Tearing Down the Wall

Transcription

1 Tearing Down the Wall A Guide to Berlin Second Edition

2 City Travel Review (CTR) 2014 First published 2013 as Tearing Down the Wall Revised second edition published 2014 as Tearing Down the Wall: A Guide to Berlin, Second Edition Published by City Travel Review and Motion Placements Ltd (CTR Projects), The Old School, Fivehead, Taunton, Somerset, TA3 6PQ, England, UK. Registered in Scotland: SC Registered office: Main Street, Longniddry, East Lothian, EH32 0NF, Scotland. VAT Registration number: All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored on a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the copyright owner. Re-issued with Sarah Harding s revisions in The writers have made every effort to make sure the information in this travel guide is as up-to-date as possible at the time of going to press. However, some information is liable to change, like opening times, prices and travel information. The writers and publishers cannot accept any responsibility for any consequences arising from the use of this guide, nor for any information or consequences arising from third party websites. The writers and publishers cannot guarantee that any website address in this travel guide will be a suitable source of travel information. Assessments of attractions, hostels, restaurants and so forth are based upon the writer s own experience and therefore descriptions given in this guide necessarily contain an element of subjective opinion that may not reflect the publishers and other named writers opinions or dictate a reader s own experience on other occasions. The writers have not accepted any advertising in this guide book, nor has anyone accepted payment in exchange for listing or endorsing any place or business. The writers did not accept discounts or payment in exchange for positive coverage of any sort.

3 Tearing Down the Wall A Guide to Berlin Second Edition

4 2 WRITERS: Marlene BALDEWEG-RAU, Andrew BARROWCLOUGH, Charlie BOYDELL-SMITH, Toni COOPER, Sarah HARDING, Beth HARMSTON, Rania MOUZAKITI, Rachel NOLAN, Jacinta RICHARDS, Patrick SMITH, Mayanne SORET and Alex TOROCHKINA PHOTOGRAPHERS: Marlene BALDEWEG-RAU, Andrew BARROWCLOUGH, Charlie BOYDELL-SMITH, Toni COOPER, Sarah HARDING, Beth HARMSTON, Rania MOUZAKITI, Rachel NOLAN, Jacinta RICHARDS, Patrick SMITH, Mayanne SORET and Alex TOROCHKINA EDITORS: Andrew BARROWCLOUGH, Toni COOPER, Sarah HARDING, Beth HARMSTON, Rania MOUZAKITI, Jacinta RICHARDS and Patrick SMITH CREATIVE TEAM: Marlene BALDEWEG-RAU, Rachel NOLAN and Mayanne SORET LAYOUT TEAM: Marlene BALDEWEG-RAU, Sarah HARDING, Rachel NOLAN, Jacinta RICHARDS and Patrick SMITH

5 Contents 3 Introduction 5 History 6 Transport 10 Hints and Tips 13 Berlin s Districts 14 Berlin in a Day 16 On Tour 18 Museums and Galleries 24 Museums 25 Galleries 38 Sights and Monuments 43 Sights 52 Monuments 68 Eats and Treats 74 Cafés 75 Fast Food 85 Restaurants 89 Retail Therapy 95 Books and Music 96 Confectioneries 100 High Street 104 Markets 107 Vintage 114 Fresh Air 116 Get Active 119 Parks and Gardens 124 After Dark 130 Bars 137 Brewery 144 Clubbing 145 Concerts and Festivals 151 Entertainment 153 Sleep 155 Key Information 162 Learn the Language 166 Travellers Checklist 180 Notes 182 Meet the Team 184 Index 188

6 4

7 5 Tearing Down the Wall A Guide to Berlin Introduction Techno, the Cold War, doner kebabs, street art, Hitler, museums, galleries, clubs, bears, architecture and the Wall. Berlin is a city synonymous with so many miscellaneous and diverse ingredients. The co-existence of so many different cultural elements makes this city truly a one-off. You have in your hands the most important item you will need during your stay in Berlin. We have aimed this guide at travellers on a budget but have not sacrificed on quality. All the hard work has been done for you: all the main hotspots are covered but we have also searched the city to find the most quirky and memorable places to make your stay unique. Armed with just 20, you can eat like a king and still have enough leftover change to create a night out and hangover to remember. Berlin has a split personality. Each of the twelve districts has their own distinct character and appeal. The practical information for each article is colour-coded so you can easily trace it back to which area the place is to be found. Berlin is abundant with history and culture but is not the richest of Germany s cities. Money, however, is certainly not everything. In the words of Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit in 2004, Berlin is poor but sexy. Charlie BOYDELL-SMITH

8 6 History Introduction Officially tracing its foundation back to 1237, Berlin has since been at the heart of much of German history. The city has had a rich history over its 776 years, becoming the capital of Prussia in 1701 and the capital of a unified Germany in However, it is the twentieth century that has defined modern Germany and the city of Berlin. The Failure of the Weimar Republic and Rise of the Third Reich By the time the Armistice was signed on 11 November 1918, Germany was not only a defeated nation, but also a changed one. Kaiser Wilhelm II fled to the Netherlands and a republic was declared. However, this brief experiment with democracy was doomed to failure. Poor decision making and the difficult post-war circumstances combined to undermine the republic. The 1919 Treaty of Versailles almost exclusively blamed Germany for the war through the infamous War Guilt Clause, a somewhat narrow-minded view of the truth that angered many Germans. The resulting reparations put the last nail in the coffin of Germany s already crippled economical situation. Struggling to kick-start the economy, the government continued to print money, leading to hyper-inflation. Money became worthless and bank notes were stamped over to increase the values by thousands. The Wall Street crash of 1929 brought further misery after a few brief stable years. By the start of 1933 unemployment had hit one in three of the working population. In these dark times democracy failed and people turned to an extreme solution.

