Cultural Berlin

The Reichstag officially: Deutscher Bundestag - Plenarbereich Reichstagsgebäude pronounced is a historical edifice in Berlin, constructed to house the Imperial Diet (German: Reichstag) of the German Empire. It was opened in 1894 and housed the Diet until 1933, when it was severely damaged after being set on fire. After World War II, the building fell into disuse.

A place of contemplation, a place of remembrance and warning. Close to the Brandenburg Gate in the heart of Berlin, you will find the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. In 1999, after lengthy debates, the German parliament decided to establish a central memorial site, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. The competition to design it was won by the New York architect Peter Eisenman. The memorial was ceremonially opened in 2005.

Between 1933 and 1945, the central institutions of Nazi persecution and terror – the Secret State Police Office with its own “house prison,” the leadership of the SS and, during the Second World War, the Reich Security Main Office – were located on the present-day grounds of the “Topography of Terror” that are next to the Martin Gropius Building and close to Potsdamer Platz.

The Haus der Kulturen der Welt ("House of the World's Cultures") in Berlin is Germany's national center for the presentation and discussion of international contemporary arts, with a special focus on non-European cultures and societies. It presents art exhibitions, theater and dance performances, concerts, author readings, films and academic conferences on Visual Art and culture. It is one of the few institutions which, due to their national and international standing and the quality of their work, receive funding from the federal government as so-called "lighthouses of culture."

In Normannenstraße, to the east of Berlin city centre, you'll find the Stasi Museum, formerly home of the Ministry of State Security. In this building you can discover how the Stasi operates and take a look at their original technology such as bugs, hidden cameras and weapons. The main attraction is the office of Erich Mielke, Minister of State Security and head of the Stasi from 1957 to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The second floor of the building remains untouched since the days of the Stasi, complete with desks, chairs and filing cabinets.

It’s a strange feeling to come into a dark, half-blasted bunker, see parts of stairways and cables hanging out of the wall and walk through rubble in between holes that go several meters down into the ground. It’s eye-opening to crouch down in an air raid bunker and experience how it must have felt when the situation was for real. These are just a couple of examples of the unique experiences offered at Berliner Unterwelten (Subterranean Berlin).

The Berlinische Galerie is one of the newest museums in the capital and collects art created in Berlin from 1870 to the present, combining a local focus with an international appeal. Founded in 1975, this museum operated by the state of Berlin opened its own building in 2004 in a 4,600 m2 converted industrial building around the corner from the newly opened Jewish Museum.

The Brandenburg Gate, a monumental gate built in the eighteenth century as a symbol of peace, is Berlin's most famous landmark. During the Cold War, when the gate was located right near the border between East and West Berlin, it became a symbol of a divided city. But when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, the Brandenburg Gate instantly became the symbol of a reunified Berlin. The Brandenburg Gate is situated at the end of Unter den Linden, a grand boulevard that cuts through the center of Berlin. The gate was originally part of a wall surrounding Berlin and was the main entrance to the city. It is the only gate that remains of this former city wall.

The Gendarmenmarkt is a square in Berlin and the site of an architectural ensemble including the Konzerthaus (concert hall) and the French and German Churches. In the centre of the square stands a monumental statue of Germany's renowned poet Friedrich Schiller. The square was created by Johann Arnold Nering at the end of the seventeenth century as the Linden-Markt and reconstructed by Georg Christian Unger in 1773. The Gendarmenmarkt is named after the cuirassier regiment Gens d'Armes, which had stables at the square until 1773. During World War II, most of the buildings were badly damaged or destroyed. Today all of them have been restored.

With 500 ha of parks and 150 buildings constructed between 1730 and 1916, Potsdam's complex of palaces and parks forms an artistic whole, whose eclectic nature reinforces its sense of uniqueness. It extends into the district of Berlin-Zehlendorf, with the palaces and parks lining the banks of the River Havel and Lake Glienicke. Voltaire stayed at the Sans-Souci Palace, built under Frederick II between 1745 and 1747. Immerse yourself in the history and present time of the former royal capital and garrison town with its many palaces, gardens, and historic quarters. Be inspired by the illustrious attractions of the Unesco World Heritage while underway on a round tour of the city.

Teufelsberg is a man-made hill in Berlin, Germany, in the Grunewald locality of former West Berlin. It rises about 80 metres (260 ft) above the surrounding Teltow plateau and 120.1 metres (394 ft) above the sea level, in the north of Berlin's Grunewald Forest. It was named after the Teufelssee (i.e. Devil's lake) in its southerly vicinity. The hill is made of rubble, and covers an under-construction Nazi military-technical college (Wehrtechnische Fakultät). During the Cold War, there was a U.S. listening station on the hill, Field Station Berlin.

Since opening its doors in 2001, the Jewish Museums Berlin has joined the ranks of Europe’s leading museums. Its exhibitions and permanent collection, educational activities, and diverse program of events make the museum a vibrant center of reflection on Jewish history and culture as well as about migration and diversity in Germany.

"The Brain of Berlin", that is how an English architect Sir Norman Foster called a new philological library of the Free University of Berlin in 2005. The building resembles a colossal glass egg put on one side. It is actually hollow inside, and the stories are made by four tiers of undulating galleries whose pattern looks like brain convolutions. The climate system in the building meets all environmental requirements: fresh air intake through the vent lights is computer controlled, and the heating system uses the heat of the warm surfaces, so the microclimate inside the building is good for readers.

Checkpoint Charlie (or "Checkpoint C") was the name given by the Western Allies to the best-known Berlin Wall crossing point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War (1947–1991). Located on the corner of Friedrichstraße and Zimmerstraße, it is a reminder of the former border crossing, the Cold War and the partition of Berlin. The barrier and checkpoint booth, the flag and the sandbags are all based on the original site – and are a popular subject for photos. It’s no wonder that Checkpoint Charlie is one of the sights of Berlin that you really should see.

