p. 1

[close]

p. 2

contents page history of berlin survival guide transport accommodation sightseeing art culture activities shopping food drink bars clubs 6 11 12 13 14 17 18 23 24 35 36 53 54 65 66 79 80 101 102 127 3

[close]

p. 3

introduction willkommen in berlin with a wealth of opportunity to see the fantastic sights in the day and party late into the night no-one could get bored with this vibrant and everevolving city within these pages you can learn more about the history of berlin from its roots and turbulent times to the present day while finding out what sites to see beyond the wall let us guide you around the city s efficient public transport system and making your life easier finding somewhere to stay while you re here whether you re here for the nightlife or are looking to soak up some german culture there is something for everyone in the snapshot guide to berlin find out which lakes are best to lounge by and how best to pass the day in weird and wonderful ways in our activities section let our culinary expertise guide you to some of the excellent cafés eateries and bars the metropolitan city holds if you love fashion for less look no further than our shopping section which contains a treasure trove of vintage and independent boutiques kitsch shops along with some of the best flea markets in town to pick up a bargain if you are looking to do berlin on a budget or even want to splash out on something worthwhile this guide has everything you need to experience this beautiful city to the fullest 5

[close]

p. 4

history of berlin early days berlin began its life as two trading settlements on the banks of the river spree ­ berlin and cölln the two towns joined forces in 1307 to gain better trading rights and later to enter the hanseatic league which led them to begin functioning more as a single entity known as berlin-cölln berlin-cölln began to gain power but lose freedoms until 1618 berlin-cölln grew in population to 12,000 people however between 1618 and 1648 the thirty years war led to the death of half the citizenry and the destruction of a third of the town s buildings berlin reborn after the destruction of the city s population elector friedrich wilhelm ruled 1640-1688 encouraged immigration he first invited 50 austrian jewish families displaced by the thirty years war and then more than 6,000 french huguenots to settle in berlin-cölln the immigrants brought greater trade links and prosperity to the city in 1701 elector friedrich iii 1688-1713 crowned himself the first king of prussia making berlin the capital city in 1709 berlin and cölln were united by the king along with a number of their suburbs his son friedrich wilhelm i 1713-1740 made prussia into a great military power by trading artistic pieces and money for soldiers from other courts it wasn t until the reign of his son however that these soldiers were employed in battle 7

[close]

p. 5

berlin partook wholeheartedly in the industrial revolution with companies such as borsig siemens and schwartzkopff setting up in the city however as with most major cities during the industrial revolution the industrialisation and mass immigration of people into berlin from the surrounding countryside led to mass poverty and squalor for its people despite this as the city s infrastructure improved so did the conditions and by the start of wwi berlin was flourishing nazi germany it was against this unstable background that the national socialist party rose to power in the federal elections of 1930 the very beginning of the great depression they emerged from near obscurity to be the second largest party in the reichstag by 1932 they were the largest party when the reichstag was burnt down in february 1933 the nazis seized their opportunity to blame the communists and use the atmosphere of fear to outlaw all other political parties in march one of the first concentration camps in germany was opened at sachsenhausen to contain political prisoners over the course of its existence tens of thousands of political prisoners and russian prisoners of war died there friedrich ii also known as friedrich the great 17401786 is famous both for his victory in the seven years war against russia and for bringing the enlightenment to berlin history drink food of berlin under his rule a large number of buildings designed to reflect the values of the enlightenment were constructed including the staatsoper opera house the prince heinrich palace later to become humboldt university and st hedwig s cathedral meanwhile unter den linden was broadened from a bridle path to become a boulevard complete with linden trees the 20th century the extreme hardships of the first world war led to the overthrowing of kaiser wilhelm ii on 9th november 1918 two days before the armistice the years of the weimar republic 1918-1933 were tough for berlin and for germany with several uprisings from various political factions ­ most notably for berlin the spartacist communist uprising this ended with two spartacist leaders being murdered by the freikorps in the tiergarten where a small memorial stands today in addition to mass chaos on the streets of berlin hyperinflation caused by the governments overzealous money printing became a severe issue in the early 1920s when money became worth less than the paper it was printed on after friedrich the great the final years of the 18th century were fairly uneventful for berlin the brandenburg gate was built and the quadriga placed atop it however napoleon invaded the city through the brandenburg gate on 27th october 1806 leaving troops in berlin right up until 1808 for the rest of the 19th century 8 9 10

[close]

p. 6

between 1933 and 1945 germany was a totalitarian state oppression of nongermans the disabled homosexuals gypsies and political dissidents led to the murder of millions of people as berlin s vast number of memorials to those murdered by the nazis evidences the second world war eventually put an end to the nazi regime after six long years of fighting the effect of the war on berlin was devastating bombardment of the city by air began in 1943 and by the end of the war nearly half of central berlin s buildings were destroyed history drink food of berlin berlin divided berlin was officially divided into soviet us and british sections in july 1945 a french section was later added eastwest relations deteriorated rapidly after the war and berlin became a constant source of tension this tension really took shape in the berlin blockade of 1948-49 when the gdr refused to allow any traffic from west germany to west berlin in an attempt to starve west berlin into submission a constant flow of air traffic from west germany to templehof airport kept west berlin going for almost a year until the blockade was lifted tensions increased again when 200,000 east germans escaped the gdr s forced collectivisation programme by walking into west berlin in 1960 in response to this massive loss of workers on august 13th 1961 the east german government began to build the berlin wall this massive structure encircled west berlin cutting it off from east germany on all sides and stood until 1989 5,000 east berliners still managed to escape over or under the wall despite great risk to their lives 192 people were killed trying to cross and around 200 were seriously injured in 1989 the east germans could once more escape communist oppression this time through the newly opened border between hungary and austria mikhail gorbachev the president of the ussr issued a statement 10 saying that he would not support hard-line actions against east germans in a confusing series of events on 9th november 1989 günther schabowski a member of the east german government announced in a press statement that in his opinion the border between east and west berlin should be opened immediately massive crowds rushed to the border crossings and faced with the option of letting them through or firing on the crowd the confused guards allowed them through much of the wall was demolished soon afterwards since the fall of the wall berlin has been re-elevated to its status as capital city with the bundestag completing its move back from bonn in 2001 berlin has emerged as a modern forward thinking utopia where anyone can find something to suit their tastes ae 11

[close]

p. 7

[close]