Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany. It is also the biggest city in Germany. About 3,700,000 live there.

The city is in the eastern part of Germany. It is about 70 km west of Poland. Berlin has an area of 891 km2. The rivers Havel, Dahme and Spree run through Berlin. It has an oceanic climate.

Berlin is home to many famous buildings and monuments, like the Siegessäule, the Brandenburger Tor, the Reichstag and the boulevard Unter den Linden. On the boulevard are the Humboldt University and the State Opera of Berlin. The Governing Mayor of the city is Michael Müller (SPD).

Berlin is a world city of culture, politics, media and science. There are a lot of technology companies in the city. They are important for the city's economy. Many planes and trains travel to and from Berlin because the city is an important place for tourism and business.

Berlin is an important city for the history of Germany. The King of Prussia and the Emperor of Germany lived in Berlin. The government of Germany was in Berlin for many years. Bombs destroyed many buildings in the city in World War Two. The city was split into West Berlin and East Berlin after World War Two. After the Berlin Wall was built in 1961 very few people were allowed to cross from East Berlin into West Berlin. The wall divided the city until 1989 when the East German government decided to allow anyone to cross, and people decided to destroy the wall.

Boroughs of Berlin


In 2001 the 23 boroughs of Berlin were changed into 12


 * 1) Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf
 * 2) Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg
 * 3) Lichtenberg-Hohenschönhausen
 * 4) Marzahn-Hellersdorf
 * 5) Mitte (Central)
 * 6) Neukölln
 * 7) Pankow
 * 8) Reinickendorf
 * 9) Spandau
 * 10) Steglitz-Zehlendorf
 * 11) Tempelhof-Schöneberg
 * 12) Treptow-Köpenick

Sights

 * Alexanderplatz (with the Television Tower)
 * Berliner Dom (Berlin's cathedral)
 * Berlin Hauptbahnhof (the new main Railway station)
 * Brandenburg Gate
 * Fernsehturm (the TV tower - the highest building in Germany)
 * Potsdamer Platz
 * Reichstag building (home of the Bundestag)
 * Rotes Rathaus (office of the Governing Mayor)
 * Straße des 17. Juni (Street of the 17th of June)
 * Siegessäule (Statue of Victory)
 * Unter den Linden (the main boulevard)

History of Berlin

 * 1244 The first writings about a place called Berlin.
 * 1451 The Hohenzollern family moved to Berlin as the place to rule their country
 * 1618 – 48 After the Thirty Years' War in Germany, the number of people that lived in Berlin dropped to only 6000.
 * 1701 Berlin became capital of Prussia.
 * 1709 Berlin and its neighbor city Cölln (not Köln/Cologne) are combined to form the new Berlin.
 * 1806 The army of Napoleon Bonaparte moved into Berlin.
 * 1871 Berlin became capital of the German Empire.
 * 1920 The Old Berlin and some neighbour towns are combined into "Greater Berlin" (Groß-Berlin).
 * 1945 The town is divided into four sectors, used by the allies of World War II. There is a Soviet Sector, an American Sector, a British Sector and a French Sector.
 * 1949 After foundation of the two Germanies, the town is still divided. There is now West Berlin and East Berlin.
 * 1961 The Berlin Wall was built by the communist government of East Germany between the two halves of Berlin.
 * 1990 After German reunification, the Berlin Wall is torn down, and there is only one Berlin again. The new Berlin becomes the capital of one Germany.

Sister cities
Berlin has partnerships with 17 cities. Each of the 12 boroughs also has their sister cities, sometimes called twin cities.

Other websites

 * http://www.berlin.de - German page
 * Berlin Sightseeing Tours
 * digital Berlin
 * EXBERLINER - English City Magazine
 * Berlin City Panoramas - Panoramic Views and virtual Tours of Berlin
 * WorldFlicks in Berlin: Photos and interesting places on Google Maps