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| Famous Place in Berlin |
Political confrontation between the western allies and the USSR led to the creation of the "two Germanies" - FRG in the west and GDR in the east in 1949 and 12 years later the construction of the famous Berlin Wall
(Berliner Mauer) began. This had separated the city not only topographically but architecturally and culturally
as well: officials from the both sides - the eastern and western ones - were disregarding the reconstruction plans of the other side and creating the image of the city according to the "instructions from above". As a result eastern and western Berlin do have different appearance and cultural "message"
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| Famous Place in Berlin |
from Berlin, GERMANY
There are some cities where one can feel trapped in, enchanted by and at the same time ever surprised with. One of such cities is Berlin. Berlin is the city that had survived long and turbulent history which had endowed it with a special spirit and atmosphere. The city bears the specific air of the eclectic union, of the mosaic gathering and uniting the seemingly incompatible elements and detail. No wonder, Berlin had always been united through division and vice versa.
Berlin arose from the two twin-towns - Berlin and Koeln - which were first mentioned in the late 1230's early 1240's. Later in the early 1300 both towns melted together by building a common city hall. This time is considered to be the beginning of the history of Berlin as a city.
Berlin had incorporated the suburbs step by step and it actually never managed to "digest" them properly to form a homogeneous product - city itself. All its districts, which were separate towns and suburbs before, still preserve their special characteristic features. Moreover, these districts and towns were legally united into a city only in the 20th century: only after WWI in 1920 the famous Big Berlin Decree was issued - the one following the proclamation of the German Republic. During WWII an enormous part of Berlin was destroyed and later it was divided into four sectors of influence by the allies: USA, Great Britain and France took over the western part and the eastern part fell to the USSR.
Political confrontation between the western allies and the USSR led to the creation of the "two Germanies" - FRG in the west and GDR in the east in 1949 and 12 years later the construction of the famous Berlin Wall (Berliner Mauer) began. This had separated the city not only topographically but architecturally and culturally as well: officials from the both sides - the eastern and western ones - were disregarding the reconstruction plans of the other side and creating the image of the city according to the "instructions from above". As a result eastern and western Berlin do have different appearance and cultural "message".
Therefore when in 1989 the Berlin Wall was eventually destroyed on the initiative of the people living in the eastern part of the city (the one under the protectorate of the USSR) and shortly after in 1990 "the two Germanies" were united into the Federal Republic of Germany, its capital - Berlin - appeared to be anything but a homogeneous city. Time passed but modern Berlin is still very different from all the other European capitals. It is very decentralized, culturally first of all. Each district bears the memory of the times when it used to be a separate town with own churches, own rules and entertainment places. This is very convenient however, because one is guaranteed to find his/her own "corner", to find a place where one would fit in all respects and enjoy the diversity of the (night) life of Berlin. This city is sometimes called the European New York - because of its multiculturalism. Indeed, Berlin is one of the most multi-ethnical and multinational cities of Europe, on the streets of which many languages are spoken, representatives of all races can be seen and the unexpected fusion of the archetypical German features with the features of other nations can be observed and enjoyed. And of course Berlin is the capital of different cultural festivals and events, exhibitions and performances: Berlinale, International Theatrical Festival, Love Parade, Carnival of Cultures, Sounds like Home music festival, Fete de la Musique, Jazz Fest Berlin, and many others.
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| Famous Place in Berlin |
The spirit of the city is reflecting its past and present interlacing them with people, memories and languages into a phantasmagoric, mobile and ever changing, ever surprising through the union of the divided canvas.
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| Famous Place in Berlin |
Berlin, the capital city of Germany is the biggest city in the country. It is most famous for its historical places, nightlife, cafes, clubs, bars, museums, palaces, and further sightseeing options.
After the fall of the Berlin War, the city has become a genuine melting pot as far as culture is concerned. It has become a place where all types of art, music, and fashion come together.
The city has numerous museums. Museums managed by the government do not need to be paid for to enter four hours prior to their shutting down each Thursday, and there is also the three day Museum Pass which lets visitors have admission to about 70 museums.
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| Famous Place in Berlin |
Museumsinsel, also known as Museum Island is famous for housing the Pergamon Museum which has a huge compilation of Greek and Islamic art. Additional museums on the island consist of the Altes Museum with Egyptian collections, the Alte National galleries with mostly German collections, and the Bode Museum with Byzantine art.
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| Famous Place in Berlin |
The Deutches Historisches Museum has an enormous assortment of German history items covering all ages. This museum is extremely huge, so make sure you have sufficient stamina to spend hours looking at the whole thing. The Judisches Museum is the Jewish museum. There are many historical items about Jews in Germany in this museum. In addition there is a Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe which covers one entire block. There is an underground museum with information concerning the Holocaust. This is one of the most visited as well as most striking museums in Berlin.
The Berlin Wall may not be there anymore, but a portion of it is still visible along the river. This has been preserved as a gallery, and there are very nice murals on it. There is also a Berlin War Memorial for those that died crossing the wall. There is a viewing platform that lets you imagine exactly what it must have been like when the wall was still in place. Checkpoint Charlie used to be a crossing point between the two sides of Germany, and is also well worth a visit.
The Tempelhof airport is the airport that was used for the duration of the Berlin Airlift in 1948. There is now a memorial here to remember the airlifts around the blockade. This airport has also been featured in numerous films, and has a matchless architecture. With its countless halls and buildings, it was built to become an entry point to Europe, and is still one of the most enormous buildings in the world.
Berlin is an amazing city to see for tourists, and if you can only go to one city in Germany then you should go to Berlin. Its history will help you connect to it, and you will be haunted the rest of your life by many of the historic sites you see here. Author: Robert M Freeman
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