Berlin
There are few cities in the world who have suffered such a deep transformation in recent years as Berlin. The city, once divided by the famous Wall, is now turned into a beautiful and pleasant capital, in which you can hardly notice the former division between Western and Eastern blocs. The elegant neoclassical buildings characteristic from Charlottenburg contrasts with the contemporary architecture of the government district or the Potsdamer Platz. Visitors may pass in a few yards of being in a classic and elegant boulevard to be in an alternative and avant-garde neighbourhood almost without noticing it.
However, Berlin does not highlight only for its architecture and urban design, is also a city of great parks, nightlife and many museums. In 2006 it was chosen by UNESCO Creative City, and in 2009 received the Prince of Asturias Award for Concord.
Berlin, capital of the Federal Republic of Germany, is one of the sixteen Länder. It is located in northeastern Germany near the Polish border. The rivers Spree, Havel, Panke and Wuhle cross the city. With a population of nearly three and a half million inhabitants, Berlin is the most populous city in the country, and the fifth largest metropolis in the European Union.
Discover Berlin
The city, founded in 1237, has been the capital of the country from 1701 until 1945. After finishing the Second World War, the eastern part of the city became the capital of East Germany, while the western region became an enclave within the Federal Republic of West Germany. En1961, the GDR raised the so-called Berlin Wall, with the objective of separate the two parts of the city, to isolate West Berlin of the GDR, and end the emigration of East Germans to the west. The wall, which had a total of 144 km, was one of the most important symbols of the Cold War and the partition of Germany.
The Berlin Wall finally fell on November 9, 1989, when the government of the GDR accepted the free movement of citizens between the two parts of the city. Nearly a year after the GDR disappeared, being annexed by West Germany, which in 1990 moved its capital from Bonn to Berlin, and the entire population of the former republic was absorbed by the EU. It is one of the most influential cities in the political arena of the European Union.
Many buildings and landmarks such as Potsdamer Platz and the Reichstag have been renovated. Many among the best architects in the world built or rebuilt a number of public and private buildings. It is expected that by 2019 re-build the Imperial Palace in the city, destroyed in 1950. This project involves the creation of a cultural centre within the new building, whose facade will be an exact copy of the original.
Alexanderplatz
In the centre of Old East Berlin you will find this great square, where the former GDR's communist government left its most visible mark. Nearby stands the
television tower (Fernsehturm), whose height of 368 mts., is the highest building in Berlin and can be seen from almost anywhere in the city. Built in 1960, the tower has a
panoramic circular restaurant that turns on itself and from which you can see a beautiful panoramic view of the city. The environs of the Alexanderplatz are full of ancient monuments and grand buildings, squares and all kinds of shops. Among the monuments include the
City Hall (Rotes Rathaus) and the Protestant cathedral in Berlin.
Unter den Linden ("under the linden trees")
is the
most important boulevard in Berlin. It begins at the
Pariser Platz on the western side of the Brandenburg Gate, where there are iconic buildings such as the
Academy of Art, the famous
Hotel Adlon, or the embassies of United States and France. From this square the boulevard runs over a mile east to the bridge called Schlossbrücke, which serves as a nexus with the Museums Island and central East Berlin. In a square adjacent to Unter den Linden is located the
Catholic Cathedral of Berlin (dedicated to St. Hedwig), between the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Opera, one of three that the city has, and the building known as the Kommode.
Siegessäule (Victory Column)
Is a
monument of 69 meters height, located in the Tiergarten park, and erected in memory of three Germanic military victories in the nineteenth century. It is crowned by a statue of the
goddess of victory. You can access to its top, and from the viewing platform you can enjoy fantastic views of the city.
Reichstag
Since 1999 is the new federal parliament building, now called
Bundestag. When it was rebuilt, only stayed the outer walls, the interior is completely new. Its impressive glass dome is accessible to the public and offers a
superb panoramic view of the city, especially at night.
Brandenburg Gate
This classical style monument located a few meters from the collapsed Berlin Wall, in no man's land that was between the wall itself and the barracks and watchtowers of the police (Volkspolizei) of the GDR, today is a
symbol the reunification of the country.
Potsdamer Platz
Old heart of the city, devastated during the war, the Potsdamer Platz languished forgotten. Since the reunification was created a unique opportunity to rebuild a new neighbourhood in the centre of a metropolis. In 1991, architects Heinz Hilmer and Christoph Sattler won the contest to rebuild Potsdamer and Leipziger Platz. His concept was based on the model of "European city" and decided to build a set of skyscrapers.
In 1993 started the works for Daimler Chrysler Quarter neighbourhood, according to the architectural project of Renzo Piano and Christoph Kohlbecker. The execution was directed by internationally renowned architects such as Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers and Arata Isozaki. In the largest construction area in Europe was built out of nowhere a new city centre in just five years. The Sony Center by Helmut Jahn, completed in 2000, is a contrast, with its cool futuristic style, with the neighborhood Daimler Chrysler. In early 2004 opened the elegant Beisheim Centre in Lenné-Dreieck.
