Germany General Information & A Phonetic Phrase Guide

General information for useful visitors to Germany - tourists or business travellers is given in the Germany Country Profile

As a place Berlin is first mentioned in documents of 1244. It was made up of the towns of Coln and Nikolaivierel. These towns became united in 1307 and therafter gradually became known as Berlin. Berlin's symbol the 'brown bear' has been used since at least 1280 when two bears facing one another, seperated by a red (Brandenburg) eagle was used on a seal. In 1451 the city gave up its 'free' status when it became the Royal Residence of the Brandenburg Electors.

By the 17th century it became the powerhouse of the pro- Prussian Hohezollern dynasty and a major European trading post with a population of 12,000 people.

The outbreak of the Thirty Years War in 1618 - series of complicated European wars - severely damaged Berlin. During this war the King of Bohemia. Emperor Ferdinand 11, attempted to impose Catholism on Protestant dominated Austria and Bohemia and Berlin became embroiled in this failed crusade.

By 1648 the city's population had been halved and a third of its home destroyed.In 1625 there was an attack on Germany by King Christian 1V of Dennmark, who reportedly was trying to compensate for losses of Danish territory in an earlier war with Sweden. The Germans repelled the Danish invasion and then where attacked by Gustav Adolphus of Sweden who occupied Berlin for a while until they in turn where attacked by Poland in retalliation for an an earlier war. The Swedes were defeated and the Hozenzollern dynasty regained control of Berlin, led by the pro- prussian Friederich Wilheim. The population of Berlin fell to less than 7,000 citizens and Wilheim sponsored the migration of 5,000 Jewish and Huguenot refugees to Berlin so as to regenerate the city and establish a Prussian power base This vision was realised Friederich 1 who became the first Prussian King. During his reign the many of Berlins colourful buildings were built.

In 1685 its leaders promoted religious tolerance and encouraged people to migrate to the city. In 1701 it became the capital of Prussia. In 1740, King Frederick 11 came to power and began to develope the city as an economic area. By the 19th century, with the introduction of rail services it had like Leipzig became a part of the areas economy. In the 1860s it expanded rapidly and outline suburbs like Moabit and Wedding where incorporated in the city area. In 1871 it was chosen by the government of the newly formed Germam Empire as the countrys capital.

In 1918 at the end of WW1 it was declared as part of the Weimar Republic. Two years later The Greater Berlin Act incorporated numerous surban towns villages and land areas into the Berlin Are. One administrative authority was established to run the entire area which had around 4 million inhabitants. In the next decade it gained a reputation for liberal politics and sexual openess. Before the Nazis Party came to power in 1933 Berlin has 170,000 Jews. Between 1938 and 1943 most of these either fled, arrested and imprisoned in the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp or transported to Nazis Death Camps like Auschwitz & Birkenau.

From 1943 to 1945 Berlin was very heavily bombed by the Allies and wide areas in of the city where severely damaged. In 1945 as the Allies from the west and the Soviets from the east attacked the city - what remained in Cental Berlin was largely reduced to rubble.At the end of the war the city was divided into Occupations Zones. The Americans, British and French controlled the Zones to the West of the Brandenburg Gate. This area was known as West Berlin.

The Brandenburg Gate and area to its East which included the Administrative Centre and most of the city's historic sights were controlled by the Soviets in an area that became known as East Berlin. All the perimeters of West Berlin itself were surrounded by Soviet Forces.

For the next 45 years West Berlin remained a 'Allied' pocket in the heart of the communist controlled German Democratic Republic. The division of the city resulted in Berlin ceasing to be the Capital Of West Germany an honour which was then bestowed on Bonn.

On Nov 9th 1989 The GDR collasped and the Berlin Wall was torn down. The city regained its caoital status in 1999 when the adminstration of German Government returned to Berlin.

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These include The Brandenburg Gate, built between 1788 - 1791. This is the only remaining gate to the original Old Berlin. The Chariot of Quadriga designed by a different architect was added to the top of the gate in 1794. The Gendarmen Markt, which many believe to be one of Europe's most bueatiful squares was built in 1688. It is home to The Deutscher Dom (German Catherdal) which was originally built in 1701. It's dome was added in 1780, destroyed in WW2 and restored in 1996. The Franzosischer Dom was ( French Catherdal) was built in 1701 with it's dome added in 1780. This was also damaged in WW2 but it was restored in 1977.

