Berlin

Anhalter Bahnhof (Anhalter Railway station)

Before WWII it was Berlin's largest and Europe's second largest railway station. The structure was designed in 1880 by Franz Schwechten and the station was supposed to be the most elegant in Europe in order to impress official visitors to the capital of the Empire. Kings and tsars traveled through this station. From here trains would travel to Rome, Athens, Vienna, etc. The station stopped functioning in 1943 after it suffered heavy bombings by the Allied forces. Despite several attempts to preserve it, the station was taken down in 1960. Only the front portico remains as well as fragments of the façade. The space were the tracks used to be has been turned into a soccer field.

Französischer Dom (The French Cathedral) - (1701 - 1705) Late Baroque

Built between 1701 and 1705, it is still the parish of the reformed community of Berlin. It houses the Huguenot Museum which offers a permanent exhibit on the Reformation, the Counter-Reformation, the revocation of the Edict of Nantes and the emigration of 20 000 French Huguenots in Berlin.

Strausberger Platz - (1953 - 1957)

Built from 1953 to 1957, it became a model for the urbanization of East Berlin and other East German cities (Pragerstrasse in Dresden). Between Alexanderplatz and Marx and Engels Platz wide open pedestrian squares were built with austere looking buildings. The monumental Classicism of the Frankfurter Allee (old Stalinallee) is gradually replaced by the Modernism of Alexanderplatz and Marx-Engels Platz which does not suppose a radical change. The diversified shapes of the buildings on Alexanderplatz were an attempt on the part of the East German authorities to show the "complexity of people's lifestyle in the capital of the country.

Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedachniskirche - (1891 - 1895) Neo - Romanesque

Built in 1891-1895 in Neo-Romanesque style, this church has now become a monument and it is one of Berlin's most famous landmarks. It was consecrated in 1895 but was destroyed by bombings in 1943 and only part of the front tower survived. After the war the ruins were removed, leaving only the tower. Today a new octagonal tower, designed by Egon Eiermann in blue glass, stands on the site of the former nave. What remains of the old church has become one of the symbols of the city.

Lehrter Hauptbahnhof (Lehrter Railway Station)

Built north of the Federal Chancellery over the remains of the old Lehrter station destroyed during the war, it was just finished this year (2008). Built on three different levels and with over 80 shops and restaurants, it is Berlin's central station and the biggest station within the European high-speed railway network.

Holocaust Denkmal (Holocaust Memorial)

Construction of this memorial for the Jews killed by the Nazis between 1933 and 1945 started in 2001. It was designed by the American architect Peter Eisenmann and it stands right in the center of the city next to the Brandenburg Gate. The memorial consists of 2711 concrete steles and a documentation center. It opened in May 2005 and within a year it was visited by more than 3.5 million people.

Potsdamer Platz (Potsdam Square) - (1991 - )

During World War II, because of its proximity to Hitler's bunker, it was bombed into such a mountain of rubble that at the end of the war, urban planners razed what little remained. Then, for 28 years, between 1961 and 1989, it was right on the border between the western and the Soviet sectors and became a vast no man's land beside the Wall in the middle of the city (again, there were no buildings anywhere near the Wall). At night the floodlights of the Wall used to illuminate the empty square to prevent East German citizens from escaping to West Berlin. Even on the western side there was hardly anything near the Wall either, except for some viewing platforms that offered a glimpse of East Berlin. Today, with re-unification, the square is coming out of the nothingness it had been in for almost 50 years. Following the fall of the Wall, the land was sold to Daimler-Benz (the sale triggered heated controversy) and a deal was also made with Sony Corporation for more development. The no man's land has become the largest building site in Europe, with the construction by Renzo Piano of the Headquarters of Mercedes-Benz Corporation and by Arata Izosaki of the Sony building. Both constructions represent the incarnation of the opulence of multi-national companies. With the Sony center, its multiplex cinemas, its restaurants, its shopping malls, and with the construction that is still going on there, the square is becoming again the entertainment center that it was in its pre-war heydays. As reminders of the past, a few slabs of the Wall have been preserved. The reconstruction of the square however has resulted in mixed success. It was rebuilt by five large companies like Daimler-Chrysler and Sony. The city of Berlin gave the land to Daimler-Chrysler for only $700 per square meter because they badly wanted the company to build their headquarters in berlin. The construction of the square took place without reference to historic ties and without a vision for the future. Speculators focused on building office space and apartments destined to government employees. Only 20% of the space was allocated for housing. There is a risk now of a social segregation in the form of a disconnection between Potsdamer Platz and the rest of the city. Only rich people will be able to live here

Soviet Monument in Treptower Park - (1946 - 1949) Socialist Realism

Huge park with an enormous statue of a soldier rescuing a child typical of Socialist Realist architecture. Built between 1946 and 1949, it stands on the grave of 5,000 soldiers killed in 1945 during the battle for Berlin.

