Berlins Best

Biking through Berlin, you’ll soon realize that this spacious, vast and unconventional city is full of contradictions. This is where the old and new and the successful or the more dubious stand side by side. Buildings from every era and different governmental systems are still standing, while others have either been destroyed in war, or considered unsafe or insignificant and pulled down. Berlin’s image is more of a fascinating and constantly shifting collage than a static picture of history.

As well as Berlin’s main attractions you will see typical Wilhelmian-style tenements and the double and triple layers of courtyards dating from the explosive growth of the city 150 years ago. We show you the pomp and ceremony of old Prussia before diving into the glass, steel and exposed-concrete architecture of the government buildings. Wonder at the huge empty space in the city centre where the Palast der Republik (East German People’s Palace) was recently torn down in order to re-build the Stadtschloss, a 500-year-old building that was demolished in 1950 to break away from the Prussian imperialist past. On this tour you will experience the dynamics of the metropolis and hear what Berliners think of all these changes.

About twenty years ago, Prenzlauer Berg façades crumbled while many of the hundred-year-plus apartment blocks were un-livable. However, even in East German times, Prenzlauer Berg was home to its own subculture, attracting artists and intellectuals from all over the country. Shortly after the fall of the Wall an artists’ and squatters’ utopia existed between the frameworks of the old and new systems. This in turn unwittingly laid the foundations for the ensuing gentrification. Most of the buildings have now been meticulously renovated and the area has changed from an anarchical utopia to a home to young families and creative individuals.

The big empty space in Mitte. Demolition of the Palast der Republik (the People’s Palace) was completed towards the end of 2008. The very same “Stadtschloss” that was destroyed to make way for the “People’s Palace” in 1950 will now be reconstructed on this spot. Until the reconstruction is complete, Berlin will be home to a huge empty area much larger than Moscow’s Red Square. This only makes the Berlin Dome all the more imposing.

The socialist city and the socialist citizen. To commemorate the 20th anniversary of East Germany, Alexanderplatz was given a new face: a hotel skyscraper, a world clock and the well-stocked central department store.  The old and new standing side by side. The 700-year-old Marien Church is Berlin’s oldest church – and right next to it is the Television Tower (Fernsehturm) – East Germany’s towering trophy, reaching 365 meters into the sky.

The “Spandauer Vorstadt” (“Spandau city periphery’) and “Scheunenviertel” (“barn district’): In 1672 the Sovereign Elect banned all wooden barns within the city walls, and later many Jewish small business owners moved into the area. This area is now characterized by its large number of cafes and art galleries.

The Museumsinsel (Museum Island) is home to five different museums. The Altes Museum, (photo right) fronted by the Lustgarten, houses the Antikensammlung (antique collection) and the northern end of the Island is occupied by the recently reopened Bode Museum (photo left).

The Zeughaus (armoury) is the oldest building on Unter den Linden. In 1701 the Sovereign Elect was given the throne and Prussia was born. This new lease of power was highlighted by the era’s prestigious architecture.

This monument covering an area of 19,000 square meters is called “Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe” and is dedicated to Jews who were murdered across Europe is a permanent reminder of the darkest period in German history.

Pariser Platz and the Brandenburg Gate are considered to be Berlin’s “parlor’ and organizers compete fiercely to hold events in front of this world-famous monument. The soldiers and the posing bear belong to the daily masquerade but the polar bear designed to highlight the issue of climate change soon melted.

Glass, steel and exposed concrete – Posdamer Platz presents the modern face of Berlin. In the 1920s an incredible number of trams crisscrossed Potsdamer Platz:
600 every hour! In memory of this heyday, the “transport tower” – Germany’s first traffic light – has been reconstructed on the new square.

Cultivation and finery is what Gendarmenmarkt gives Berlin. Price range in the surrounding businesses has also been adjusted accordingly.

The interplay of shapes – squares and circles – and the large expanses of glass were all designed to signal transparency in government. On the left is the Parliament Library, on the right is the Chancellery. A football motto would apply just as well to the architectural interplay of forms here: “the round thing goes in the square thing”.

Seen from the government buildings, the new Hauptbahnhof (main station) still looks spectacularly solitary. In the next few years, both sides of the station will be built up with new, mostly cube-like buildings.

This little virtual tour is not comparable to bike tour participation.

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