Berlin Sights
The Berliner Domу
The Berliner Domу: The Berlin Dome (real name: "Upper Parish and Cathedral Church of Berlin") is an evangelical church on the north side of the Spree (Museum Island). In the crypt of the cathedral, many members of the Hohenzollern family are buried. On the occasion of state meetings in Germany and political events the church services take place here. This cultural monument was destroyed during the war and has been renovated completely in 2002.
The Alexanderplace
The Alexanderplace was baptized “Alexanderplatz” by King Friedrich Wilhelm III. during the visit of Tsar Alexander in the end of 1805 and since then this area is one of the main traffic junctions in the capital. In 1969, the world clock was set up, which displays the time in the world and elates tourists from all countries.
The Brandenburg Gate
The Brandenburg Gate is a 26 meters high, 65.5 meters wide and 11 meters deep early-classical stone building in Sandstone, which was built by the Berlin firm Zeidler & Wimmel. It was modeled after the Propylaea of the Acropolis in Athens and is at the Pariser Platz in Berlin-Mitte. It was built 1788-1791 (Carl Gotthard Langhans) by instruction of the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm II. Until 1989 it was a symbol of the division of Berlin and Germany - now it is the town´s landmark.
The Checkpoint Charlie
The Checkpoint Charlie was established because of the erection of the Berlin Wall and was a military checkpoint, which was guarded by the Americans. It was the most famous border crossing of Berlin from 1961-1990 and joined the American and Soviet sectors in the “Friedrichstrasse”.
The Tv-Tower
The Tv-Tower , which is located in the district Mitte next to the red town hall, is 368m high and therefore the highest building in Germany (the fourth highest in Europe). An unforgettable panoramic view of up to 40km far above the roofs of Berlin can marvel every visitor, that’s why here each year over 1 million visitors are recorded.
The Memory Church
The Memory Church is located on the Kurfürstendamm, in the district of Charlottenburg and was built between 1891-1895, with design and plans from Franz Schwechten. The tower was once 113m high but it was bombed in the Second World War (on 11/23/1943), why it is colloquially known by the inhabitants as the "Hollow Tooth". The resulting porch of the former church is now a museum and war memorial.
Kurfürstendamm
This, since the 16th century existing road, with its 3.5 km length and 58m width, is the lifeline of the city west. In the 80s of the 19th century the Kurfürstendamm has expanded at the initiative of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck and he baptized this street into Kurfürstendamm in honor of the chieftains and counts, who have used this direct path between the Berlin City Palace and the Hunting Lodge as a riding promenade.
The Potsdamer Platz
The Potsdamer Platz airs the "modern Berlin" and is regarded as the Mekka for architects. The fastest elevator in Europe takes any curious visitor to the observation deck of the Daimler Chrysler building (Potsdamer Platz 1) in order to provide him with a spectacular view over the greater area of Berlin.
The Reichstag building
The Reichstag building was erected 1884-1894 by the architect "Paul Wallot" in neo-Renaissance style and since 1999 it is the seat of the German Bundestag. After the Reichstag fire in 1933 the building was restored in the 60s and 1991-1999 it was completely transformed into its present form. The Reichstag is, since the move of the government from Bonn to Berlin, with more than 15 million visitors recorded a "tourist attraction".
The Victory Column
The Victory Column once stood in front of the Reichstag building (from 1873), with its 69 meters and 285 steps to the viewing platform , to commemorate the Prussian campaigns against Denmark, Austria and France, until it has been displaced in 1938/39 to the center of the roundabout at the "Big Star ". The victory goddess Victoria, which adorns the top of the Victory Column, is affectionately called "Goldelse" by the Berliners because of the gold wash.
The Zoological Garden
The zoological garden is 340.000m ² and is home to 1552 species (including the aquarium). This means, that about 14,000 animals are living on the zoo ground plus they can be visited almost every day. Around this complex there is the center of Berlin, the Kurfürstendamm, which is a parallel road of our street (Xantenerstraße), the homonymous station (“U+S-Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten”), the Kaiser-Wilhelm Memory Church and many other places to visit.
The Museums Island
The Museums Island is one of the most important museum complexes in the world and therefore understandably appointed as a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 1999. It contains, among other buildings, the Berlin Dome, the Lustgarten, the Old Museum, the New Museum with its world-famous bust of Nefertiti, the Old National Gallery, the Bode Museum and the famous Pergamon Museum!
The KaDeWe
The "Kaufhaus Des Westens" (Department Store of the West) was built by Adolf Jandorf on 27 March 1907. With its 60,000 m² it is the largest department store in continental Europe. A special attraction is the "connoisseur level", which is since 1978 the second largest delicatessen section of a department store worldwide.
Red Town Hall
The Red Town Hall was built between 1861-1869 by Hermann Friedrich Waesemann, possesses three courtyards and a 74m high tower, which is similar to the towers of the cathedral of Laon in France and was built in neo-Renaissance style. Today, the Red Hall is seat of the governing mayor of Berlin and the Senate. The building owes its name to the facade of red bricks.
The East Side Gallery
Between Oberbaumbrücke and Ostbahnhof the largest open-air gallery in the world stretches along the Mühlenstraße - the East Side Gallery! After the fall of the Berlin Wall 118 artists from all around the world painted the wall on a length of 1316m. So here we have a unique collection of poetic and political murals, which are now under monument protection. The most famous painting is the "Brotherly Kiss" showing Brezhnev and Honecker.
The Gendarmenmarkt
The Gendarmenmarkt is located in the historic district Mitte (Friedrichstadt). This famous area is dominated by three monumental buildings (German Cathedral, French Cathedral, the concert hall (former theater), which is the reason, why the inhabitants of the capital call this complex “the most beautiful place”.