Alte Nationalgalerie (The National Gallery) - (1866 - 1876) Neo-Classical /

It is a grandiose interpretation of a Corinthian temple. Built between 1866 and 1876, its purpose was also to impress. This is the reason why it was built on top of a huge pediment and exhibits an equestrian statue of Friedrich Wilhelm IV.

Nikolaikirche (St Nicholas Church)

It is located in the center of Nilolaiviertel. Construction of the church goes back to 1230 and makes it the oldest building in Berlin. Originally a Romanesque stone basilica, it was replaced by a red-brick Gothic church and construction of a Gothic choir was started in 1378. Work proceeded slowly mostly due to the fire of 1380 which almost destroyed the entire city. The presbytery was finished in 1402 and the complete building in 1470. During restoration works in 1876-1877 the interior was completely re-decorated and repainted in the bright colors which already existed in medieval times and the double bell tower was added. The church was severely damaged by bombing in 1945 and restoration work only started in 1977. It was completely rebuilt by 1987. It is the only building left from the Mid

The Federal Chancellery - (1997-2001)

It is part of what is called "the ribbon of government buildings" which forms the string of new post-reunification government buildings that stretches along the Spree River. The Chancellery building is today closely associated with the neighboring Reichstag building. The architects Axel Schultes and Charlotte frank conceived a central block, 40 meters high, flanked by five-story high administrative buildings where transparence prevails.

Reich Air Transportation Ministry - (1935-1936) Nazi architecture

It is the first major building project of the Third Reich. It was built in 1935-1936 to house Hermann Göring's Reich Ministry of Aviation. Today, it is the Federal Ministry

Topography of Terror

It is the name today of the site on which the most important institutions of the Nazi apparatus of terror and persecution were located between 1933 and 1945: the headquarters of the Secret State Police (Gestapo), and the Reich SS Leadership and Security Service (SD) of the SS. Damaged at the end of the war, the buildings were demolished in the years up to 1956. For a while the history of the site was forgotten, and only reentered public awareness in the late 1970s. A new documentation center was opened in May 2010. It conveys historical information on Nazi terror. The exhibition also draws attention to the various groups of victims targeted by the Nazi regime

The Reichstag (The Federal Parliament) - (1884 - 1894) Neo-high Renaissance

It is the seat of the German Parliament, and it is also one of Berlin's most historical landmarks. After the founding of the German Empire in 1872 there was a need for a large parliamentary building in Berlin. Construction took place between 1884 and 1894 and was the work of architect Paul Wallot. It is a heavy, impressive (137m long by 97m wide) and monumental Neo-high Renaissance style with many sculptures as decoration. The funds to build it came, for the most part, from France in the form of wartime reparation money. The famous inscription "Dem Deustchen Volke" (To the German People) was added in 1916. When the Reichstag was built, a monument to Bismarck was erected in front of it in 1901. Bismarck himself never entered the building (see photo p. 17). The building was significantly destroyed by a fire in 1933. It has never been clearly figured out who set the fire, but the Communists were blamed and Hitler's party, the NSDAP, took advantage of it to boost its popularity. At the end of the war the building was further damaged when the Soviets entered Berlin. The central dome and most of the ornamentation were removed during reconstruction after the war. Located right next to the Brandenburg Gate, it was also next to the Wall when the city was divided. A new set of reconstruction took place after reunification between 1995 and 1999 when it was decided to move the Bundestag from Bonn back to Berlin. A glass dome was rebuilt as a tribute to technological progress and new materials of construction. Since August 1999, the Reichstag has again been the seat of the Bundestag.

Altes Museum (The Old Museum) - (1822 - 1823) Neo-Classical

It was designed by the architect Schinkel in 1822-23 to house the king's art collections. It is one of Schinkel's greatest achievements. The building has a broad neo-classical façade of Ionic columns that looks out towards the Lustgarten which it closes on one side. Inside there is a rotunda modeled after the Pantheon in Rome. It is obvious that the primary purpose of the building is to emphasize the majestic power of the Hohenzollern monarchy. But it is not just a representation of power, it also aims at expressing a form of humanistic principles which were dear to the king, and a commitment to art of the Classical period and to education in general. Hitler used the majesty of the building to harangue the crowds and had the trees that used to grow in the Lustgarden destroyed in order to use the square for public demonstrations. Like the other four museums located on the island, the Altes Museum was destroyed during the war. It reopened only in 1966 whereas the Royal Palace which used to face it and which was also severely damaged during the war was eventually subsequently destroyed.

