Basic Overview
Berlin is located in the heart of Europe, the crossroads of East and West. The city covers an area of 883 square kilometers, of which parks, forests, lakes and rivers account for about one-fourth of the total area of the city, and the whole city is surrounded by forests and meadows, just like a big green island. The population is about 3.39 million.
Berlin has been the capital of the "Germanic Empire" since the Prussian dynasty in the 19th century. Berlin became a trading town as early as the 13th century and developed into a local political, economic and cultural center in the 17th century. Before World War II, it was the capital and largest city of Germany. After the war, East and West Berlin went their separate ways and developed separately, and in 1990, with the reunification of the two German states, Berlin ended the situation of one city and two systems and became the capital of Germany again. Berlin is a major transportation hub in Eastern and Western Europe, less than 200 kilometers from the Baltic Sea to the north and from the Czech Republic to the south.
Berlin's economy and culture are very well developed. A bird's eye view of Berlin, surrounded by forests, lakes and rivers, the city seems to be immersed in a sea of green. The Spree River flows gently through the city from the south. The Alexanderplatz TV tower, surrounded by modern hotels, stores, conference halls, teachers' halls and other large buildings, majestic, beautiful shape. The Kurfürstendamm shopping street is 3 kilometers long and is lined with stores, clothing stores and galleries. The famous Bodhi Tree Street is the most famous boulevard in Europe.
In addition, the Brandenburg Gate made of milky white granite, the 800-year-old Church of Our Lady, the City Hall, the old buildings on Museum Island, the "Crystal Palace" **** and the State Officials, the Humboldt University, etc. are also very famous. The old Charlotte Castle Palace is surrounded by important cultural buildings such as the Egyptian Museum, the Museum of Antiquities, the Museum of Early Prehistory and the Museum of Applied Arts, which houses many valuable artifacts and works of art. The old Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church is directly flanked by the octagonal Neue Chapel, and the silver-colored, clamshell-roofed Congress Hall, inaugurated in 1957, is one of the masterpieces of modern architecture.
Berlin is also one of the world's most important cultural and academic venues, with a modern international conference center. The biennial Berlin International Film Festival also attracts world-class movie stars and film lovers.
Natural Climate
The city of Berlin is located in northeastern Germany on the lowland plains, with an average elevation of less than 70 meters above sea level, and a high latitude, resulting in cooler temperatures throughout the year. However, Berlin is considered to be very beautiful even when it is freezing cold and the lakes are frozen over, although there is no doubting that it is a good city for summer tourism. It is best to avoid traveling in the winter because the winter-like Berlin begins to warm up in May, and after September, the city begins to enter the "winter", so it's best to avoid traveling in the winter.
Berlin's climate is characterized by a transition between a temperate maritime climate and a temperate continental climate, with an average annual temperature of 9.4 degrees Celsius. Winters are colder, with an average temperature of -1°C in January; summers are cooler, with an average temperature of 18°C in July. The annual precipitation is 580 millimeters, which is evenly distributed during the year, but there is slightly more rain in summer. In winter, there is often snowfall, snowfall accounts for about 1/4 ~ 1 / 5 of the total annual precipitation. 50 days of average annual snow period.
Geography
Located in North Germany on the moraine plain, the terrain is low and slightly undulating, the average elevation of 35 meters. The highest natural point is located in Croizburg, 66 meters above sea level. Spree River runs through the city, west into the Havre River. The latter meanders, forming a string of Havre lakes, the eastern end of the distribution of Lake Miguel and other lakes, large lakes become the city's water source, there are several large forests distributed among them. Because of the many forests, lakes, known as "forests and lakes of the capital".
History
Duchy of Brandenburg
Berlin is a very old city. It began as a swampy area northeast of the Elbe with two settlements of West Slavic tribes with the names Berlin and C?lln. It was not until the 12th century, after the Germans had expelled the Slavs who had settled there, that the two villages and towns were established on the banks of the Spree and followed their Slavic names. Berlin, founded in 1237, was located on the east bank of the Spree and was a settlement of merchants, and Korn, on the west bank of the Spree, was a fishing village.
