, Jewish History, bike tours and a Wild East Pub Crawl.
:*Berlin By Numbers Free guide in English using your mobile phone browser. Linked Wikipedia articles in all languages.
:* Berlin Tour Guide, . In Hebrew and English.
:*Berlin Trails, . Offers several unusual guided tours ending in a beer tasting at a typical, authentic German brewery or pub. Sights include the hidden Bunkers of Berlin, the Stasi prison and city sightseeing tour although individual tours are also available.
:*Milk & Honey Tours, . This Jewish-owned and run tour company works with 16 guides, specialists of Jewish History, and provides individuals and groups with high quality tours of "Jewish Berlin".
:*New Berlin Free Bike Tour,
:*Fat Tire Bike Tours, . Non-strenuous and entertaining city bike tours of Berlin. Tours start daily at the TV Tower at Alexanderplatz at 11am (and 4pm in summer months) and stop every couple hundred meters to discuss the sights as well as at a traditional beer garden in the park.
:*Berlin On Bike, . Offers "Berlin's Best" and "Berlin Wall Tours" on alternating days. Tours are 4 hours long and start at the Kulturbrauerei at 3pm.
:* Berlin CityPanoramas, offers excellent panoramic views of Berlin.
:* Stern und Kreisschiffahrt is by far the biggest boat company in Berlin. They offer tours on most lakes.
:* gayberlin.tk offers individual travel services for gay tourists.
Recreation
Pick up a copy of Exberliner , the monthly English-language paper for Berlin to find out what's on, when and where. It provides high quality journalism and up-to-date listings. If you understand German, the activity planners for the city, zitty and tip , are available at every kiosk. Be prepared to choose among a huge amount of options.
:Berlin has many great parks which are very popular in the summer. Green Berlin operates some of them.
:*Tiergarten is Berlin's largest park and hosts the Love Parade in July. In the summer and on weekends you will see loads of families with their barbeques.
:*Viktoriapark (Kreuzberg) offers superb panoramic views across south Berlin. National monument by Schinkel on top of it.
:*Schlosspark Charlottenburg is inside the area of the Castle of Charlottenburg , but the green area of the park is free, so you can go there to have a walk even if you are not interested in the Castle. It covers a really large area and you can get in from the entrace just near the "New Pavillon" (Neuer Pavillon a.k.a. Schinkelpavillon) placed on the right of Luisenplatz. The nearest station is Sophie-Charlotte Platz on the U2.
:*World's Garden (Gärten der Welt) in Marzahn. Inside you can find a quite large and well established Chinese garden, a Korean garden, a small Bali's Garden/Glasshouse, an Oriental Garden with nice fountains and a cloister and a Japanese garden which is a project by the city partnership of Berlin and Tokyo. Open from 1st April until 29th October. Entrance is 2 €.
:*Wannsee is called Berlin's "bath tub". The Strandbad Wannsee is the most famous bathing area with locals. Take the S-Bahn lines S1 or S7 to the station Nikolassee and follow the crowd!
:*Müggelsee in the south east of Berlin is a popular swimming spot.
Festivals
Parades
Theatre, Opera, Concerts, Cinema
Berlin has a lot of theater houses, cinemas, concerts and other cultural events going on all the time. The most important ones are listed here.
Theater
Opera
Cinema
There are about hundred cinemas in Berlin, however, most of them are showing movies only translated to german and without subtitles. Listed are some more important cinemas showing also movies in the original language (watch out for the OmU - original with subtitles - notation). Most movies which need translation to German are released a bit later in Germany. Tickets are normally 5 to 7 Euros. Monday to wednesday are special cinema days with reduced admission.
Concert Houses
Sport
In Berlin you can do virtually all sorts of sports
Spa
Spas are very trendy.
Learn
Berlin has three major universities:
There are several smaller universities and colleges in Berlin but the current restructure of the university makes it difficult to give an overview. The responsible senator of the City of Berlin has a good overview page.
Work
The current economic climate is getting better but work is still not easy to find in Berlin. If you don't have a sound level of German it's unlikely that you will find work easily. Any kind of skills (especially languages) that separates you from the mass will defintely improve your chances for a job.
If you are an EU citizen, a student or have a work permit you may be able to scrape by teaching English (Spanish, French, Latin are good, too) or working in a bar but it'll be tough, there's not much work around.
Chances are better when big trade fairs or conventions are in town, so apply at temp agencies. Hospitality and call centers are constantly hiring but the illegal workforce is keeping wages low.
Berlin has a growing media, modelling and film industry. For daily soaps, telenovelas and movies most companies are looking for extras with something specific. Apply at the bigger casting and acting agencies.
For English-language jobs, if might be worth checking out the classfied ads of the monthly magazine for English-speakers, Exberliner .