The Platz der Republik

It was formerly Konigsplatz and it was used as a parade ground under Friedrich Wilhelm I. The square was redesigned as a recreational area with the Siegessaule in the middle erected in 1873.

Karl-Marx-Allee (Karl-Marx-Avenue)

Karl-Marx Allee is a long avenue that stretches between Strausberger Platz and Frankfurter Gate and it is the best expression of Socialist Realist architecture. At the time of its construction in 1949 it was named Stalinallee and its huge residential tower blocks were the showpiece of the German Democratic Republic in terms of urbanization. The style used, directly imported from the Soviet Union was known as "pastry chef". The avenue was renamed Karl-Marx-Allee in 1961 and its buildings, which are still being cleaned and restored, are now considered historic monuments.

Lustgarten

Located in front of the Altes Museum, it looks like the original but its present look is very recent and only goes back to 1998-1999. Until the end of the 16th century the purpose of the garden was to grow vegetables for the Stadtschloss. After the construction of the Altes Museum the ground became a park. The 70-ton bowl in front of the museum was intended for the museum rotunda but it turned out to be too heavy to carry inside. After 1933 the Lustgarten was paved over and turned into a parade ground for Nazi demonstrations. It remained as such until the fall of the Wall in1989. Since then it has been redesigned into what it is today.

The Wall and the East Side Gallery (a reminder of the Berlin Wall)

Near the Ostbahnhof, on Mühlenstrasse, the East Side Gallery is the longest section of the Wall left in the city. Mühlenstrasse was in East Berlin and there were obviously no graffiti. The paintings were done in 1990 and have been restored and some replaced since. Today this section of the Wall is a protected monument.

Nikolaiviertel (St Nicholas Quarter)

Nikolaiviertel or Saint Nicholas Quarter is the historical center of Berlin, today it is part of Mitte and is located near Alexanderplatz. The area used to be the Old Market and contained some of the city's oldest buildings until WWII. It was destroyed during the war and entirely reconstructed in the 1980s for the celebrations of the 750th anniversary of the city. This reconstruction project, which took eight years, changed the attitude of the government of the RDA which had always favored the destruction of the Prussian heritage. The idea was to recreate the historic quarter. Many new buildings are faithful reconstruction of the original buildings - others are cheap concrete replicas - a sign that the East German government was running out of cash. The Ephraim Palace is a classic example of this sort of compromise - partly old and partly new.

Alexanderplatz (Alexander Square)

Originally the area was called Ochsenmarkt (ox market), but after a visit by Tsar Alexander I, the square was renamed Alexanderplatz. It suffered heavy damage during WWII. When the Wall divided the city in 1961, it became the center of East Berlin and the authorities of the GDR used it as a showpiece of the accomplishments of the new country. The TV Tower was built in 1969 and, at the time, it was one of the highest structures in Europe (365 m / 1197 feet). That same year the Fountain of International Friendship and the World Time Clock (Weltzeituhr) were also added to the square.

Brandenburger Tor (The Brandenburg Gate) - (1788 - 1791) Neo-Classical

Situated at the end of Unter den Linden, this 60m tall gate was part of a wall surrounding the old city and was the main entrance to the city. It is the only gate that remains of this former city wall and, in many ways it has become the symbol of the city.

Konzerthaus (formerly Schauspielhaus) (Concert Hall) - (1818 - 1821)

Situated between the two churches, it was built by Karl Friedrich Schinkel between 1818 and 1821. The interior decoration, destroyed during the war, could not be saved. Originally, it was a theater and once it was reconstructed, it became a concert hall. The monument of Schiller, sculpted in 1869, is in front of the entrance. The Gendarmenmarkt was severely damaged by the Allies' bombings in 1943 and reconstruction only started in the early 1980s (so it would be completed for the 750th anniversary of the city.

Berliner Dom (The Berlin Cathedral) - (1894-1904) Italian Renaissance and Baroque

The Berlin cathedral is probably the most impressive symbol of Imperial Germany. Built by Julius Raschdorff at the turn of the century (1894-1904), it is a mixture of Italian Renaissance and Baroque. Its original purpose was to serve as the royal church for the Hohenzollern family whose power it was supposed to symbolize. It was also considered to be a Protestant counterweight to St Peter's basilica in Rome. Because of its "grandeur", the Nazis also used it for parade purposes. Severely damaged during the war (May 24, 1944), the building has undergone a long period of reconstruction which started in 1975. During reconstruction, the original design of the church was simplified. This is the reason why the present look of the church appears somewhat more subdued than the original version. The church re-opened in 1993.

