Editing Berlin (section)

== Cityscape and architecture ==

=== Cityscape ===
[[File:16-07-04-Abflug-Berlin-DSC 0122.jpg|thumb|right|Aerial photo over central Berlin showing [[City West]], [[Potsdamer Platz]], [[Unter den Linden]] and [[Alexanderplatz]]]]
[[File:PotsdamerPlatz Vogelperspektive 2004 1.jpg|thumb|right|[[Potsdamer Platz]] from above]]
[[File:Bebelplatz Night of Shame Monument.jpg|thumb|right|A memorial to the [[Nazi book burnings|Nazi book burning]] by [[Micha Ullman]] set into the Bebelplatz]]

Berlin's history has left the city with a polycentric [[metropolitan area]] and an eclectic mix of architecture. The city's appearance today has been predominantly shaped by German history during the 20th century. 17% of Berlin's buildings are [[Gründerzeit]] or earlier and nearly 25% are of the 1920s and 1930s, when Berlin played a part in the origin of [[Berlin Modernism Housing Estates|modern architecture]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://interaktiv.morgenpost.de/so-alt-wohnt-berlin/ |title=Alt- oder Neubau? So wohnt Berlin |access-date=29 March 2024 |archive-date=28 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528095512/https://interaktiv.morgenpost.de/so-alt-wohnt-berlin/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1239 |title=Berlin Modernism Housing Estates |access-date=29 March 2024 |archive-date=28 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120228161839/http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1239 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Devastated by the [[bombing of Berlin in World War II]] many of the buildings that had survived in both East and West were demolished during the postwar period. After the reunification, many important heritage structures have been [[Reconstruction (architecture)|reconstructed]], including the ''[[Forum Fridericianum]]'' along with, the [[Berlin State Opera]], [[Charlottenburg Palace]], [[Gendarmenmarkt]], [[Alte Kommandantur]], as well as the [[City Palace, Berlin|City Palace]].

The [[list of tallest buildings in Berlin|tallest buildings in Berlin]] are spread across the urban area, with clusters at [[Potsdamer Platz]], [[City West]], and [[Alexanderplatz]].

Over one-third of the city's area consists of green and open-space,<ref name="Senatsverwaltung für Umwelt, Verkehr und Klimaschutz Berlin, Referat Freiraumplanung und Stadtgrün"/> with the [[Großer Tiergarten]], one of the largest and most popular parks in Berlin, located in the centre of the city.

=== Architecture ===
{{Main|Architecture of Berlin}}
{{Further|List of sights in Berlin|List of tallest buildings in Berlin}}
[[File:Mitte Nikolaikirchplatz-001.jpg|thumb|left|Reconstructed [[Nikolaiviertel]], the oldest settlement area in Berlin|180x180px]]
[[File:Gendarmenmarkt Panorama.jpg|thumb|Panorama of the [[Gendarmenmarkt]], showing the [[Konzerthaus Berlin]], flanked by the [[Neue Kirche, Berlin|German Church]] (left) and [[French Cathedral, Berlin|French Church]] (right)]]
[[File:Berlin James-Simon-Galerie asv2019-07 img2.jpg|thumb|[[James Simon Gallery]]]]
[[File:Berlin-BerlinerSchloss-2-Asio (cropped).JPG|thumb|[[Berlin Palace]] / [[Humboldt Forum]]]]
[[File:Berliner Dom seen from James Simon Park.jpg|thumb|The [[Berlin Cathedral]] at [[Museum Island]]]]
[[File:Fernsehturm, Berlín, Alemania, 2016-04-22, DD 40-42 HDR.jpg|thumb|The TV Tower ([[Fernsehturm Berlin|Berliner Fernsehturm]])]]
[[File:Brandemburger Tor de noche - panoramio.jpg|thumb|[[Brandenburg Gate]] at night]]
The [[Fernsehturm Berlin|Fernsehturm]] (TV tower) at [[Alexanderplatz]] in [[Mitte]] is among the tallest structures in the European Union at {{cvt|368|m}}. Built in 1969, it is visible throughout most of the central districts of Berlin. The city can be viewed from its {{convert|204|m|ft|adj=mid|sp=us|-high}} observation floor. Starting here, the [[Karl-Marx-Allee]] heads east, an avenue lined by monumental residential buildings, designed in the [[Socialist Classicism]] style. Adjacent to this area is the [[Rotes Rathaus]] (City Hall), with its distinctive red-brick architecture. In front of it is the [[Neptunbrunnen (Berlin)|Neptunbrunnen]], a fountain featuring a mythological group of [[Triton (mythology)|Tritons]], [[personification]]s of the four main Prussian rivers, and [[Neptune (mythology)|Neptune]] on top of it. Nearby is the [[Nikolaiviertel]], the reconstructed oldest settlement area in the city.