Buy
Due to federal liberalisation, shopping hours are theoretically unlimited. Nevertheless, many of the smaller shops still close at 8 p.m. Most of the bigger stores and nearly all of the malls are open additionally until 9 or 10 p.m. from Thursday to Saturday. Sunday opening is still limited to about a dozen weekends per year, although some supermarkets located at train stations (Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten, Friedrichstrasse, Innsbrucker Platz and Ostbahnhof) are open also on Sundays. Many bakeries and small food stores (called Spätkauf) are open late at night and on Sundays in busier neighbourhoods (especially Prenzlauer Berg, Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain). Stores inside the Hauptbahnhof central station have long opening hours (usually until about 10 or 11 p.m.), also on Sundays.
The main shopping areas are:
Ku'damm and its extension, Tauentzienstraße remain the main shopping streets even now that the Wall has come down. KaDeWe (Kaufhaus Des Westens) at Wittenbergplatz is a must visit even if just for the vast food dept at the 6th floor. It's reputedly the biggest department store on Continental Europe and still has an old world charm, with very helpful and friendly staff.
Friedrichstrasse is the upmarket shopping street in the former East Berlin with Galerie Lafayettes and the other Quartiers (204 to 207) as main areas to be impressed with wealthy shoppers.
The renovated Galeria Kaufhof department store at Alexanderplatz is also worth a visit.
The main shopping area for the alternative, but still wealthy crowd is north of Hackescher Markt, especially around the Hackesche Höfe.
For some more affordable but still very fashionable shopping there is Prenzlauer Berg, Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain with a lot of young designers opening shops, but also lots of record stores and design shops. Constant changes make it hard to recommend a place though, but the area around station Eberswalder Strasse in Prenzlauer Berg, around Bergmannstrasse and Oranien
Berlin is the capital city and one of the sixteen states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It is the heart of the Berlin-Brandenburg metropolitan region, located in northeastern Germany. With a population of 3.4 million in its city limits, Berlin is the country's largest city, and the second most populous city in the European Union. The Berlin metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the EU with a population of 4.9 million people from over 180 nations.
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 (1919-1932) and the Third Reich (1933-1945). After World War II, the city was divided; East Berlin became the capital of the GDR (East Germany), while West Berlin remained a West German enclave surrounded by the Berlin Wall from 1961-1989. Following the reunification of Germany in 1990, the city regained its status as the capital of all Germany.
Berlin is a major center in European politics, culture, media, and science. 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. Berlin is the third most-visited tourist destination in the EU. Other industries include traffic engineering, optoelectronics, IT, vehicle manufacturing, health care, medical engineering, and biotechnologies.
The metropolis is home to world-renowned universities, research institutes, sporting events, orchestras, museums and personalities. 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,
Berlin has evolved into a focal point for individuals attracted by liberal lifestyle, modern zeitgeist and low-cost living.
History
The name Berlin, which is pronounced in English and in German, is of unknown origin, but may be related to the Old Polabian stem berl-/birl- "swamp".
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.
17–19th century
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
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.
Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power in 1933 and started World War II in 1939. 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.
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.
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. In 1949 the Federal Republic of Germany was founded in West Germany, while the Marxist-Leninist German Democratic Republic was proclaimed in East Germany.
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. The tensions between east and west culminated in the construction of 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.
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. 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.
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
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). 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.
Media
Berlin is the home of many television and radio stations—international, national as well as regional. The public broadcaster RBB has its headquarters there as well as the commercial broadcasters MTV Europe, VIVA, TVB,FAB, N24 and SAT.1. German international public broadcaster Deutsche Welle has its TV production unit in Berlin. Additionally, most national broadcasters have a studio in the city.
Berlin has Germany's largest number of daily newspapers, with numerous local broadsheets (Berliner Zeitung, Der Tagesspiegel), and three major tabloids, as well as national dailies of varying sizes, each with a different political affiliation, such as Die Welt, junge Welt, Neues Deutschland, and die tageszeitung. In addition, several weekly papers publish here, and Berlin has three alternative weeklies focusing on culture and entertainment. The Exberliner, a monthly magazine, is Berlin's only English-language periodical. Berlin is also the headquarters of two major German-language publishing houses: Walter de Gruyter and Springer, each of which publishes books, periodicals, and multimedia products.
Berlin is an important center in the European and German film industry. It is home to more than one thousand film and television production companies, 270 movie theaters, and around 300 national and international co-productions are filmed in the region every year.
Education
The Berlin-Brandenburg capital region is one of the most prolific centers of higher education and research in the European Union. Four universities within the city, numerous private, professional and technical colleges (Fachhochschulen), offering students a wide range of disciplines. Around 130,000 students attend the universities and professional or technical colleges.