Hackesche Hofe

The Hackesche Hofe is a large 20th-century complex of nine interconnecting courtyards. This development dates from 1906, and was designed by Kurt Berendt and August Endell. Damaged during the war, it has been restored to its original appearance. This first courtyard features glazed facings with geometric designs. The complex includes bars, restaurants, art galleries, offices, apartments, and even a theatre.

Palast der Republik (Palace of the Republic)

The Royal Palace, which was heavily damaged by bombs during the Second World War, was destroyed in 1950 by the East German authorities. In its place, a glass and stone Palace of the Republic was built between 1973 and 1976. It housed the East German powerless parliament as well as restaurants for ordinary people. Only one part of the Royal Palace was saved, as part of the East German effort to replace many of the imperial markers with socialist ones. After removal of asbestos at a cost of millions between 1998and 2001, the building remained empty for years and the German parliament finally made the decision in 2006 to remove the structure completely. Work is still going on at the moment.

Hotel Adlon

The old Hotel Adlon built in 1907 was Berlin's legendary luxury hotel. Severely damaged during WWII, it was completely razed a few years later. The present historic-modern building (1995-1997) was the first new building to be completed on the famous Pariser Platz next to the Brandenburg Gate. The new version tries to take up the old tradition. The architects used post-modern patchwork design with traditional architectural ornamentation and this is the reason why the building appears traditional. The façade consists of sandstone. The arcade-like window openings on the ground floor and the rustic design follow the form of the old Hotel Adlon which was half the size of the new building. It may not be the most exciting new building in Berlin but the design principles and ideas of the architects are interesting.

Oranienburger Strasse Synagogue (The synagogue on Oranienburger street)

The original building was constructed between 1859 and 1866 by Eduard Knoblauch. Until 1933 it was a strong Jewish district. Destroyed by the Nazis, its restoration began in 1988.

Gendarmenmarkt

The present appearance of this old market square goes back to the 19th century when Karl Friedrich Schinkel built the Schauspielhaus between the two churches. The square was called Gendarmenmarkt in 1736 after the Gens d'Armes regiment which had its barracks and stables there. The two twin churches on opposite sides of the square however were built earlier, under Friedrich I, for the German Reformed Community and for the French Protestants who arrived in Berlin after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685.

Stadtmauer(Town Wall)

The town wall is a wall that was built in the second half of the 13th century and which used to surround the settlements of Berlin and Colln. These fortifications were made taller in the 14th century and when the wall became obsolete by the 17th century, it was dismantled almost entirely. Small sections however have been preserved until today, many of them were incorporated into other buildings.

Deutscher Dom (The German Cathedral) - (1708) Late Baroque

This church was conceived in 1708 and retouched in 1785 when plans were made for the cupola. It is the third landmark of the Gendarmenmarkt to have been restored. It was only finished in 1995. Today it houses the permanent exhibit "Fragen an die Deutsche Geschichte" devoted to German history, previously at the Reichstag. The two churches have identical late Baroque-classicistic towers. These two towers however were added in 1774 when the square was embellished.

Marienkirche (St Mary's Church)

This church whose construction began around 1270 is a surviving example of red-brick Gothic. During the lat medieval period it was at the center of the New Market area which was a second center of commercial activity. It was destroyed in a fire in 1380, then rebuilt. It has kept its cool and sober interior.

Charlottenburg (Schloss Charlottenburg)

This former royal residence was intended to be a summer home for Sophie Charlotte, wife of Frederick III. Construction began in 1695 and the building was further enlarged between 1701 and 1713 with the construction of the cupola and the addition of a wing. This luxurious Baroque-style building was left in ruins after WWII and the West Berlin authorities considered for a while tearing down those ruins. In 1950 however, and in reaction to the destruction of the city palace by the East Berlin's authorities and protests from the West Berlin population, the decision was made to restore the palace and it is now one of the historic attractions

Sowjetisches Ehrenmal (The Soviet Monument)

This is one of several war memorials built by the Soviets. In 1945 they erected the Soviet Monument on the street of the 17 June. It was made with materials taken from Hitler's destroyed chancellery. A statue of a Soviet soldier stands on top of the memorial. 1951: The Russian Embassy on Unter den Linden is a powerful French neo-classical

