Berlin
Published: 01/08/2007 - Filed under: City Guides » City Guides » Europe »
No visit to Germany's capital city Berlin would be complete without delving into the history of its infamous wall. Mark Caswell walks the line, and takes in some of the city's well-known and often sobering sites
1. Checkpoint Charlie
Start your walking tour on the corner of Zimmerstrasse and Friedrichstrasse, at the most famous of the Berlin Wall's border crossings. Nicknamed Checkpoint Charlie by the Western Allies, this was the point where foreigners and Allied Forces would cross between East and West Berlin, and the scene of various successful (and fatally unsuccessful) attempts by East Berliners to escape to freedom in the west. The original iconic wooden shed on the American side of the checkpoint was removed in the 1980s, to be replaced by a larger metal building (now on display at the Allied Museum), but a replica was erected after reunification. A museum commemorating the crossing's history is also located on Friedrichstrasse. Museum opening hours 9am-10pm daily, visit checkpointcharlie.org.
2. The Wall
Almost
all of the Berlin Wall was demolished in the months leading up to Germany's
reunification in 1990, but a symbolic line of pebbles tracing its path still
cuts through Berlin as a reminder of its significance. The 28-mile wall started
life as a barbed-wire fence, gradually being strengthened to a concrete border
during the 1960s - for a look at one of the few surviving pieces, follow the
line west along Niederkirchenstrasse towards Potsdamer Platz. Here you'll find a
200m stretch of the wall, part of the Topography of Terror, an outdoor
collection of noticeboards detailing significant moments in the history of the
Nazis, from the Gestapo to the Final Solution. Open 10am-6pm Tuesday to Sunday,
English audio guides available. Visit topographie.de.
3. Holocaust Memorial
Follow the pebbles round through Potsdamer Platz and along Ebertstrasse until you reach the Holocaust Memorial (or the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe). Designed by American architect Peter Eisenman, it was inspired by the Jewish graveyard in Prague, and is an endless wave of 2,700 dark stone blocks of varying heights, built on undulating ground and separated by narrow walkways. Visitors can enter and exit the memorial at any of its alleyways, and as the ground subsides and the pillars get taller towards the centre, the effect is one of increasing claustrophobic isolation. There is an underground information centre at one corner of the memorial (open 10am-8pm Tuesday to Sunday). Visit holocaustmahnmal.de.
4. Reichstag
Back onto the
wall's path, head up towards the imposing Reichstag, seat of the German
parliament before the Second World War and since reunification. The wall passes
behind the back of the building and off through the River Spree, placing the
bomb-damaged Reichstag in West Berlin and under Allied power during the Cold
War. Since reunification the Neoclassical building has seen a glass viewing dome
or cupola added courtesy of Sir Norman Foster, and has even been wrapped in
paper by Bulgarian artist Christo. The viewing deck is open daily 8am-10pm and
is free to enter, but expect long queues - to bypass the masses make a
reservation at the Kafer Im Reichstag restaurant. Visit reichstag.de.
5. Brandenburg Gate
Retrace your steps along the wall and you'll arrive at the Brandenburg Gate (in former East Berlin). Built in 1791, the 65ft-high gate was modelled on the Propylaea, the entrance to the Acropolis in Athens, and it remained unscathed throughout the Second World War while much of the surrounding Pariser Platz was destroyed. President Reagan delivered his famous "Tear down this wall" speech here in 1987, a plea that was heard by many on the other side. There is a Room of Silence in one pillar of the gate where visitors can sit and reflect (open daily 11am-6pm).
6. Unter den Linden
Walking through the Brandenburg Gate and into the former East Berlin you will arrive at the beginning of Unter den Linden. Literally translating as "Under the lime trees", this thoroughfare remains one of the city's most important streets, with universities, art galleries and shops lining its sides. Note the Hotel Adlon Kempinski on your right as you walk up the street - probably Berlin's most famous hotel and the scene of Michael Jackson's infamous baby-dangling scandal. Try to imagine this elegant and leafy boulevard during the Second World War, when the 250-year-old lime trees were pulled up by Hitler and replaced by stark propaganda poles and flags. Passing the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin (state library) you'll come to the Humboldt University, founded in 1810 and attended by such luminaries as Albert Einstein and Karl Marx. If you continue up to the end of Unter den Linden and across the River Spree you'll arrive at Museum Island, with enough exhibitions and collections to fill four hours on its own (including the monumental Near Eastern antiquities on display at the famous Pergamon Museum). Visit museen-berlin.de.
