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The capital of Germany, the city of east and west and a city that is suffering from a shortage of money due to an expensive building programme, especially in the areas where the Wall once stood, The Berlin mayor said: 'Berlin ist arm, aber sexy.' ("Berlin is poor, but sexy.").

Germany's 'new' capital is one of Europe's most influential centres for politics, culture and science. It is home to prominent universities, sporting events, orchestras and museums. This rapidly evolving metropolis enjoys an international reputation for its festivals, contemporary architecture, nightlife and avant-garde arts.

Berlin also serves as an important hub for continental travellers and is a major tourist centre. In addition, the city is home to people from over 180 nations many of whom are attracted by its liberal lifestyle, urban eclecticism and artistic freedom. There are many large hotels offering perfect venue’s for events, conferences, meetings and incentives as well as a wealth of experiences.



Country: Germany
County: Berlin
Language: German
Area: 889 km²
Population: 3.390.000
Time zone: CET
Currency: Euro




In about the year 720 two Slavic tribes settled in the Berlin region. The 'Heveller' settled next to the River Havel with their central settlement in Brandenburg, the name given to the whole territory. And, close to the River Spree in today's district of Berlin Köpenick, the 'Sprewanen' settled. Later, in the early 9th century, the Slavic tribes settled in an area that was recorded in a Latin document as 'Berolina'. The etymology of the name is uncertain but it may be related to the Old Polabian stem ‘berl/birl’ meaning 'swamp'.

In 948 Emperor Otto I the Great established German control over the now largely Slavic inhabitants of the area and founded the dioceses of Havelberg and Brandenburg. In a great uprising the Pagan Slavs wiped out German control from the territory of present day Brandenburg. The monasteries were burned and priests and German officials were killed or expelled. .

During the early part of the 12th century the Saxon German kings re-established control over the now largely Slavic inhabited lands of present day Brandenburg. The Slavic inhabitants of the area were either driven out or became subjects of the German feudal lords. Many Slavic inhabitants survived the conquests and live there still today. Throughout these events the area where Berlin stands today contained small fishing and farming villages.

Around 1200 Cölln and Berlin were founded on the banks of the River Spree. It is possible that Berlin continued using the name of the existing settlement. Cölln may have been a new foundation, since its name (like Köln) represents Latin 'colonia' or 'colony'. Around 1400 Berlin and Cölln had 8,000 inhabitants.

At the beginning of the 15th century, Frederick I became the elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg which he ruled until 1440. Subsequent members of the Hohenzollern family ruled Berlin until 1918, firstly as electors of Brandenburg then as kings of Prussia and finally as German emperors. The area’s main economical activity changed from trade to the production of luxurious goods for the royal court. Berlin expanded greatly in size with the population reaching 20,000 inhabitants. Berlin became significant amongst Central European cities. After inviting French Calvinist Huguenots to Brandenburg, around 20% of the inhabitants of Berlin were French and their cultural influence was important. Many people from Bohemia, Poland and Salzburg also migrated to the area.

In 1701 Friedrich III crowned himself and made Berlin the capital of the Kingdom of Prussia and made Berlin the capital of the new kingdom of Prussia. Later, on 1 January 1710, the cities of Berlin, Cölln, Friedrichswerder, Dorotheenstadt and Friedrichstadt were united as the 'Royal Capital and Residence of Berlin'.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Napoleon came marching through the Brandenburg Gate changing the city greatly in only 8 years. The population grew from 200,000 to 400,000 in the first half of the 19th century making Berlin the fourth largest city in Europe. In 1871, the city became capital of the newly founded German Empire.

Prussia was the dominant factor in the unification of Germany. When the German Empire was established in 1871, Wilhelm I became emperor, Bismarck chancellor and Berlin the capital. In the meantime, Berlin had become an industrial city with 800,000 inhabitants. World War I led to hunger in Berlin. In the winter of 1916/1917 150,000 people were dependent on food aid and there were strikes. When the war ended, Wilhelm II (1888-1918) abdicated. The socialist Philipp Scheidemann at the Reichstag and the communist Karl Liebknecht at the Castle both proclaimed a republic. In the next months Berlin became a battleground between the two political systems. In 1920 the Greater Berlin Act united dozens of suburban cities, villages, and estates around Berlin into a greatly expanded city. After this expansion, Berlin had a population of around 4 million.