Unter den Linden

This magnificent avenue starts at Schlossplatz and runs down to Pariser Platz and the Brandenburg Gate. It was once the route to the royal hunting grounds that were later transformed into the Tiergarten. The avenue was the most elegant street of Prussian Berlin because ever since the beginning of the 18th century, prestigious buildings started being built there. Over the following two centuries Unter den Linden became one of the city's most imposing avenues. Before WWII it was one of Europe's "grands boulevards", and in the 1920's it was the cabaret drag. It was heavily damaged by bombings during WWII but despite a lot of negligence during the 40 years of East Germany, it was the main drag of East Berlin. In 1946 the avenue was replanted with four rows of lime trees (hence its name). Today it still has the highest concentration of historic buildings in the city, as well as restaurants, cafes and new shops.

Ephraim Palais - (1766) Baroque

This palace was built by Friedrich Wilhelm Diterichs in 1766 for the mint master and court jeweler of the time. The corner entrance used to be called "Berlin's most beautiful corner" (die schonste Ecke Berlins). In 1935 the palace was demolished, and this may have had something to do with the fact that its owner was of Jewish origin. Some parts of the façade however were saved from demolition and stored in a warehouse in the western part of the city.. In 1983 they were sent to East Berlin and used in the reconstruction of the palace, which was rebuilt a few meters from its original site. Inside on the first floor the rooms have a restored Baroque ceiling. Today the building houses a branch of the Berlin City Museum.

Tacheles building (Kunsthaus, Oranienburger Strasse, 54-56)

Those buildings have become symbols of the suffering and survival of Berlin. Once Jewish-owned, this ruined department store was partially destroyed in WWII, then it was left vacant during the Cold War. Today, it is squatted by artists and anarchists after the Berlin Wall came down. How long will it remain standing?

Franziskaner Klosterkirche (Franciscan Friary Church)

What is left today are the ruins of an early-Gothic Franciscan church. The Franciscan friars settled in Berlin in the early 13th century and they built a church and a friary between 1250 and 1265 which survived almost unchanged until 1945. The damage of the bombing on the friary was so extensive that it had to be demolished. The ruins of the church however were consolidated, made safe and turned into a modern art center.

Schlossplatz

What is today a square was once a gigantic residential complex called Stadtschloss (City Castle). Construction started in 1451 and the building served as the main residence of the Brandenburg Electors. From a castle it became a Baroque-style palace in the mid-16th century with Andreas Schluter as the first and main architect. It was the main seat of the Hohenzollern family for almost 500 years until the end of the monarchy. The palace was partially burned during WWII. After the war, and in spite of protest from the people, it was demolished by the East Berlin authority under the pretext that it was a symbol of social injustice. The square was then renamed Marx-Engels Platz. Now all that remains of the palace is the triumphal-arch portal that used to adorn the façade of the Lustgarten side. This façade is now incorporated into the wall of the government building (the Staatsratgebaude), which was erected on the south side of the square in 1964. This part of the original building was not preserved by the East German authorities for artistic purpose however, but rather for political propaganda because it was from the balcony of the portal that in 1918 Karl Liebnecht proclaimed the birth of the Socialist Republic. In 1989 the square recovered its original name. Since then there has been ongoing debate about rebuilding the palace.

The Reich Chancellery

When Hitler became Chancellor he inherited the old Chancellery on 77 Wilhelmstrasse, but it was deemed by him as unsatisfactory, only "fit for a soap company", and he proceeded to building another one. The building has been completely demolished at the end of

Olympia-Stadion (The Olympic Stadium)

When it was built for the Olympic Games of 1936, it was the center of attention as Hitler took advantage of the Games to showcase the new German order. After the war it went into relative oblivion until it was completely renovated in 2000 and more recently restored again for the 2006 Football World Cup. It is one of the few buildings from the Nazi era that has been left intact in the city. It is a monumental architecture in Neo-Classical style, typical of the bombastic fascist architecture whose primarily purpose was to impress

Schloss Bellevue (Bellevue Palace) - (1786) Neo-Classical

With its Neo-Classical façade, it was built in 1786 and served as a royal residence until 1861. Now it is the official residence of the German Federal President. It was heavily damaged during World War II and carefully restored to its former glory.

The Staatsoper (formerly the Royal Opera House) - (State Opera House) - (1741 - 1743)

With its Neo-Classical front, it is one of the most impressive buildings on Unter den Linden. It was designed by Knobelsdorff (1741-1743), and restored in 1843 following a fire. The building we see today is not the original building however since it was destroyed during the war. It was almost entirely rebuilt from 1952 to 1955.