The [[Brandenburg Gate]] is an iconic landmark of Berlin and Germany; it stands as a symbol of eventful European history and of unity and peace. The [[Reichstag building]] is the traditional seat of the German Parliament. It was remodeled by British architect [[Norman Foster (architect)|Norman Foster]] in the 1990s and features a glass dome over the session area, which allows free public access to the parliamentary proceedings and magnificent views of the city.

The [[East Side Gallery]] is an open-air exhibition of art painted directly on the last existing portions of the Berlin Wall. It is the largest remaining evidence of the city's historical division.

The [[Gendarmenmarkt]] is a [[neoclassical architecture|neoclassical]] square in Berlin, the name of which derives from the headquarters of the famous Gens d'armes regiment located here in the 18th century. Two similarly designed cathedrals border it, the [[Französischer Dom]] with its observation platform and the [[Deutscher Dom]]. The Konzerthaus (Concert Hall), home of the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, stands between the two cathedrals.
[[File:MJK 46430 Schloss Charlottenburg.jpg|thumb|left|[[Charlottenburg Palace]]]]
[[File:Berlin Hackesche Höfe1.jpg|thumb|left|[[Hackesche Höfe]]]]
The [[Museum Island]] in the [[Spree (river)|River Spree]] houses [[#Museums|five museums]] built from 1830 to 1930 and is a [[UNESCO]] [[List of World Heritage Sites in Germany|World Heritage]] site. Restoration and construction of a main entrance to all museums ([[James Simon Gallery]]), as well as reconstruction of the [[Berlin Palace]] (Stadtschloss) were completed.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/newsticker/neumann--stadtschloss-wird-teurer,10917074,10924086.html |title=Neumann: Stadtschloss wird teurer |trans-title=Neumann: Palace is getting more expensive |work=[[Berliner Zeitung]] |language=de |date=24 June 2011 |access-date=7 April 2012 |archive-date=3 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203200703/https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/newsticker/neumann--stadtschloss-wird-teurer,10917074,10924086.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/archiv/die-nullerjahre--nation-building---der-wiedervereinigte-staat-baut-sich-eine-neue-hauptstadt-das-pathos-der-berliner-republik,10810590,10717494.html |title=Das Pathos der Berliner Republik |trans-title=The pathos of the Berlin republic |work=[[Berliner Zeitung]] |language=de |date=19 May 2010 |access-date=7 April 2012 |archive-date=3 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203200702/https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/archiv/die-nullerjahre--nation-building---der-wiedervereinigte-staat-baut-sich-eine-neue-hauptstadt-das-pathos-der-berliner-republik,10810590,10717494.html |url-status=live |author1=Jähner }}</ref> Also on the island and next to the [[Lustgarten]] and palace is [[Berlin Cathedral]], emperor William II's ambitious attempt to create a Protestant counterpart to [[St. Peter's Basilica]] in Rome. A large crypt houses the remains of some of the earlier Prussian royal family. [[St. Hedwig's Cathedral]] is Berlin's Roman Catholic cathedral.
[[File:Bikinihaus Berlin-1210760.jpg|thumb|[[Breitscheidplatz]] with [[Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church]] is the center of [[City West]].]]
[[Unter den Linden]] is a tree-lined east–west avenue from the Brandenburg Gate to the Berlin Palace, and was once Berlin's premier promenade. Many Classical buildings line the street, and part of [[Humboldt University]] is there. [[Friedrichstraße]] was Berlin's legendary street during the [[Golden Twenties]]. It combines 20th-century traditions with the modern architecture of today's Berlin.