9 The Third Reich Hitler became Chancellor on 30 January 1933 and so began the bleakest period in German history. Through his skilled oratory and the targeted use of propaganda, such as the many mass parades that took place in the centre of Berlin, Hitler told the people what they wanted to hear in these difficult times. He would make the nation great once more, fight some of the harsher terms of the Versailles Treaty and lead the way to prosperity. Instead, by the time of his suicide on 30 April 1945 he had plunged Europe into six years of war that had cost the lives of 73 million people, and overseen the genocide of more than 10 million Jews, disabled people, The Reichstag (parliament) witnessed some of the most ferocious fighting in WWII. History prisoners of war, homosexuals, political prisoners and Gypsies. In fact, it was at Lake Wannsee, just west of Berlin, where the Final Solution was co-ordinated in January By the end of the war Berlin had become the centre of fighting. The Red Army closed in from the East and the British and Americans from the West. The Reichstag (parliament) witnessed some of the most ferocious fighting, the Soviets sacrificing thousands of lives in order to capture the building and plant their flag upon the top as a symbol of the defeat of the Third Reich. The building itself was a ruin by the end and barely recognisable, as were many other Berlin landmarks. A Divided City With the end of the war and the defeat of the Nazis, Germany and Berlin were divided up among the Allies. In the West the Federal Republic of Germany was founded in May 1949, in the East the German Democratic Republic (GDR) by October of the same year. Berlin had become a strategic battlefield of the Cold War. An Iron Curtain had descended across Europe with Germany at the centre. Initially the curtain was purely metaphorical, but overnight on 13 August 1961 it 7

10 8 History became a physical reality. The GDR closed the border between East and West Berlin and started to build the defining feature of the city in the second half of the twentieth century. The Berlin Wall represented the divide not just between two halves of a city, but between two ways of life. West Berlin was part of a prospering capitalist economy, whereas those in the East faced lower living standards and a lack of freedom. However, by the late 1980s the USSR and the Eastern Bloc was beginning to crumble, a process that would produce some of the most memorable scenes of the last century. Unification and the Future As the Soviet Union s influence in the East diminished, change started to envelop the GDR. Protests became a frequent occurrence and in particular the refusal of the authorities to use force to suppress protests at Leipzig on 9 October 1989 gave them legitimacy. A month later on 9 November 1989, the world stopped and watched as the Berlin Wall perhaps the greatest symbol of the Cold War came down as quickly as it had gone up. By 3 October 1990, the GDR was consigned to history. It would take some time for true unification to be achieved, as never before had a communist economy been merged with a capitalist one. By the beginning of the new millennium, many areas in the East were indistinguishable from the West. After unification Berlin went from strength to strength and, in fact, areas in what used to be East Berlin have become the heart of the city. The one time crossing place between East and West at Friedrichstrasse station has returned to its old form, with the waiting rooms to cross the border turned into shops and fast food joints, leaving few signs of the past. Nevertheless, remnants of the city s past still exist. Bronze plaques on the pavements signify where Jews, who were persecuted under the Nazi regime, used to live. There are Soviet memorials to the fallen soldiers in Tiergarten and Treptower Park, which are relics to a different world, and then the transparent dome of the Reichstag symbolises the new democracy Germany has become in comparison to the past. As a result, Berlin is both a thriving modern city as well as one with perhaps the most interesting history in the world.

11 1237 Berlin officially founded 1517 Martin Luther nails his 95 theses on university chapel door. Beginning of the Reformation in Europe Thirty Years War 1701 Frederick I declares himself King of Prussia, Berlin becomes capital city Unter den Linden is completed Brandenburg Gate is finished Napoleon and his army march through Berlin and the Brandenburg Gate. He steals statue of Victoria (on top) Berlin s first university, Humboldt, opens on Unter den Linden French rule of Prussia ends with victory in War of Sixth Coalition, statue of Victoria restored.1844 Zoologischer Garten opens as Germany s first zoo German unification. Wilhelm I of Prussia becomes emperor. Berlin becomes capital of German Reich Population tops 1million First U-Bahn line goes into operation KaDaWe, Berlin s premier department store, History 9 opens WWI begins WWI ends. Wilhelm II flees to the Netherlands, Weimar Republic begins Treaty of Versailles signed Hyperinflation hits. Money becomes virtually worthless Hitler becomes Chancellor and then Führer Berlin Olympics. Jesse Owens wins four gold medals Berlin s 700th anniversary Anschluss ( connection ) with Austria 1939 WWII begins Germany invades Russia (Operation Barbarossa) At Lake Wannsee the Final Solution is co-ordinated D-Day Landings Red Army enters Berlin. Hitler commits suicide. Germany surrenders. Potsdam Conference Churchill first talks of Iron Curtain Berlin Airlift Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and German Democratic Republic (GDR) created. East Berlin becomes capital of GDR Uprising in GDR smashed by Soviet troops Khruschev demands withdrawal of Western Allies from Berlin Berlin wall created Kennedy gives his famous Ich bin ein Berliner speech East and West Germany join the UN, both formally recognise each other Reagan demands Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall! 1989 Berlin Wall falls End of GDR. Germany and Berlin officially unified Bundestag returns to the Reichstag Angela Merkel becomes Chancellor FIFA World Cup final played at Berlin s Olympic Stadium Usain Bolt smashes 100m and 200m World Records at Berlin Olympic Stadium Patrick SMITH