Overview

Three adjectives describe Berlin most accurately – Urban, Cosmopolitan and Multicultural. In these three words lies the true spirit of Berlin, the real character of this modern city with ancient roots. Berlin presents an exemplary picture of a cosmopolitan megalopolis with its social fabric woven with multi-ethnic groups; and it’s near perfect civic amenities and liberal policies defining the operational face of the city. At the same time, the “Berlin-ness” that has defined its character through the ages sits firmly in all the “modern – ness”.

With all these ‘strings’ keeping it aloft, Berlin vibrates like a giant living, breathing creature. Its vibrancy and vitality are powered by its economy, its growing importance in the continent’s politics and its unique heritage. Berlin draws people from all over the globe like a moth to a flame…people come here to work, to participate in its scores of festivals and of course to gaze at its museums and monuments that tell a history like no other.

Berlin attracts tourists to its contemporary culture and dynamic nightlife; the city may not traditionally have been a culinary superlative, but today it is ensuring ‘gustatory’ is high on the list. Berlin’s art galleries in beautiful buildings and sunny alleys, its haute couture and its zany street fashion as well as its dynamic gay scene, all are part of the ‘Great Berlin Seduction’ plan. Berliners may present a picture of stuffy austerity, but beneath this aura lies a city that is lighthearted, open and full of zest for life.

This is the city people come to see and this is exactly what they find. With no dearth of places to park themselves in while in the city (options range from luxurious five star hotels to €10 a night hostels with several Bed & Breakfast and ‘Theme hotels’ thrown in for good measure) there is but one thing left to do in Berlin – enjoy the good life. Considered the heart of the country, Berlin has been ravaged and divided by war, usurped by one of the most detested men in the history of the world, split in to two by a wall and finally unified and healed. Today Berlin is a fun place with a child like excitement for life and is marked by a seductive elegance at the same time. Tourists to Berlin find this contrast unique and inviting and so it is no wonder the city is the 3rd most preferred tourist destination in the European Union!

A Turbulent Past

The first humans to settle down in the area were Stone Age Dwellers who most likely found a swampy land at their disposal. This is popularly guessed from the fact that the roots for the word ‘Berlin’ in Old Polabian are ‘Berl’ or ‘Birl’ which means swamp. By European standards, Berlin is a young city with most of its recorded history starting in the 13th century when two towns - Cölln and Berlin were founded by merchants as trading posts in the present day Nikolaiviertel on either side of the river Spree. Political and security reasons motivated the amalgamation of the two towns in 1307 and within a few years’ the new territory started being recognized as Berlin.

Freidrich II is credited with firmly establishing the rule of the Hohenzollen dynasty in Berlin in the 15th century. The Hohenzollen family ruled Berlin first as electors and then as Prussian Kings. During their reign Berlin scaled great heights and became the most important city in the Kingdom when the Elector moved residence here from Brandenburg; the palace near Schlossplatz marks this event.

The Thirty Years’ War reduced the population of the city by great numbers but by the mid -17th century the city had bounced back under the leadership of the Great Elector Freidrich Wilhelm. Where Freidrich Wilhelm promoted benevolent rule and gave asylum to Jews and French Huguenots, his son, Freidrich I, the first Prussian king gave impetus to the city’s growth and developed it as a center for arts and sciences. Later Prussian kings enhanced the beauty and stature of Berlin by encouraging art and architecture, progressive thinkers like Freidrich Nicolai and welcomed the Enlightenment touched in the form of the playwright Gotthold Ephraim Lessing. Berlin was, by this time, known as a powerful and truly international city.

The 19th century Berlin struggled its way out of the French occupation of 1806-13 and the bourgeois democratic revolution of 1848 to welcome the Industrial Revolution spurred on by companies such as Siemens and Borsig. By the time Bismarck had brought on the Unification of Germany, Berlin’s population was nearly 2 million and it already an industrial giant. Post WWI, Berlin saw the rise of the Nazi party and the beginning of the Holocaust. This was the most un-glorious periods in the history of the city and took several decades to shake off. Berlin was one of the worst hit cities in the war that ended WWII as most of the city was bombed out of recognition.

The New Age Berlin

The division of the city into four sectors in 1945, the subsequent emergence of West and East Germany in October 1949 and the construction of the Berlin Wall in August 1961 were rough times for the city. But the spirit of the Berliners’ triumphed with the breaking down of the wall in 1989 and the unification of East and West Germany. Since then this great city hasn’t had any reason to look back at its painful past. It has moved from strength to strength earning the respect of other nations, gaining a prominent position in European politics and developing the city to become a truly futuristic, international city. Viewed as an avant garde in fashion, technology and tourism and famous for its festivals and nightlife, Berlin is one of the most sought after destinations for tourists today.