In 1307, Berlin and Koln were united as a single city under the name Berlin, which became an important commercial center under the Aska family, and in the 14th century Berlin joined the Hanseatic League, an important commercial alliance between the Baltic and northern Europe. But at this time Berlin was just a barbaric town on the frontier of the Holy Roman Empire.
In 1411, Frederick, a Hohenzollern from southwestern Germany, became governor of the border (Markgraf), quelled the wars in the region, and became Elector of Brandenburg. From 1415, Berlin became the capital of the Elector of Brandenburg, and from 1640 to 1688, Frederick William I (the Great Elector) created a cultural and artistic boom in Berlin with the construction of the Imperial Palace, the Armory, the Chapel, and the Potsdam Palace, earning Berlin the reputation of being the "Athens on the Spree".
The Kingdom of Prussia
In 1701, Elector Frederick I was crowned King of Prussia, and Berlin became the capital of the Kingdom of Prussia. Beginning with Frederick William I and Frederick the Great in the 18th century, Berlin built a large number of baroque and rococo buildings to the west of the medieval old town, forming the new town known as Friedrichstadt. On its western border are three squares and gates: Pariser Platz und Brandenburger Tor, Leipzig Platz und Potsdam Tor, and Belle-Alliance Platz und Hallesches Tor. Hallesches Tor).
Berlin was occupied by Austrian and Russian forces during the Seven Years' War and by French forces in 1806. Although the city was not badly damaged, Napoleon ordered the carriage of Victory on the Brandenburg Gate to be removed and shipped back to France, where it was returned only in 1814.
Beginning in the early 19th century, Berlin was again greatly expanded. The architects Langhans and Schinkel built numerous neoclassical monuments, such as the State Theater, the Museum of the Ancient World, the National Gallery, the Brandenburg Gate, the Lime Tree Street, and the museum buildings on Museum Island: the Old Museum, the New Museum, the National Gallery, the Pagamonium, and the Museum of the Emperor Frederick. For this reason, Berlin has earned the name "Athens on the Spree".
On the other hand, the Prussian royal garden director Linnaeus made excellent planning for Berlin's urban greening, the construction of the Berlin Zoo as the center of the large-scale urban green belt, the construction of the Berlin "East-West Axis" by the linden street and Charlottenburg Street, connecting the eastern government district of Berlin with the western business and garden districts. garden area in the west.
In 1810, the University of Berlin was founded. From 1837 onwards, Prussia began the process of industrialization, with the establishment of factories such as Siemens in Berlin, which was also the scene of an uprising during the 1848 revolution.
The period of the German Empire
In 1862, Bismarck was appointed prime minister by William I. In 1871, Berlin became the capital of the German Empire, and the Reichstag was built in 1894 by the architect Valot.
By the beginning of the 20th century, Berlin had reached the level of London, New York and Paris in terms of industry, economy and city building, and had become another world political, economic and cultural center. During this period Berlin built a large number of roads, bridges, subways and station buildings, luxury office buildings and commercial and residential districts, and in 1900 its population had reached 2.7 million.
Weimar*** and the State
World War I did not bring serious damage to Berlin, but in 1919 Berlin erupted into a workers' uprising and civil war. 1920 saw the Kapp riots. On April 27 of the same year, Berlin was merged with eight surrounding towns and 59 villages to form "Greater Berlin," whose population doubled overnight to 4 million. While suffering from the economic crisis of the 1920s, Berlin also entered a period of new ideas and new art, which became known as Berlin's "Golden Age of Art".
The Third Reich
On January 30, 1933, Hitler became chancellor of Germany. On Feb. 27, 1933, the Reichstag was set on fire, and in 1936, Berlin hosted the 16th Olympic Games, which Nazi Germany used as a showcase for itself, and in 1938, Kristallnacht was marked by vandalism and looting of Jewish property in the city.
