The Wall
From 1949 until 1990 Berlin was divided into East and West Berlin. The East German government built the Berlin Wall to try and stop its citizens from escaping into West Berlin. In the 28 years the Wall was up over 5,000 people tried to climb over it; 3,200 were captured and 191 were killed.
I’m a Berliner
The American president John F. Kennedy made his famous “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech in 1963. He was underlining the support of the United States for democratic West Germany shortly after communist East Germany had erected the Wall in 1961.
Germany Reunified
The Brandenburg Gate symbolizes the reunification of East and West Berlin after the fall of the wall in 1989 and is one of Europe’s most famous landmarks. Just one block north of the Gate is the Reichstag building which houses Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag.
East Meets West
Berlin is a multicultural city, with more than 430,000 people from 184 different nations living here. 119,000 inhabitants are Turkish, which makes Berlin the largest Turkish community in Europe outside of Turkey.
Where the Music Never Stops
Berlin is Europe’s party capital. Each weekend, hipsters from all over fly into the city on budget airlines to dance to electronic tunes at clubs like Berghain, Germany’s “Techno Temple”. Despite its humble beginnings in Detroit’s underground music scene, Techno has evolved into one of Germany’s most popular music styles.
The End of Love
The world’s largest techno festival, the Love Parade, started in West Berlin in 1989. It attracted more than a million ravers each year until the event was moved to Germany’s Ruhr district. At the 2010 festival in Duisburg, 21 people died in a stampede. The organizers announced that the Love Parade was permanently cancelled.
A Hotbed of Ideas
Artists from all over the world have been drawn to Berlin since the end of the Cold War. Attracted by open spaces, low rents and the charms of a city its mayor once described as "poor but sexy" they have turned Berlin into a cultural mecca for creative types.
Germany’s Hollywood
Berlin is the most popular film location in Germany. Around 300 films are made here each year. Nearby Babelsberg is the world’s oldest large-scale studio complex. Even Hollywood has discovered the German capital. The World War II drama “Valkyrie” starring Tom Cruise was shot here.
Architectural Pyrotechnics
Potsdamer Platz is Berlin’s new city center where tourists mingle with working Berliners from nearby offices. During Germany’s partition the whole area was a big wasteland where the Berlin Wall stood. Now the square’s Sony Center which glows like a UFO at night attracts eight million visitors a year.
KaDeWe
Berlin’s Kaufhaus des Westens (Department Store of the West) is Europe’s largest department store with a legendary food department. The store offers the incredible variety of 380,000 articles on eight floors and is synonymous with luxury shopping.
The Old Lady Hertha
Last season Berlin was the only major European capital without a top-division soccer team. In May 2013, however, the whole city was partying again: Hertha BSC Berlin finished the season in first place in the 2. Bundesliga and was promoted to Germany’s top league. Hertha plays its home games in the “Olympiastadion” (Olympic Stadium). This is where during the 1936 Olympics the American runner Jesse Owens won four gold medals.