The Brandenburg Gate made of sandstone is one of the largest and most beautiful creations of German classicism. It was created between 1788 and 1791 based on designs by Carl Gotthard Langhans the Elder, who was heavily based on the Propylaea of the Athens Acropolis. King Friedrich Wilhelm II had previously ordered the construction of the Brandenburg Gate, as he was looking for a worthy architectural finish for the boulevard Unter den Linden.

Significant turning points and events in German history are connected to the Reichstag building. On November 9, 1918, the SPD politician Philipp Scheidemann proclaimed the republic from the balcony at the west portal. On the evening of February 27, 1933, the "Reichstag fire" occurred. The plenary hall and the dome were completely destroyed. A red flag of the Soviet Union, hoisted on April 30, 1945 by two Red Army soldiers, symbolized the victory over the "Third Reich".

Flanked by two "T 34" tanks, a bronze statue of a Red Army soldier with his rifle on his shoulder stands in the middle of the square. Texts with the names of fallen Soviet soldiers are attached to the pillars behind. In the rear part of the memorial are the graves of around 2500 soldiers

History of the zoo At the end of the 17th century, Elector Friedrich III. Create a "pleasure park for the population" from the former hunting ground. Over time, the park was redesigned based on several models, including the zoo was transformed into an English public park between 1833 and 1838 by the famous landscape designer Peter Joseph Lenné. Sights in the zoo It is not just trees, bushes and green spaces that define the face of the zoo, which covers around 200 hectares. Many sights such as monuments and memorials, bridges, the Victory Column, the Federal President's Office, the House of World Cultures or the English Garden invite you to take a day stroll through the park. The English Garden, which is laid out around a pond, gives an insight into English landscape architecture and is now one of the most beautiful corners of the zoo.

Potsdamer Platz was planned by architects as a whole district. With success - the cafes, cinemas and shops between the futuristic skyscrapers are used by Berliners and tourists alike. The plan of the city planners has paid off: The Berliners have accepted the cafés, cinemas and the large shopping arcade of the new Daimler City very well. A completely new district was created on 6.8 hectares between Potsdamer Platz and Reichpietschufer.

The area, known as the "Topography of Terror" from 1987 onwards, was the central location for the planning and control of most Nazi crimes. Between 1933 and 1945, the most important institutions of the National Socialist terrorist apparatus of the SS and police were housed here with the Secret State Police Office, the Reich Leadership SS and the Reich Security Main Office.

The Martin-Gropius-Bau is dedicated to cultural history, contemporary art and photography.

Wall

During the division of Berlin, the former military checkpoint Checkpoint Charlie was the most famous border crossing of the three border points controlled by the Americans, along with the Glienicke Bridge. The others were the border control points Helmstedt-Marienborn (Checkpoint Alpha) and Dreilinden-Drewitz (Checkpoint Bravo). The passage was only allowed to be used by foreigners and employees of the permanent representation of the FRG in the GDR as well as by GDR functionaries.

he Friedrichstrasse runs through Berlin as a north-south axis. A popular shopping mile emerged between Checkpoint Charlie and Friedrichstrasse station after the fall of the Wall.

The square was built at the end of the 17th century according to plans by Johann Arnold Nering. At that time, French immigrants, mainly French Protestants (Huguenots), settled in this quarter. The market square was initially called Esplanade, then in chronological order Lindenmarkt, Friedrichstädtischer Markt and Neuer Markt. Finally it was renamed Gendarmenmarkt in 1799, because from 1736 to 1782 the guard and the stables of the guard regiment "Gens d´armes" were located there.

The permanent exhibition "Ways - Irrwege - Detours" in the German Cathedral shows the historical development of liberal parliamentary democracy in Germany on a total of five floors.

The concert hall on Gendarmenmarkt is a masterpiece of classical architecture and is one of Karl Friedrich Schinkel's main works. As early as 1776, at the instigation of Frederick the Great, a small comedy house was opened at this location, which was built according to the plans of the Prussian senior building director Johann Bouman the Elder. was built. The renaming to the Royal National Theater in 1787 highlighted the rise to one of the leading theaters in the country

In the middle of the museum center of Berlin, Bebelplatz gives an idea of how a beautiful city was imagined almost 300 years ago. The Nazis desecrated the place with the burning of books, of which a memorial today commemorates. On May 10, 1933, the National Socialists had over 20,000 books burned on Bebelplatz. They were of the opinion that the volumes they had selected were "of a non-German spirit". This included books by Erich Kästner, the Mann family, Magnus Hirschfeld, Lion Feuchtwanger, Karl Marx, Else Lasker-Schüler and almost 400 other authors. Heinrich Heine's books were also burned. If you had read it instead, you would have come across Heine's remark that where you burn books you also have people.

Right next to the armory, which now houses the German Historical Museum, is the rather small Neue Wache. It was built between 1816 and 1818 according to the designs by Karl Friedrich Schinkel and has been the central memorial in the Federal Republic of Germany for the victims of war and tyranny since 1993.

The Museum Island in the center of Berlin is one of the outstanding museum complexes in Europe and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

With its distinctive design features, the Berlin Cathedral is a must for every church lover and visitor to the city.

The Lustgarten on Museum Island once belonged to the Berlin City Palace. The spacious square is now a popular place with Berliners and tourists.

What was left of it shines all the brighter today: The New Synagogue on Oranienburger Strasse. It was once the largest and most important synagogue in Germany.

The Nikolaiviertel is Berlin's first and therefore oldest residential area. In addition to the Nikolaikirche, the district offers old town flair with historic houses, restaurants and coffee shops.

Whether in the 1920s, in GDR times or today: the famous Alexanderplatz was and remains one of the liveliest squares in Berlin.