With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Hitler fantasized about making Berlin the capital of his European empire after the war, renaming it Germania. His royal architect, Speer, designed a huge sand table model for the site.
Late in World War II, the city was devastated by Allied air raids and the Soviet Red Army's offensive, and on November 22, 1943, the Royal Air Force dispatched 764 bombers to launch the "Battle of Berlin," a massive bombing raid on the city, destroying the city from Tiergarten and Charlottenburg in the east to Spandau and Siemensburg in the west, Tiergarten and Charlottenburg in the east and Spandau and Siemensstadt in the west. From November 1943 to February 1944, the "Battle of Berlin" launched 13 large-scale air raids on Berlin, of which nine were over 500 planes in size, destroying one-fourth of Berlin's city center, the four suburbs, and more than 150 electrical, munitions, communications equipment, and bearing factories within the city, killing more than 10,000 people, and making 1.5 million people homeless. and made 1.5 million people homeless. Ninety percent of the city's buildings were destroyed, all the trees were cut down and the water and electricity systems were damaged.
On April 16, 1945, the Soviet Red Army mobilized 22,000 artillery pieces and 10 groups from the Belarusian Front to begin a general offensive against Berlin. on May 1, the Soviet Red Army's flag was planted at the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag. on May 8, Germany surrendered.
The Cold War period
With the Allied victory in World War II, not only Germany, but also Berlin, was divided into two parts according to the administrative boundaries of pre-war Berlin - East Berlin, controlled by the Soviet Union (which encompassed twelve of the twenty-three districts of the pre-war period), and West Berlin, controlled by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. West Berlin controlled by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. Berlin became a rallying point for the Soviet-American Cold War.
In 1948, the Soviet Union launched a six-month blockade of Berlin to oppose Allied currency reforms in western Germany and to force the Allies to withdraw from the city. The Allies thwarted the Soviet attempt with the Berlin Airlift.
On June 17, 1953, workers in East Berlin rose up in protest against the declining standard of living, which was soon suppressed by Soviet troops.
On November 10, 1958, Khrushchev declared that the Big Four's occupation of Berlin was obsolete, demanded that the United States, Britain, and France withdraw their troops from West Berlin, and said that within six months West Berlin should become a "free city" to which the Soviets could have free access. "free city."
As a result of the massive influx of East German residents into West Berlin and West Germany through the undefended Berlin Demarcation Line, the Berlin Wall was built in East Germany on August 13, 1961.On October 25, American tanks drove up to Checkpoint Charlie, south of Friedrichstrasse, and attempted to enter East Berlin, where they were confronted by Soviet tanks 90 meters away for 16 hours. Since then Berlin has been at the forefront of the ideological crossfire between East and West.
Because of all the historical problems and systemic flaws, in 1989, the people of the Eastern European countries launched a general protest against socialism and the ****-producer regimes.Late in the night of November 9, 1989, East Germany was forced to announce the opening of the Berlin Wall.On October 3, 1990, Germany was re-united, and there were big celebrations in Berlin. The Berlin Wall was dismantled.
In 1991, the German parliament voted to move the capital from Bonn back to Berlin by the year 2000. Since then Berlin has embarked on a massive rebuilding effort. A new Reichstag and Chancellery were built to the north of the Reichstag building. Potsdamer Platz, formerly a mine-strewn cordon sanitaire at the foot of the Berlin Wall, has re-emerged as Berlin's commercial center. Germany had regained its position as the cultural and economic center of Europe.
Administrative divisions
Berlin was originally divided into 23 districts, and in January 2001 an administrative reform merged the 23 districts into 12 districts (Bezirke). Each district was further subdivided into subdistricts (Stadtteile), which represent traditional urbanized localities. The reorganization of local governments continued after the administrative reform. Today, the 12 districts of Berlin comprise 96 local authorities, each of which is made up of a number of streets (Kiez).
