A Trip Through the History of a Capital
There are places that are of such historical significance that it makes you
hold your breath and contemplate. Berlin is such a place. The city has played
a vital role in many of the worldwide political happenings of the 20th century,
and has been the place of both unbelievable sadness as well as boundless joy.
The cruel, inhuman regime of the Nazi, the splitting of the country into the
Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, the cold war,
the fall of the Berlin Wall, reunion of Germany and the crumbling of the Eastern
Bloc - Berlin was often right in the center of the events that marked the 20th
century.
When you stroll through the city today, these historical traces can still be
witnessed in many places. The markation line of the former Berlin wall runs
through the city, with original remnants of the wall being visible in some places.
Museums decicated to the devision of Berlin and Germany can be visited and provide
a shocking glimpse into the life on both sides of the wall between 1961 and
1989. There are places of interest at former border crossings, most famously
the “Checkpoint Charlie” at Friedrichstraße. In the eastern
part of Berlin, you can still see countless traces of the former GDR, in architecture,
sculptures, remnants on literally every street corner. Travelling through the
city is like travelling through German history.
And then there is the new Berlin. After the reunion, and especially after Berlin
has become the German capital in 1990, the face of the city changed drastically,
and still continues to do so. In many cases, the new developments refer to the
city's split past. The impressive row of buildings in the new parliament district
- just north of the renovated Reichstag with it's new glass dome - form a line
called “Band des Bundes” (“Ribbon of Government”), which
crosses the river Spree twice, and in this crosses the former border between
East and West Berlin which was located along the river at this place, thus symbolically
linking both parts of the city - and Germany.
At Potsdamer Platz, just a few blocks south of the parliament district - passing
by the famous Brandenburg Gate and the exceptional new “Memorial for the
Murdered Jews in Europe” - an entirely new quarter was built right on
the former border. During the splitting of the city, this area was a no man's
land between East and West Berlin. After the reunion, a new quarter arose from
these fields, which today forms a new city center and attracts countless people
each day - inhabitants and visitors alike. Impressive high-rise buildings gather
around the large plaza, on which the former line of the Berlin Wall is marked.
Despite the cosmopolitan atmosphere and all the new developments that are happening,
you can still feel the spirit of a difficult century in Berlin. Walking through
the city, especially when you pay attention to the signs and remnants of the
past and learn from the information provided at key points, you just can't help
feeling a bit dizzy from everything that this city has gone through. And this
key to the Berlin experience: A visit to the city is a trip into the past of
this country, and you take home something a lot more valuable than the usual
holiday impressions (and sounvenirs): A free lesson in history and a deep insight
into the past century.
. . . . .
Watch out for photos of my Berlin trip at Daily
and Fotocommunity,
and of course the Photography
Portfolio
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