One of them the Französisches Gymnasium Berlin, which was founded in 1689 for the benefit of Huguenot refugees, offers (German/French) instruction. Another is the John F. Kennedy School a bilingual German-American public school located in Zehlendorf. There are also four schools ("Humanistische Gymnasien") teaching Latin and Classical Greek, which are traditionally renowned for highest academic standards. Two of them are state schools (Steglitzer Gymnasium in Steglitz and Goethe-Gymnasium in Wilmersdorf), one is protestant (Evangelisches Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster in Wilmersdorf) and one Jesuit (Canisius-Kolleg in Tiergarten).
Culture
Berlin is noted for its numerous cultural institutions, many of which enjoy international reputation. The diversity and vivacity of the Zeitgeist Metropolis led to an ever-changing and trendsetting image among major cities. The city has a very diverse art scene, and is home to hundreds of art galleries. It hosts the annual Art Forum - an international art fair, which focuses on contemporary art. Young Germans and international artists continue to settle in the city, and Berlin has established itself as a center of youth and popular culture in Europe.
Signs of this expanding role were the 2003 announcement that the annual Popkomm, Europe's largest music industry convention, would move to Berlin after 15 years in Cologne. Shortly thereafter, the Universal Music Group and MTV also decided to move its European headquarters and main studios to the banks of the River Spree in Friedrichshain. Since 2005, Berlin has been listed as a UNESCO City of Design. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 many buildings in Mitte, the former city center of East Berlin were renovated. Many had not been rebuilt since World War II. Illegally occupied by young people, they became a fertile ground for all sorts of underground and counter-culture gatherings. It is also home to many nightclubs, including Kunst Haus Tacheles, techno clubs Tresor, WMF, Ufo, E-Werk, the infamous Kitkatclub and Berghain. The Linientreu, near the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, has been well known since the 1990s for techno music. The LaBelle discotheque in Friedenau became famous as the location of the 1986 Berlin discotheque bombing.
SO36 in Kreuzberg originally focused largely on punk music but today has become a popular venue for dances and parties of all kinds. SOUND, located from 1971 to 1988 in Tiergarten and today in Charlottenburg, gained notoriety in the late 1970s for its popularity with heroin users and other drug addicts as described in Christiane F.'s book Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo.
The Karneval der Kulturen, a multi-ethnic street parade celebrated every Pentecost weekend, and the Christopher Street Day, which is Central Europe's largest gay-lesbian pride event and is celebrated the last weekend of June, are openly supported by the city's government. Berlin is also well known for the techno carnival Love Parade and the cultural festival Berliner Festspiele, which include the jazz festival JazzFest Berlin.
Several technology and media art festivals and conferences are held in the city, including Transmediale and Chaos Communication Congress.
Museums, galleries
Berlin is home to 153 museums. and the Neues Museum (New Museum), Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery), Pergamon Museum, and Bode Museum were built there. While these buildings once housed distinct collections, the names of the buildings no longer necessarily correspond to the names of the collections they house.
Apart from the Museum Island, there is a wide variety of museums. The Gemäldegalerie (Painting Gallery) focuses on the paintings of the "old masters" from the 13th to the 18th centuries, while the Neue Nationalgalerie (New National Gallery, built by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe) specializes in 20th-century European painting. In spring 2006, the expanded Deutsches Historisches Museum re-opened in the Zeughaus with an overview of German history through the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The Bauhaus Archiv is an architecture museum.
The Jewish Museum has a standing exhibition on 2,000 years of German-Jewish history. The German Museum of Technology in Kreuzberg has a large collection of historical technical artifacts. The Humboldt Museum of Natural History near Berlin Hauptbahnhof has the largest mounted dinosaur in the world, and the best preserved specimen of an archaeopteryx.
In Dahlem, there are several museums of world art and culture, such as the Museum of Indian Art, the Museum of East Asian Art, the Ethnological Museum, the Museum of European Cultures, as well as the Allied Museum (a museum of the Cold War), the Brücke Museum (an art museum). In Lichtenberg, on the grounds of the former East German Ministry for State Security (Stasi), is the Stasi Museum.Checkpoint Charlie, remains the site and a museum about one of the crossing points in the Berlin Wall. The museum, which is a private venture, exhibits a comprehensive array of material about people who devised ingenious plans to flee the East. The Beate Uhse Erotic Museum near Zoo Station claims to be the world's largest erotic museum.
Performing arts
Berlin is home to more than 50 theaters. it is housed in the Berliner Philharmonie near Potsdamer Platz on a street named for the orchestra's longest-serving conductor, Herbert von Karajan. The current principal conductor is Simon Rattle, who took over in 2002 from Karajan's successor, Claudio Abbado. The Konzerthausorchester Berlin was founded in 1952 as the orchestra for East Berlin, since the Philharmonic was based in West Berlin. Its current principal conductor is Lothar Zagrosek.
The Haus der Kulturen der Welt is presenting various exhibitions dealing with intercultural issues and stages world music and conferences.
Recreation
Zoologischer Garten Berlin, the older of two zoos in the city, was founded in 1844, and presents the most diverse range of species in the world.
It is the home of the captive-born polar bear Knut,
