Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
Jump to content

Berlin

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Urban-b (talk | contribs) at 08:55, 8 October 2004 (→External links). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

For other uses, see Berlin (disambiguation).
"Berlin is poor, but sexy." (Klaus Wowereit, mayor)
Map of Germany showing Berlin

Berlin [bɛrˈliːn] is the national capital of Germany and its largest city, with 3,387,404 inhabitants (as of September 2004; down from 4.5 million before World War II, and on the decline since German reunification in 1990).

Berlin is located on the rivers Spree and Havel in the northeast of Germany. It is enclosed by the German state (Bundesland) of Brandenburg, and it constitutes a state of its own.

Politics of Berlin

The State

File:Berlin coa.png
Berlin's Coat of Arms
File:Germany berlin.png
Berlin's flag

Berlin has become an independent state with the day of the German reunification on October 3, 1990, making it one of the three city states among today's 16 German Bundesländer beside Hamburg and Bremen.

Former West-Berlin (originally Greater Berlin, including the eastern part was intended) had been a state since the foundation of the Federal Republic of Germany on May 24, 1949, but been dependent on the allied-status. East-Berlin had been capital of the German Democratic Republic from 1949 to 1990, although this had been a violation of the allied agreemant.

Berlin is governed by the Senat of Berlin which consists of the Regierender Bürgermeister (governing mayor) and up to 8 senators, holding ministerial portfolios. The governing mayor is mayor of the city and representative of the Bundesland (state) at the same time. Presently, this office is held by Klaus Wowereit (SPD); for earlier mayors, see the list of Mayors of Berlin.

The city and state parliament is called the Abgeordnetenhaus or House of Representatives. The current government consists of a coalition of the social democrat SPD and the socialist PDS.

The Boroughs

Berlin is subdivided into 12 boroughs, called Bezirke, which have been merged from the previously existing 23 boroughs, effective since January 1, 2001.

For a map and a list of the old and new borough names, see Boroughs of Berlin.

Each Bourogh is governed by a so called Bezirksamt consisting of five Stadträte (town councillors) and a mayor. The Bezirksamt is elected by the district-parliament, the so called Bezirksverordnetenversammlung. Though the Boroughs of Berlin are not independent municipalities, the political power of the district-parliaments is quite weak and dependent on the Senat of Berlin.

The district-mayors form the council of mayors, called Rat der Bürgermeister under leadership of the Governing Mayor to advise the Senat.

History

see also: History of Berlin

Early settlements

At about 720 two Slavic tribes settled in the Berlin region. The Heveller settled at the river Havel with their central settlement in Brennabor which later has bacome the town of Brandenburg. Close to the river Spree in todays borough of Berlin Köpenick the Sprewanen were found.

The Heveller founded another place at the river Havel in about 750. This seems to be the closest settlement to the area which is today known as Berlin and was called Spandow (todays Spandau). Spandau and Köpenick which had been protected with barriers around 825, had been the major settlements and later towns in the area until the early 11th century.

Berlin and Cölln

Berlin itself is one of Europe's younger cities with its origin in the 12th century. The city developed out of the two settlements Berlin and Cölln on both sides of river Spree in todays borough Mitte. With the date October 28th, 1237 Cölln is first documentary mentioned, Berlin in 1244. Unfortunatly the great town center fire damaged most written record of those early days in 1830.

Both cities formed a trade union in 1307 and participated in the Hanse. Their urban development parallel took place for 400 years until Cölln and Berlin finally unified under the name of Berlin in 1709, including the suburbs Friedrichswerder, Dorotheenstadt and Friedrichstadt.

Not much is left of these ancient communities, although some remainders can be seen in the Nikolaiviertel near the Rotes Rathaus and the Klosterkirche close to todays Alexanderplatz.

Urban development between the 15th and 17th century

The first City Palace had been built at the embankment of the river Spree from 1443 to 1451. At that time Berlin-Cölln counted about 8,000 inhabitants. In 1576, the pest killed about 4,000 people in the city.

During the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), Berlin's number of inhabitants shrank from 10,000 to 6,000.

In 1640 Frederick William took regency in the principality of Brandenburg. During his government Berlin reached 20,000 inhabitants and became significant among the cities in Central Europe for the first time.

A boulevard with six rows of trees was put on between the park Tiergarten and the Palace in 1647. The boulevard is called Unter den Linden.

Some years later (from 1674 on), the Dorotheenstadt was constructed in a bow of the river Spree northwest of the Spree-island where the Palace was situated. From 1688 on the Friedrichstadt was built and settled.

Prussia

In January 18 1701, Frederick III was crowned King Frederick I in Prussia and made Berlin the capital of the new kingdom of Prussia.

In 1709, Berlin-Cölln was joined together with 'Friedrichswerder', the 'Dorotheenstadt' and 'Friedrichstadt' under the name of Berlin, with 60,000 inhabitants.

Weimar Republic and Third Reich (Third Empire)

The overall impression one gets when visiting Berlin today is one of great discontinuity, visibly reflecting the many ruptures of Germany's difficult history in the 20th century.