The 12 districts of Berlin have their own district councils (Bezirksamt), with five councillors (Bezirksstadtr?te) and a mayor (Bezirksbürgermeister). The members of the district council are elected by the district assembly (Bezirksverordnetenversammlung). However, the districts of the city of Berlin are not independent metropolises, as the district authorities have limited powers and are subordinate to the Berlin senators. The district governors of each district are grouped together as the Council of District Governors and are led by the Mayor of the City of Berlin, who advises the Senator of Berlin.
Districts did not have their own governments.
Population
Total population (2006/11) 3,405,000
Population density 3,818/km? (9,889/mi?)
Urban area 3,700,000
Metropolitan area 4,262,480
Economic overview
Berlin is Germany's major industrial region. Industry is most developed in electrical machinery, electronics, instruments and meters, followed by machinery, metallurgy, chemicals, clothing, food processing, printing and other sectors. Industry is mostly distributed in the urban fringe of the Spandau District, Charlottenburg District, Kreutzberg District, Tempelhof District and K?ppernick District, Treptow and other industrial areas. Agricultural land makes up a considerable portion of Berlin's area, supplying it with vegetables, fruits, flowers, etc., and serving as a distribution center for wheat, oats, and other agricultural products produced in the nearby areas, especially in the eastern hinterland. Transportation is well-developed, with major transportation arteries such as the Ring Railway and the Autobahn, and intersections with several railroads, plus air corridors that provide easy access to major cities throughout the country and in other European countries.
Transportation network
Berlin is an internationally renowned, densely populated city and a tourist destination. However, there is no traffic at all, the reason being that private cars don't usually leave the city. People either take the subway, light rail, public ****cars or bicycles. Berlin has 10 subways and 15 light railways, with loops and a lot of crossings radiating outwards, weaving a large network, which is well connected and constitutes one of the largest transportation networks in Europe. Vehicle intervals are short, and there are electronic alerts at all times as to which bus is a few minutes away. To Berlin, most people take the train in, take the train out, do not take a cab, directly by subway, change the light rail, very convenient. So, the environment and sky in Berlin is relatively clear.
Sightseeing tours
Berlin's economy and culture are very developed. A bird's eye view of Berlin, which is surrounded by forests, lakes and rivers, the city seems to be immersed in a sea of green, and the Spree River flows gently through the city from the south. Alexanderplatz TV tower, surrounded by modern hotels, stores, conference halls, teachers' halls and other large buildings, majestic, beautiful shape. The Kurfürstendamm shopping street is 3 kilometers long and is lined with stores, clothing stores and galleries. The famous Bodhi Tree Street is the most famous boulevard in Europe. In addition, the Brandenburg Gate made of milky white granite, the 800-year-old Frauenkirche, the Town Hall, the old buildings on Museum Island, the "Crystal Palace "*** and the State Palace, Humboldt University and so on are also very famous. Around the old Charlottenburg Palace are important cultural buildings such as the Egyptian Museum, the Museum of Antiquities, the Museum of Early Prehistory and the Museum of Applied Arts, which contain many valuable artifacts and works of art. An octagonal new church was built directly to the side of the old Emperor Wilhelm Memorial Church, and the silver-colored, clamshell-roofed Congress Hall, completed in 1957, is one of the masterpieces of modern architecture.