[[Potsdamer Platz]] is an entire quarter built from scratch after the [[Berlin Wall|Wall]] came down.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/bauen/baubilanz/en/potsdamer_platz.html |title=Construction and redevelopment since 1990 |publisher=Senate Department of Urban Development |access-date=18 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080610103008/https://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/bauen/baubilanz/en/potsdamer_platz.html |archive-date=10 June 2008}}</ref> To the west of Potsdamer Platz is the Kulturforum, which houses the [[Gemäldegalerie, Berlin|Gemäldegalerie]], and is flanked by the [[Neue Nationalgalerie]] and the [[Berliner Philharmonie]]. The [[Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe]], a [[Holocaust]] memorial, is to the north.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://travel2.nytimes.com/2005/05/09/arts/design/09holo.html |title=A Forest of Pillars, Recalling the Unimaginable |work=The New York Times |access-date=18 August 2008 |first=Nicolai |last=Ouroussoff |date=9 May 2005 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230401113405/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/09/arts/design/a-forest-of-pillars-recalling-the-unimaginable.html |archive-date=2023-04-01}}</ref>

The area around [[Hackescher Markt]] is home to fashionable culture, with countless clothing outlets, clubs, bars, and galleries. This includes the [[Hackesche Höfe]], a conglomeration of buildings around several courtyards, reconstructed around 1996. The nearby [[New Synagogue, Berlin|New Synagogue]] is the center of Jewish culture.

The [[Straße des 17. Juni]], connecting the Brandenburg Gate and Ernst-Reuter-Platz, serves as the central east–west axis. Its name commemorates the [[Uprising of 1953 in East Germany|uprisings in East Berlin of 17 June 1953]]. Approximately halfway from the Brandenburg Gate is the Großer Stern, a circular traffic island on which the [[Berlin Victory Column|Siegessäule]] (Victory Column) is situated. This monument, built to commemorate Prussia's victories, was relocated in 1938–39 from its previous position in front of the Reichstag.

The [[Kurfürstendamm]] is home to some of Berlin's luxurious stores with the [[Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church]] at its eastern end on [[Breitscheidplatz]]. The church was destroyed in the Second World War and left in ruins. Nearby on Tauentzienstraße is [[KaDeWe]], claimed to be continental Europe's largest department store. The [[Rathaus Schöneberg]], where [[John F. Kennedy]] made his famous "[[Ich bin ein Berliner]]!" speech, is in [[Tempelhof-Schöneberg]].

West of the center, [[Bellevue Palace (Germany)|Bellevue Palace]] is the residence of the German President. [[Charlottenburg Palace]], which was burnt out in the Second World War, is the largest historical palace in Berlin.

The [[Funkturm Berlin]] is a {{convert|150|m|ft|adj=mid|sp=us|-tall}} lattice radio tower in the fairground area, built between 1924 and 1926. It is the only observation tower which stands on insulators and has a restaurant {{cvt|55|m}} and an observation deck {{cvt|126|m}} above ground, which is reachable by a windowed elevator.

The [[Oberbaumbrücke]] over the Spree river is Berlin's most iconic bridge, connecting the now-combined boroughs of [[Friedrichshain]] and [[Kreuzberg]]. It carries vehicles, pedestrians, and the U1 [[Berlin U-Bahn]] line. The bridge was completed in a [[brick gothic]] style in 1896, replacing the former wooden bridge with an upper deck for the U-Bahn. The center portion was demolished in 1945 to stop the [[Red Army]] from crossing. After the war, the repaired bridge served as a [[Berlin border crossings|checkpoint and border crossing]] between the Soviet and American sectors, and later between East and West Berlin. In the mid-1950s, it was closed to vehicles, and after the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, pedestrian traffic was heavily restricted. Following German reunification, the center portion was reconstructed with a steel frame, and U-Bahn service resumed in 1995.