Berlin Wall
On the banks of the River Spree in Friedrichshain, along 1316 meters, you can visit
the longest still standing section of wall. After the fall of the Wall, the East Side Gallery was decorated by 118 artists from 21 countries. These artists remarked, with more than a hundred paintings by the old east side of the Wall, using different artistic media, the radical political changes of the year 1989/90.
Holocaust Memorial
The 2,711 concrete blocks remember the horrors of the
Holocaust by the Nazis. The monument, designed by architect
Peter Eisenman, is located a few meters from the Brandenburg Gate.
Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial
The original
church of Neorromanic style, was built to exalt the first German Kaiser, and was later
destroyed by a bomb in 1943. It has preserved one of its damaged towers, incorporating it into a contemporary building, showing the whole a marked contrast between old and new. This is a memorial and a living reminder of the war, and the destruction it brings.
The Museums Island
Berlin has 365 museums. The Museums Island is a district declared World Heritage by UNESCO, and is located in the northern part of the Spree Island, between the Spree river and the Kupfergraben river. In 1841 it was appointed as "district dedicated to art and antiquities" by a royal decree, and we can highlight the following museums dedicated to art and archeology:
- Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery), with an impressive collection of s.XIX art.
- Bode Museum, in which highlights its collection of medieval and ancient art.
- Altes Museum (Old Museum), spectacular classical building, where y can visit a wonderful Greco-Roman art exhibition.
- Pergamon Museum, the most visited in the city, in which you can see the great Altar of Zeus at Pergamum, a building from Greek Hellenistic period, among other oriental antiquities.
- Neues Museum (New Museum), dedicated to ancient Egypt, where you can see the famous bust of Queen Nefertiti.
Outside the Museum Island, there are many others:
The Gemäldegalerie (Painting Gallery) focuses on the paintings of the "old masters" from the thirteenth to eighteenth centuries.
Neue Nationalgalerie (New National Gallery) specializes in twentieth century European painting. These two museums are part of the Forum of Culture, the "Kulturforum".
Deutsches Technikmuseum (German Museum of Technology) in Kreuzberg: it has a large collection of historical technical artifacts.
The Story of Berlin Museum: new audiovisual technologies combined with the history of the city. You can also visit one of 23 underground bunkers left in the city.
Gastronomy
Alt Berliner Biersalon: Only one kilometre from the hotel, open 24 hours a day. Berlin cuisine and seats 500 people. Karaoke, live music and football at night.
Restaurante Knese: In the hotel's neighbourhood, and few steps from the Kurfürstendamm, the Knese offers authentic Berliner cuisine in an atmosphere of old Berlin.
Xantener Eck: Traditional house since 1907, with German and Berlin bourgeois cuisine and 12 kinds of draught beers. A place truly opened to the world, two kilometres from the Riu Plaza Berlin.
Visits and Tours
Berlin is a city with a lot of activities attractive to visitors. The variety is almost endless, and you can choose between enjoying Segway rides, boat cruises on the river Spree, enjoying the spectacular views of the buildings standing on its banks, cycling routes through the city center, stopping at historic sites, many of them related to World War II or the Cold War, or visits to anti-aircraft shelters and atomic bunkers present in the city. You can delight in a dinner and a concert of 18th century times in the Charlottenburg Palace, including a tour across their fabulous rooms. There are many opportunities to leverage your time in Berlin, and all are at your disposal.
Shopping
The shopping district of Kurfürstendamm and Tauentzienstraße:The "Kudamm" is the Berlin's most popular"shopping" Mile, and one of the most important shopping streets in the country. The boulevard is a 3.5-km long, in the same area where is located the Riu Plaza Berlin, running from Breitscheidplatz (with the Kaiser Wilhelm I Memorial Church), to Rathenauplatz square, where begin the luxury residential neighbourhoods of West Berlin. Breitscheidplatz is an area of several boutiques, stores and varied shops. Between the Memorial Church and Adenauerplatz, are located the most exclusive fashion houses. Moreover, the most emblematic international fashion chain-stores, have their place on the Kurfürstendamm, with the famous KaDeWe Mall, 200 meters away.
The Hackescher Markt shopping district: Located 300 meters from the Museums Island, the area surrounding this market is considered the unofficial centre of the town. It's a perfect place to enjoy a drink or a coffee, or to shop where we might consider as the "sanctuary of shopping" in Berlin.
Friedrichstrasse: The ancient cultural, economic and commercial centre of Berlin, near the Brandenburg Gate. Today there are in Friedrichstraße many newly designed buildings, such as Friedrichstadtpassagen, with shops, offices and restaurants. Lafayette Galleries, at number 207 of the mall, invites you to walk and shop. There are many fashion stores, accessories and a deli department with french specialties.
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