The opening of the Neues Museum marked a key chapter in the history of 19th-century art, museum design, and technology. Designed by Friedrich August Stüler and built from 1843 to 1855, the building suffered severe damage during World War II, after which it was left as an abandoned bombsite. Emergency measures to secure the structure were only taken in the 1980s.

The Altes Museum is located on Museum Island in Berlin. Since restoration work in 2010–11, it houses the Antikensammlung (antiquities collection) of the Berlin State Museums. The museum building was built between 1823 and 1830 by the architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel in the neoclassical style to house the Prussian royal family's art collection. The historic, protected building counts among the most distinguished in neoclassicism and is a high point of Schinkel's career. Until 1845, it was called the Königliches Museum (Royal Museum). Along with the other museums and historic buildings on Museum Island, the Altes Museum was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999.

Berlin Cathedral (German: Berliner Dom) is the short name for the Evangelical Supreme Parish and Collegiate Church (German: Oberpfarr- und Domkirche zu Berlin) in Berlin, Germany. It is located on Museum Island in the Mitte borough. The current building was finished in 1905 and is a main work of Historicist architecture of the "Kaiserzeit".

The Bode-Museum enjoys a picturesque location on the north side of Museum Island. You will enter the museum in style, by crossing the stone Monbijoubrücke (Monbijou Bridge). With its majestic-looking dome, the neo-baroque building immediately catches your eye. The Museum brings together works from different eras: you can visit the Sculpture Gallery, the Museum of Byzantine Art and the coin collection as part of your voyage of discovery. It was designed by architect Ernst von Ihne and completed in 1904. Initially called the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum after Emperor Frederick III, the museum was renamed in honor of its first curator, Wilhelm von Bode, in 1956.

The Berliner Philharmonie is a concert hall in Berlin, home to the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. The Philharmonie lies on the south edge of the city's Tiergarten and just west of the former Berlin Wall. The Philharmonie is on Herbert-von-Karajan-Straße, named for the orchestra's longest-serving principal conductor. The building forms part of the Kulturforum complex of cultural institutions close to Potsdamer Platz. The Philharmonie consists of two venues, the Grand Hall (Großer Saal) with 2,440 seats and the Chamber Music Hall (Kammermusiksaal) with 1,180 seats. Though conceived together, the smaller hall was opened in the 1980s, some twenty years after the main building.

Charlottenburg Palace is the largest palace in Berlin, Germany. It is in the Charlottenburg district of the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf borough. The palace was built at the end of the 17th century and was greatly expanded during the 18th century. It includes much lavish internal decoration in baroque and rococo styles. A large formal garden surrounded by woodland was added behind the palace, including a belvedere, a mausoleum, a theatre and a pavilion. During the Second World War, the palace was badly damaged but has since been reconstructed. The palace with its gardens are a major tourist attraction.

The Bebelplatz (formerly colloquially Opernplatz) is a public square in the central Mitte district of Berlin, the capital of Germany. The square is located on the south side of the Unter den Linden boulevard, a major east-west thoroughfare in the city centre. Don’t miss Micha Ullman’s spatial installation: a library with empty shelves commemorates the book-burning at Bebelplatz. While strolling across Bebelplatz you'll come across people staring at the same spot on the ground. When you get closer, you see a glass plate set in the paving stones, and below it an underground room with empty bookshelves.

In a building of the former train station, you'll find one of the world's best collections of contemporary art. Visit Hamburger Bahnhof museum and see art from the 1960s to the present day. Whether your interest is in Pop Art, Expressionism or Minimalism, the museum will help you understand how each art form has developed. Paintings sit alongside sculpture, video, installation and photography. The museum showcases some of the most important examples of modern art from the past six decades in a 13,000 square meter exhibition space.

The Pergamon Museum houses original, reconstructed monumental buildings such as the Pergamon Altar and the Market Gate of Miletus. Both of these extraordinary artifacts were transported from Turkey, and since its opening in 1930, there has been controversy over the legitimacy of the acquisition of the collection. When the Pergamon Museum was severely damaged during an air strike at the end of the Second World War, many objects were stolen. Although many of the major pieces were safely secured, the Red Army collected all of the loose museum items, either as war booty or for safekeeping from the looting and fires that were then raging in Berlin.

The East Side Gallery is one of Berlin’s most historic landmarks that has also been turned into an artistic landmark. The gallery is located on Muehlenstrasse and is accessible from both Warschauer Strasse and Ostbanhoff. The 1.3 kilometer part of the Berlin Wall is the longest part that is still largely intact. The East Side Gallery is visited at all times of the day and night by visitors, locals, and people spilling out of the nearby clubs, such as Berghain or Watergate. Across the road sits Berlin’s largest arena, the Mercedes Benz Arena, which is used for many events in the city ranging from ice hockey to sold out concerts.

Berlin's Potsdamer Platz is the most striking example of the urban renewal that turned Berlin into the "New Berlin" in the 1990s although it is not, strictly speaking, a square. The area today consists of the three developments known as Daimler City (1998), the Sony Centre (2000) and the Beisheim Centre (2004), which literally transformed the dormant wasteland where the Berlin Wall stood between east and west Berlin until 1989.

The Berlin Zoological Garden is the oldest and best-known zoo in Germany. Opened in 1844 it covers 35 hectares (86.5 acres) and is located in Berlin's Tiergarten. With about 1,380 different species and over 20,200 animals, the zoo presents one of the most comprehensive collections of species in the world.