Beautiful Berlin [antikvár]

I,' 2-3 Anyone visiting the Alexanderplatz in searcti ot the atmosphere of Doblin's novel to which It gave its name will be disappointed. Today the "Alex" is an immense, bustling, colourful pedestrian precinct, surrounded by shops, hotels and calés. 4 The badly damaged west tower and the new tower of the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedachtnis-kirche. are symbols of Berlin's troubled history. 6 The former Zeughaus at night. This magnificent building was once an arsenal. 7 Breitscheidplatz is one of Berlin's main junctions. The fall of the Berlin Wall marked a major turning point in history and politics, and since then Berlin has continued to be the symbol of change in Europe and at the same time experiences that change more directly than any other city. Berlin is a city of contradictions, and no one who wants to take a direct part in events can ignore them. But Berlin can also enchant the visitor with its irresistible charms: it is a liberal and unusual city which has a rich history and is full of splendid buildings. Berlin - magnificent, varied and full of drama - rivals Paris as the centre of contemporary European culture and art. Berlin has become one of Europe's leading tourist destinations, and it may therefore appear surprising that the history of this city - unlike London and Vienna, for example - does not stretch back for thousands of years. It was in 1987 that Berlin celebrated »only« 750 years of existence. The first recorded reference to the city dates from 1240, but archaeological finds confirm that there were human settlements in this area long before then. It is known that tribes settled here in the first century BC. They were followed by Slavs who, in early medieval times, built villages at the confluence of the Havel and Spree rivers. They were conquered and germanized by Albrecht the Bear in the mid-12th century, and the small settlements were united. The town joined the Hanseatic League in 1307 Berlin grew rapidly and became the centre of the Mark Brandenburg. After a troubled period, the city, under Frederick the Great, began to play a role in European affairs and Berlin was the centre of the German states from that time on. In 1867 it became the capital of the North German Confederation. Four years later, after victory in the war against France, Berlin became the capital of the German Reich. By 1900, Berlin already had a population of 2.5 million and it remained the capital until the end of World War Two. After the collapse of the Nazi régime the city was divided: the Eastern sector, which was under Soviet control, became the capital of the German Democratic Republic, while the Western part, under the control of the Americans, British and French, became an enclave of the Federal Repulic of Germany and adopted the letter's economic and legal system. On 13 August 1961, as a result of the severe political crises which had arisen between the two super powers, the leaders of East Berlin began building the Wall, which later separated the two sectors and prevented emigration to the West. The more recent events have once again become part of history: from November 1989 onwards, after nearly thirty years, the Wall was torn down. On Christmas Day of that year, the new atmosphere of trust and the easing of political tension was celebrated by a performance, at the newly reopened Brandenburg Gate, of the »Ode to Freedom«, conducted by Leonard Bernstein. The rapid political changes mean that it has now become much easier to get to know Berlin. Nevertheless, there are still marked differences between the two parts of Germany's largest city. One example of this is their architecture.