The home of the German Parliament - The Reichstag originally built in 1884 was partialy destroyed in a fire in 1933 and its Dome was blown up in 1945. As a result of this, and the division of Berlin and Germany the in 1949 the West German Parliament moved to Bonn and The East German Parliament was transferred to a paritcularly ugly Soviet inspired bronze construction 1km away. In the 1960s the East German Government partly rebuilt the ReichStag but it was not used for any parlimentary purposes. In 1994 the architect Norman Foster completed the reconstruction of the building. His work included the addition of an extension with a Glass Dome. This Dome is now one of Berlins most noticeable landmarks. It is has not found favour with many Berliners and from a tourist perspective it does not compliment the Reichstag and other nearby buildings. In 1999 the German Parliament - The Bundestag was reinstated in the Reichstag.

Berlin is a city awash with international cuisine. If you are 'cold calling' one of the best areas to head for is Charlottenburg on the west side of the city which has a very rich night life. Particularly good restaurants to travel to are: Alt Luxemburg at Winscheiderst.31 (Tel: 323 8780). This very old world restaurant serves good German food and offers exceptional lobster and rabbitt entree's. It is expensive but represents good value for money.

First Floor at the Hotel Palace, Budapester St. 42 (Tel: 2502 1020) is very high class French restaurant. It is surprising to find a restaurant of this calibre in a hotel enviroment and even more pleasing is the choice of Red wine which runs into hundreds. The Engelbecken at Witzlebenstr. 31 (Tel: 615 280) is another high class restaurant - this one specialses in German dishes that are often found in the Alpine and Bavarian regions. The veal lamb and Goulash are exceptional.

The Dressler at Kurfurstendamm 208 (Tel: 883 3530) offers extremely good German food. The duck with red cabbage is simply delicious.The menu seems to vary slightly depending on the time of year making it a very dependable place to eat.

If you are on a flying visit to Berlin try the highly regarded Grossbeerenkeller at Grossbeeren Sr. 90 (Tel: 251 3064). Though it does not accept credit cards it renders a very attentive and proffesional service. The food is typical German and extremely good. The boiled salt-pork meat, Nurnberger sausages and cabbage are a must and the fried potatoes!

Local Berlin Restaurants

Shopping in Berlin

Berlin has with three major shoppimg centres - Ku'damm Friedrichstraße and Potsdamer Platz. The Kurfürstendamm, is an attractive boulevard 3.5 km long from the Memorial church to Halense. Shops include the famous department store Kaufhaus des Westens (KaDeWe) over the Europa-Center and many international fashion boutiques, restaurants and cafés.

During the mild summer nights, this part of Berlin ) stays open 24 hours. Closing times are practically unknown and visitors to the "Athens on the Spree" can experience the delights of its cosmopolitan character.There are over 6,000 restaurants catering from most tastes. All three shopping centres are directly connected by the underground line U2.

Euromost found this quite challenging ! its actually underneath the TV Tower (see above) (which dwarfs Central & East Berlin. Very helpful staff.

Cash Machines Central & East. Berlin - Alexander Platz Area

These are not as common as in West Berlin. One that is easily found is situated on the road between the TV Tower and alongside the westside of the station. It is in the corner building on the right when you leave the station and face the TV Tower. Go through the door which is open 24 hours.

Holocaust Memorial Centre Berlin

A more instructive exhibition is The Holocaust Memorial Centre adjacent to the Brandenburg Gate which opened in the Spring of 2005. This memorial which consists of 2,701 upright grey slabs arranged in roofless corridors is intended to represent the bewilderment experienced by Jewish prisoners imprisoned in concentration camps. It includes an underground exhibition with six gigantic pictures of victims of The Holocaust.

The project has been a controversial issue in Germany because it has not recognised the non Jewish victims of the Nazis. There also was public outrage when it was revealed in 2003 that it's construction involved - Degussa - a company who had also supplied the Zyklon B gas used in the gas chambers. Further information on the many museums, and other Berlin attractions can be found on the Berlin page of the German National Tourist Board link & The Official Berlin Tourist Office link. - both of which are at the top of this page