But, not all was well. Even before the 1929 economic ‘crash’ 450,000 people were unemployed. In the same year Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party won its first seats in the city parliament. On July 1932 the Prussian government under Otto Braun in Berlin was dismissed by presidential decree. The Republic was nearing its breakdown, under attack by extreme forces from the right and the left. On January 30 1933 Adolf Hitler became Chancellor.

By 1933 some 160,000 Jews were living in Berlin: one third of all German Jews, 4% of the Berlin's population. Many of them were poor immigrants from Eastern Europe who lived mainly in the Scheunenviertel near Alexanderplatz. The Jews were persecuted by the Nazi regime. After the pogrom of Kristallnacht in 1938 thousands of the city's Jews were imprisoned. Around 1939 there were still 75,000 Jews living in Berlin. The majority of German Jews living in the city were taken to the Grunewald Railway Station in early 1943 and shipped to death camps such as Auschwitz where most were murdered in the Holocaust.

In the pre-World War II period Adolf Hitler and his subordinates had great plans to transform Berlin into a centre fit for his new empire. He and his architect, Albert Speer, made plans for the new Berlin, the so-called 'Welthauptstadt Germania'. Construction never started as Hitler decided it would be madness to start such a project during a war. He also thought the Allied airstrikes very practical as they would make demolishing the old Berlin so much cheaper.

On April 30, 1945 Hitler committed suicide in the Führerbunker underneath the Reich Chancellery. Two days later Berlin finally capitulated to the Soviet army. By the end of the Second World War up to 33% of Berlin had been destroyed by concerted Allied air raids and street fighting. Greater Berlin was divided into four sectors by the Allies under the London Protocol of 1944. Berlin's unique situation as a city half-controlled by Western forces in the middle of the Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany made it a natural focal point during the Cold War.

On August 13 1961 the communist East German government started to build the Berlin Wall to physically seperate West and East Berlin. It was a response to massive numbers of East German citizens fleeing into more prosperous West Berlin. The East German government called the Wall the ‘anti-fascist protection wall’.

The Eastern and Western sectors of Berlin were now completely separated. It was possible for Westerners to pass from one to the other only through strictly controlled checkpoints. Much Cold War espionage and counter-espionage took place in Berlin against a backdrop of potential superpower confrontation in which both sides had nuclear weapons set for a range that could hit Germany.

At the 40th anniversary celebration of East Germany in East Berlin in October 1989, guest of honour Mikhail Gorbachev gave a speech indicating that he would not support hard-line positions by the East German regime. Many millions of East German citizens were trying to flee to West Germany across the weakening Iron Curtain in Hungary and Czechoslovakia. On 9 November 1989, after a misleading press statement by Politburo member Günter Schabowski, border guards gave in and allowed crowds from East Berlin across the frontier at the Bösebrücke. The guards believed that the authorities had decided to open the wall, but in reality no firm decision was taken and events gathered steam on their own. The East German leadership was in disarray following the resignation of party chieftain Erich Honecker that October.

People of East and West Berlin climbed up and danced on the wall at the Brandenburg Gate in scenes of wild celebration broadcast worldwide. This time no Soviet tanks rolled through Berlin. The wall never closed again, and was soon on its way to demolition with countless Berliners and tourists wielding hammers and chisels to secure souvenir chunks.

On Christmas Day1989 the American conductor Leonard Bernstein shared with East and West Berliners and the world his performance of Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’ (which he had reworded ‘Ode to Freedom’) during his unforgettable Berlin Celebration Concert to celebrate the Fall of the Berlin Wall. After the breakdown of Communism in Europe, on 3 October 1990, Germany and Berlin were both reunited. By then the Wall had been almost completely demolished with only small sections remaining. In June 1991 the German Parliament, the Bundestag, voted to move the (West) German capital back from Bonn to Berlin. Berlin once more became the capital of a unified Germany.