Pariser Platz:

The Pariser Platz forms the end of the boulevard Unter den Linden on the one side and the Brandenburg Gate on the other side. Further, it forms the pendant to the Platz des 18.März which is situated on the other side of the Brandenburg Gate and which forms the end of the Straße des 17.Juni. Originally the Pariser Platz served as a parade-ground until under Friedrich Wilhelm I a square was built. After the destruction during World War Two the place is now reconstructed by international architects in dependence on the historical models, and new exclusive villas, embassies and the luxurious Hotel Adlon have been built.

Brandenburger Tor:

The Brandenburg Gate that was built between 1788 and 1791 based on drafts by the architect C.G. Langhans is the town’s landmark and the only city gate that is remained. During the division into East and West the gate stood for this division in a symbolic way, as the Wall was running directly along the Gate. After the fall of the Wall the Brandenburg Gate was reopened on 22^nd December 1989.

Siegessäule:

Today the Siegessäule is situated in the middle of the Großer Stern in Berlin Tiergarten. Initially the statue was built 1864-73 based on drafts by Heinrich Strack on the King’s Place (today Platz der Republik) and was there to remembrance the victory in the Prussian-Danish War.

After some time and the victories over Austria and France the statue was complemented by the 8.3 meters high golden Viktoria with laurel wreath and the iron cross. The interior of the statue is designed with golden reliefs that show scenes of war and portraits.

Reichstag:

The Reichstag is the seat of the German Bundestag since 1999. Furthermore, every five years the Federal Convention for the voting of the Bundespresident takes place here. Due to the glass cupola that crowns the Reichstag and the wonderful view over the city that it offers, the Reichstag is one of the most famous attractions of Berlin.

Based on drafts by architect Paul Wallot the Reichstag was built between 1884 and 1894 in the style of the Neorenaissance. The inscription “Dem Deutschen Volke” was complemented later in 1916 because Wilhelm II was against it.

Unter den Linden:

The boulevard Unter den Linden that goes through the Dorotheenstadt and the Friedrichswerder in Berlin Mitte is a central road axis in the center of Berlin and combines several sights. Along the boulevard which reaches from the Brandenburg Gate up to the Schlossbrücke one can find many impressing buildings like the Opera House, the Zeughaus, the State Opera, the Humboldt University and the Berliner Dom.

While in the beginning this road was a bridle path, the boulevard extended more and more over the time due to the royal display of splendor and new architecture. During this period under Friedrich II dem Großen also the Kronprinzenpalais and the Prinzessinenpalais were constructed.

After the Second World War and the clearing of the linden trees for a larger roadway under Hitler the boulevard looked more like a debris field than a resplendence boulevard.

Bundeskanzleramt:

The Bundeskanzleramt is one of the imposing new buildings in the Reichstag quarter and the seat of the Bundeskanzleramt of the Republic of Germany since 2001. It is part of the “Band des Bundes” which combines the new buildings of the Reichstag quarter at the Spree bow. This draft was made by the architects Axel Schultes and Charlotte Frank with which they won the architectural competition in 1991. The idea behind this draft was that it should stand for the connection between East and West across the Spree after the German Reunification in a symbolic way. 

After a construction period of almost four years the Bundeskanzler Gerhard Schröder could finally move into the Bundeskanzleramt on 2^nd May 2001. Therewith Berlin became the new seat of parliament and displaced Bonn.

The building consists of a middle building with nine floors, the administration part and the lower elongated part with the offices of the staffs. The biggest part of the building is simply taken over by two representative rooms. The Ehrenhof in which state guests are welcomed accommodates the statue “Berlin” by the Spanish artist Eduardo Chillida.  

Checkpoint Charlie:

The Checkpoint Charlie was one of the most famous border crossings at the Berlin Wall between 1961 and 1990, where allies, foreigners, staffs of the Permanent Representation, and functionaries of the GDR could cross the border. The border crossing separated the Soviet part from the allied part at Friedrichstraße, where since the erection of the Wall tanks directly fronted each other. Today a border sign and cot are evocative of that time. The stacked sandbags are actually filled with concrete instead of sand.

Tiergarten:

The Tiergarten is the largest park in Berlin and is situated in the district Mitte. With 210 hectare it is also the second largest intra-urban park in Germany. The park is crossed by several main public highways like the Straße des 17.Junis which come together at the Großer Stern with the Siegessäule. Further, the Schloss Bellevue and the Haus der Kulturen are situated in the Tiergarten, adjoining are the Potsdamer Platz and Zoologischer Garten.