Although it was the residence of the Prussian kings, Berlin's population did not greatly expand until the 19th century, mainly after becoming the capital of the German Empire in 1871. It remained Germany's capital during the Weimar Republic and under the Nazis' Third Empire; it was therefore a primary target in the Allied air raids of World War II.

The divided city

After World War II, Berlin, just like Germany itself, was divided into four sectors by the Allies: one each for the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the Soviet Union. The Soviets occupied East Berlin, and the other three occupied West Berlin. Berlin was in the middle of the Soviet sector of Germany and became a natural focal point of the opposing sides in the Cold War. Starting on June 26, 1948, Stalin's "Berlin Blockade" of West Berlin led the western countries to supply it through the Berlin Airlift.

The Soviet sector of Berlin, East Berlin, became the capital of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) when the country was formed from the Soviet sector in 1949. The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), formed from the other three sectors, had its capital in Bonn. On August 13, 1961, the Berlin Wall was constructed, splitting West Berlin from the rest of East Germany.

Reunification

The Berlin Wall fell on November 9, 1989. By the time Germany reunified in 1990, the Wall was almost completely demolished, with only small sections of ruins remaining, and once again Berlin was made the capital of a unified Germany.

Tourist attractions

Even though Berlin does have a number of impressive buildings from earlier centuries, the city today is mainly stamped by the key role it played in Germany's history in the 20th century. Each of the governments which had their respective seat in Berlin — namely the 1871 German Empire, the Weimar Republic, Nazi Germany, the GDR, and now the reunified Germany — initiated ambitious construction programs, each with its own distinctive character. Berlin was devastated by bombardments during World War II, and many of the old buildings that were left were eradicated in the 1950s and 1960s in both the West and the East. Much of this destruction was caused by overambitious architecture programs, especially in order to build new living or business quarters. 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.

Not much is left of the actual Berlin Wall. The East Side Gallery in Friedrichshain near the Oberbaumbrücke over the Spree preserves a portion of the Wall. It is still possible to tell if one is in the former eastern or western part by observing the architecture. In the eastern part, many Plattenbauten can be found, thanks to Eastern ambitions to create complete residential areas with fixed ratios of shops, kindergartens and schools per block. 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 are a popular icon in tourist products.

Historical sights in the city center

Brandenburg Gate (June 2003)
Reichstag (Summer 2000)

Sights of the former GDR and the Cold War

  • The Palast der Republik, the old East German parliament building. It is seen by some as ugly, but it does have its history and positive connotations - in addition to functioning as the government center, there were restaurants, shops, clubs, and concerts took place there in the 1980s. The Palast der Republik is built on the site of the Berlin City Palace, which was demolished by the Communists.

Sights of modern Berlin

  • Potsdamer Platz, an entire quarter constructed 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.
  • 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 center of Jewish culture before the Nazis.

Sights for panoramic views

Famous streets and boulevards

  • Unter den Linden is the street that heads east from the Brandenburg Gate. Many classicistic buildings are lined up on both sides of the street. Humboldt University is partly 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 at the very beginning 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. Also nearby is the Zoologischer Garten, a zoo with the largest 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 June 17, 1953. It features the golden Siegessäule (Statue of Victory), which used to stand in front of the Reichstag.

Museums

Zoos

Theaters

Opera Houses

Public Transport

Airports

Universities

Universities of Applied Sciences

Culture

After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 many houses in the city center of former East Berlin (today the district Mitte) were partially destroyed. Many had not been rebuilt since World War II. Illegaly occupied by young people, they had become a fertile ground for all sorts of underground and counter-culture gatherings. It also was home to many nightclubs, including the world-famous Techno clubs Tresor, WMF, Ufo and E-Werk.

The art scene in Berlin is extremely rich, and the city offers one of the most diverse and vibrant nightlife scenes in Europe. Most Berliners take great pride in their city's reputation as one of the most socially progressive cities on the continent.

Berlin's annual Carnival of Cultures, a multi-ethnic street parade, and Chistopher Street Day celebrations, Central Europe's largest gay-lesbian pride event, are openly supported by the city's government and are visited by millions of Berliners each year.

Despite the city's declining overall population and relatively high unemployment levels, a significant number of young Germans and artists continue to settle in the city, and Berlin has established itself as the premeire center of youth and pop culture in German-speaking Europe.

Signs of this expanding role were the 2003 announcement that the annual Popkomm, the world's largest music industry convention, would move to Berlin after 15 years in Cologne. Shortly thereafter, German MTV also decided to move its headquarters and main studios from Munich to Berlin. Universal Music opened its European headquarters on the banks of the River Spree in an area known as the mediaspreewhich is planned to develop into one of Europe's leading centers of media-related industries.

Sports

Berlin hosted the 1936 Summer Olympics.

Berlin will participate in hosting the FIFA Football World Cup in Germany in 2006.

tokipona:ma tomo Pelin

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Berlin&oldid=6425892"