Southwest of the city's Mitte district stands the Brandenburg Gate, a triumphal arch that was once the symbol of Berlin. Built in 1791, it is entirely of cream-colored granite, with a bronze statue of Victory at the top. To the east of the Brandenburg Gate stretches the Lindenstrasse, a 1.2 km long, 60 m wide boulevard lined with palaces and modern buildings. Wilhelmstrasse, which runs from north to south through Limburgerstrasse, was once the center of Hitler's government. To the east is Alexanderplatz, with its new office buildings, the former seat of the East Berlin City Council. Next to it is the magnificent **** and the State Palace, the exterior of which is entirely inlaid with giant special glass, the building in which the former GDR People's Chamber held its meetings. To the west of the Brandenburg Gate lies the Reichstag building of the past, which has been partially restored. To the west of the West Tiergarten stands the Parliament building, completed in 1957, one of the masterpieces of modern architecture, where hundreds of international conferences have been held. At the western end of the district is the Berlin Zoo, which was built in 1841 and houses many valuable animals, making it one of the largest zoos in the world. To the southwest of the Tiergarten district stretches the Kurfürstendamm boulevard, lined with modern stores. The Berlin Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum, built in the 17th century as a royal garden, was rebuilt after World War II. In the western part of the city there are large lakes and forests along the Havre River. To the north of the city is the Olympic Stadium, which was built in 1936 for the 11th Olympic Games and is surrounded by more than 100 hectares of swimming pools, ice hockey rinks, tennis courts and racecourses. The city is also home to the Humboldt University (founded in 1809), the Free University, the Academy of Arts, museums, libraries and the Opera House, among other cultural facilities. Due to its special history and pleasant landscape, tourism is well developed.
Famous attractions: Berlin Central Station, Museum Island, German Chancellery, German Museum of Science and Technology, National Museum of Germany, Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate, June 17th Street, Bodhi Tree Street, Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin TV Tower, Potsdamer Platz, Imperial Platz, St. Hedwig's Cathedral, Berlin Cathedral, Nicola's Quarter, Alexanderplatz, Berlin Zoo, Electoral Street, Charlottenburg Palace, the Jewish Museum of Berlin, East Berlin, West Berlin, Notre Dame Teaching, City Hall, **** and the State Palace, Kaiser Wilhelm's Memorial Church, the Hall of Benevolence, etc.
Literature, sports and education
Berlin is located in the East and West of Europe's major transportation routes. The city of Berlin seems to be immersed in a sea of green, the Spree River flows gently through the city from the south, and Prussian-style old buildings and modern commercial skyscrapers blend together. Berlin is being rebuilt as a "city of culture" with three opera houses, an entire major orchestra, dozens of theaters and countless world-class museums. Berlin's architecture is colorful and spectacular. That is to say, there is the baroque style of the splendid Friedrichplatz, there is the neoclassical style of the Schenkel Theater, both opulent palaces, as well as world-renowned modern architectural school works. Berlin is a city of culture, with cultural festivals taking place almost year-round.
Culture
Berlin has numerous opera houses, theaters and orchestras. There are also a large number of movie theaters, nightclubs and dance clubs.
Deutsche Oper Berlin
State Opera (Deutsche Staatsoper)
Komische Oper
Berliner Ensemble
Theater Berlin （Schauspielhaus Berlin
Berliner Philharmoniker
Sports
List of sports teams in Berlin: HafenCity Berlin (Bundesliga soccer league)
Berlin was the successful host of the Olympic Games in 1936.
Education
Berlin has four relatively famous universities:
Free University of Berlin
Humboldt University
Technical University of Berlin
University of the Arts Berlin
Famous personalities
Karl Friedrich Schenkel
Johann Gottfried Schadow ( Johann Gottfried Schadow)
Wilhelm von Humboldt
Alexander von Humboldt
Kurt Tuchowsky
Marlena Dietrich
Bertolt Brecht
Ehrlich Misam
Walter Gropes
Adolf Hitler
Sister Cities
Los Angeles, USA (1967)
Paris, France (1987)
Madrid, Spain (1988)
Istanbul, Turkey (1989)
Moscow, Russia (1990)
Warsaw, Poland ( 1991)
Budapest, Hungary (1991)
Brussels, Belgium (1992)
Jakarta, Indonesia (1993)
Tashkent, Uzbekistan (1993)
Mexico City, Mexico (1993)
Beijing, China (1994)
Tokyo, Japan (1994)
Buenos Aires, Argentina (1994)
Prague, Czech Republic (1995)
Windhoek, Namibia (2000)
London, England (2000)
The United Kingdom (2000)