7. Bebelplatz
Opposite the Humboldt University is a square which
gained notoriety on May 10, 1933, when Hitler's propaganda minister Joseph
Goebbels ordered the burning of around 20,000 books by "ungerman authors"
including HG Wells, Ernest Hemingway and Karl Marx. Look for the glass pane in
the middle of the square, under which is housed the Empty Library, a row of
bookcases commemorating the book-burning. The square is flanked by Berlin's
State Opera House and St Hedwig's Cathedral (the city's oldest Roman Catholic
cathedral), as well as the newest addition to Berlin's luxury Hotel scene -
Rocco Forte's Hotel de Rome.
Read more about...
COMMENTS »
bob_berlin - 03/03/2008 17:44
Hello,
i would like to submit our establishment for inclusion on your web site.
Description:
Only 100 meters from the famous Berlin Landmark Checkpoint Charlie you will find a unique shopping place, the boxoffberlin, or just bob. It's a shop, café and gallery in one. The shop offers extraordinary souvenirs and cool gifts made by local designers (shirts, comics, music, films, games, post cards, toys, books...). The Café has coffee specialties based on organically grown and fair traded Espresso and an individual selection of soft drinks and the gallery shows changing exhibitions of contemporary art, films and more from Berlin artists.
Pertinent informations:
Establishment name: bob – boxoffberlin
Opening hours: daily from 10:30 AM – 19:30 PM
Mailing address: boxoffberlin Zimmerstrasse 11 D – 10969 Berlin Germany
Phone number: +49(0)39 – 44701555
E-mail address: info@boxoffberlin.de
Web site: www.boxoffberlin.de
Contact person: Stephan Schmidt (owner) Mobile: +49(0)171 – 4876836 E-mail address: stephan.-schmidt@t-online.de
With best regards,
Stephan Schmidt --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- boxoffberlin Zimmerstr. 11 D-10969 Berlin fon: +49(0)30 / 44 70 15 55
ADD A COMMENT »
Istanbul 21/08/2008
From mystical mosques to harbourside bars, this city of two halves shimmers with energy. Nick Redman dips his toe into life on thebanks of the Bosphorus — full story »
Vienna 2008 20/08/2008
Fascinating museums, mouth-watering desserts and beautiful green spaces beguile Andrew Eames in Austria’s elegant capital — full story »
Budapest 20/08/2008
From torture museums and Turkish baths to the café that can never close, Andrew Eames gets to grips with the heroes and heritage of the Hungarian capital — full story »
A-Z of city guides:
- Amsterdam »
- Amsterdam 2008 »
- Antwerp »
- Athens »
- Barcelona »
- Belfast »
- Berlin »
- Bologna »
- Brussels »
- Brussels 2008 »
- Budapest »
- Cologne »
- Copenhagen »
- Cork »
- Dublin »
- Dusseldorf »
- Edinburgh »
- Ekaterinburg »
- Frankfurt »
- Geneva »
- Gothenburg »
- Istanbul »
- Lisbon »
- Liverpool »
- London - Bloomsbury »
- London - Marylebone »
- London - South Bank »
- Lyon »
- Madrid »
- Madrid 2008 »
- Malta »
- Manchester »
- Milan »
- Moscow »
- Paris - Aligre »
- Paris - Le Marais »
- Paris - The Left Bank »
- Prague - 2006 »
- Prague - 2007 »
- Rome »
- St Petersburg »
- Stockholm »
- Tallinn »
- Vienna »
- Vienna 2008 »
- Zurich »
- Zurich 2008 »