Before the Tiergarten was designed as a park based on drafts by the architect Lenné, the place was used as a hunting ground by the Prussian princes.

Staatsoper:

The Staatsoper is situated in Berlin Mitte at the boulevard Unter den Linden and is the oldest theater and opera house of Berlin. Based on drafts by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff the Staatsoper was built between 1741 and 1743. It belonged to the complex of the forum Fridericianum at the Opernplatz which is named Bebelplatz today, and was since its opening on 7^th December 1742 the first freestanding opera house and royal theater.

After a fire in 1843 the opera was reconstructed and several remodellings followed. Nevertheless, after the destruction in the Second World War the opera was reerected based on the original design by Knobelsdorff. The interior of the opera was thereby designed in the style of rococo.

Bebelplatz:

The Bebelplatz is a city place which adjoins the boulevard Unter den Linden and which is with its historical buildings and the Staatsoper an important sight of Berlin. The place was erected at the same time like the Staatsoper and functioned as the “Place of the Opera”.

On 10^th Mai 1933 the Bebelplatz became showplace of the book burning by the Nazis. For this reason a memorial by Micha Ullmann today reminds of this event. The memorial is an empty library room that lies inground and can be seen through a glass panel. Worth seeing at the Bebelplatz are also the Royal Library that belongs to the Humboldt-University today and the “Alter Palais”.

Holocaust-Mahnmal:

The memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe was erected in direct near to the Reichstag, Brandenburger Tor and Potsdamer Platz. According to the decision by the German Bundestag the memorial was built based on drafts by New York architect Peter Eisenman on a 19 000sqm large area between 2001 and 2003. On the one hand the memorial consists of the waved field with concrete cuboids in parallel rows and on the other hand of the “Place for Information”, a 930sqm large museum which is situated beneath the steles field and which informs visitors about the history of the Jews in presentation and exhibition rooms.

Gendarmenmarkt:

The Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin’s Friedrichstadt is considered as one of the most beautiful places of Europe and is therewith a main attraction for tourists coming to Berlin. Central eye catcher is the concert house that is surrounded by the French Dome on the one side and the German Dome on the other side.

The place was constructed from 1688 on based on drafts by Johann Arnold Nering on order of the later King Friedrich I. in Prussia. In the beginning the place was named Lindenplatz or Neuer Markt.

Its today’s name it gained after 1782 when the place was used by a regiment “gens d’arms” with guards and cots.

French Dome: The French Dome with its imposing copula was built between 1780 and 1785 based on drafts by Guntard and Unger, and was attached to the French Friedrichstadtkirche from 1705 that was built for French religious refugees (Huguenots). After the destruction in the Second World War the Dome was rebuilt since 1977.

German Dome: The German Dome was erected between 1701 and 1708 based on drafts by architect M. Grünberg and during a building period of five years from 1780 on it was complemented with the cupola.

After the destruction in the Second World War the Dome was extensively restored and has been reopened in 1996. The exhibition “Fragen an die deutsche Geschichte” was visited by millions of people since then.

Konzerthaus (concert house): The Konzerthaus was built based on plans by Karl Friedrich Schinkel on the place of the burned down National Theater and was opened as “Royal Playhouse” in 1821.

The remains of the National Theater have been sustained and complemented with a middle building with adjoining column hall.

Alexanderplatz:

The Alexanderplatz is one of the most famous places in Berlin. After using the place as cattle marketplace and parade-ground the “Alex” more and more developed from an emporium to an important traffic junction. Its today’s name was given to the place in 1805 due to the visit of Zar Alexander I.

The design the place has today it sustained during the reconstruction after the Second World War.

The 123 meters high Park Inn hotel, the Fernsehturm, the Alexpassagen, as well as the Center-Warehouse were erected. According to actual plans the hotel building should be drawn down and be replaced by three new high buildings. Nevertheless, it is not clear when this will happen.

Berliner Dom:

The Berliner Dom is the biggest church in Berlin and a central place for the evangelic church in Germany. With its fascinating design the dome draws the attention of thousands of visitors from the inland and from abroad every year. Due to the multifaceted offer of church services e.g. on the occasion of state acts, or important political events of the Republic of Germany, guidings, concerts and other events, the dome invites to come closer to the Christian believes and to admire the beautiful and pompous interior of the church with its copula.

Friedrichstraße:

The Friedrichstraße is one of the most important streets in Berlin and is named after the elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg.

The 3.5 kilometer long street goes through the districts Kreuzberg and Mitte and was once separated into East and West by the Berlin Wall. Still today the famous border crossing Checkpoint Charlie reminds of this time.

From its northern end at Chausseestraße the Friedrichstraße proceeds across the river Spree, crossing the boulevard Unter den Linden, along the Bahnhof Friedrichstraße and the Checkpoint Charlie up to its southern end at Mehringplatz in Kreuzberg.

Museumsinsel:

The Museumsinsel at the northern peak of the Spree Island in the center of Berlin accommodates five museums and is one of the most important museum complexes in the world. In the north of the island is the Neues Museum, as well as the Alte Nationalgalerie. In the south one can find the Altes Museum with the Lustgarten. Additionally the Pergamonmuseum at the side of the Kupfergraben and the Bode-Museum are famous attractions for many tourists and museum lovers.

In the Second World War about 70% of the museum island was destroyed, the restoration works are not finished yet. Since 1999 the island is one of the World Heritage Sites.

Altes Museum: In this museum which was designed by Schinkel you find a collection of ancient sculptures, golden jewelry, silver treasure, etc. of Greek art and cultural history on the ground floor. On the first floor there is the Egyptian Museum since 2005.

Neues Museum: The Neues Museum which was designed by August Stüler was built between 1843 and 1859 to unload the Altes Museum that was quickly too small. After its destruction it is now being reconstructed.

Alte Nationalgalerie: The Alte Nationalgalerie which was built between 1867 and 1876 based on drafts by Stüler as well exhibits collections of sculptures and paintings from the 19^th century by famous artists like Claude Monet and Paul Cézanne.

Pergamonmuseum: The Pergamonmuseum which was finished in 1930 is the youngest building on the museum island. It consists of three wings in which exhibitions from Asia and the Islam are shown. Further there is an ancient collection of Greek and Roman sculptures in one of the three wings.

Botanischer Garten:

The Botanical Garden which extends to a size of 43 hectare is with more than 22 000 plant species the largest botanical garden in Germany. A lot of Berlin’s citizens use the garden as recreation area for long walks through four different continents.

The Botanical Garden includes a smell and touch garden for blind guests, a 480sqm large lake, a moorlands and different green houses like the tropical one.

St.-Hedwigs-Kathedrale:

The St.-Hedwig’s-Cathedral in Berlin Mitte is the catholic Bishop church since 1930 in the Friedrichstadt and the most important sacred building in Berlin. The erection of this building was – on approval of Friedrich II – completely financed through donations from all over the world and was carried out between 1747 and 1773 based on drafts by Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff in dependence on the Pantheon in Rome.

Kunsthaus Tacheles:

The Kunsthaus Tacheles in the Oranienburger Straße is situated in the ruins of an erstwhile department store that was saved from being torn down, and is a collective, self-determined art and event center. Works from contemporary artists and movies in the cinema High End 54 are shown there. Before the building was used by the artist-initiative Tacheles and was designated a historic monument it was used as an office by the Nazis before it was partly destroyed during the Second World War and a detonation during the 1980s then.

The name Tacheles means “plain-talking” and was chosen by the initiative because during the time of the GDR many artists had to make their messages equivocal due to the limited freedom of opinion.

Hackesche Höfe:

The Hackesche Höfe near the Oranienburger Straße in Berlin Mitte are with a size of 9 200sqm the largest closed court area in Germany and are designated a historic monument since 1972.

Since the restoration during the 1990s the Hackesche Höfe are one of the most expensive properties in Berlin. Responsible for the planning of the restoration was the architect Kurt Berndt. For the design of the facades in Art Nouveau the architect and artist August Endell was put in charge.

The Hackesche Höfe are a complex of offices, restaurants, shops and flats that conveys the ambience of the inner courts typical for Berlin to thousands of tourists coming here every year.

Fernsehturm:

The Fernsehturm is one of the major attractions of Berlin and with 368 the highest building in Germany. The tower consists of a 250 meters high concrete shaft with a head bowl out of stainless steel. The peak forms the 118 meters high antenna.

Potsdamer Platz:

The Potsdamer Platz is situated in the district Tiergarten and is a major traffic junction in Berlin. Up to the Second World War the place was with the first traffic lights on the whole continent and the central station one of the most congested places in Europe. During the war the place was heavily destroyed and during the time of the GDR the place developed to a waste land that was divided by the Wall and made up the junction of the American, British and Soviet sector.

After the fall of the Wall the Potsdamer Platz developed to the largest construction site of Europe. Imposing architectural buildings like the Sony-Center with the tent-roofing, the building of the Deutsche Bahn AG, the Potsdamer Arkaden (shopping mall), and a completely new quarter with offices, shops, hotels, flats and restaurants were erected. The Kollhoff building with the red clinker has the fastest elevator in Europe and brings you to a platform with an amazing view over the city.

Schloss Bellevue:

The three-winged complex which was built between 1785 and 1786 is the first office residence of the German Bundespresident. The castle is situated in Berlin’s district Tiergarten in direct near to the Spree and the Siegessäule.

The castle was built in the style of classicism based on drafts by Philipp Daniel Boumann. It consists of an elongated middle building with pediments decorated with sandstone figures, and the more artless but higher side wings.

Kurfürstendamm:

The Kurfürstendamm which is often only called Kudamm is a 3.5 kilometer long major traffic street in Berlin Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf.

It was built in 1542 as a riding path for the elector Joachim II. In a letter Otto von Bismarck later in 1873 expressed his idea to make the Kurfürstendamm a boulevard. As his wish was answered, the Kudamm developed in an immense tempo to a commercial and amusement center until the First World War. Also during the 1920s the Kudamm was representative for the Golden 20s.

After the destruction during the Second World War the boulevard was reconstructed with many new buildings during the 1950s and is still today a famous street to stroll around.

KaDeWe:

The Kaufhaus des Westens which was opened in 1907 is the largest department store in Europe and is situated in Berlin Schöneberg in Tauentzienstraße.

On six floors this luxurious department store with its famous delicatessen shop, the panorama elevators and the restaurant with view over Berlin invites to stroll and shop.

Zoologischer Garten:

The Zoological Garden, also known as the Hauptstadt Zoo, has the biggest variety of animal species in the whole world and is one of largest zoos in size. The zoo was opened in 1844 as the first zoo in Germany and today accommodates more than 15 000 animals of about 1460 species. Every year millions of visitors come to the zoo, tourists as well as Berlin’s citizens. Alone in the year 2007 3.18 million people were counted.

A special attraction of the zoo is the adjoining aquarium with an amazing variety of species from snakes over crocodiles to sharks and wonderfully colored fishes.

Gedächtniskirche:

The Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche is situated on the Breitscheidplatz in Berlin Charlottenburg. It is a memorial for peace and conciliation that consists of the ruins of the Neoroman church and the enclosing modern extension.

Zentralbahnhof:

Berlin’s main station which was opened in 2006 is one of the most spectacular architectural projects in Berlin and Europe’s biggest changing station.

It is a cross-station that connects the East-West-ICE-route with the North-South-traffic and offers a connection to S-train, U-train and busses. The modern architecture which covers the station with a construction of glass and steel brings a lot of light into all levels.

Berliner Mauer:

Neue Wache:

The Neue Wache on the boulevard Unter den Linden is the “Zentrale Gedenkstätte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland für die Opfer von Krieg und Gewalt“(engl: central memorial of the Republic of Germany to the victims of war and violence) since 1993.

It was built 1816-1818 and was originally used under King Friedrich Wilhelm III as a memorial to the dead soldiers of the Napoleonic Wars.

After several other functions the Neue Wache was destroyed during the Second World War and after its restoration was used as memorial to the victims of militarism and fascism during the time of the GDR. Up to the reunification of Germany there were two soldiers standing there every day for the guard of honor. In the interior of the Neue Wache there was a flame burning permanently.

Zeughaus:

The Zeughaus which was built 1706 as an arsenal in baroque style accommodates the “Deutsches Historisches Museum” (German Historic Museum) today.

 The building that was designed by the French star architect Francois Blondel has a length of 90 meters and is built around an inner court. It is a severely structured and two-storeyed building that is decorated with many sculptures.

From 1952 on the Zeughaus accommodated the Museum for German History which is the German Historic Museum today.