As a student who is, is about to, or will be studying abroad in Germany, have you ever been curious about the German capital? If so, let’s find out with My Career through this article! If not, read on to know the truth about the German capital!!!

German capital Berlin

Capital of Germany? Berlin, the main urban centre of Germany. The city lies at the heart of the North German Plain, straddling the east-west trade and geography that helped make it the capital of the Kingdom of Prussia and then, from 1871, of a unified Germany. Berlin’s former glory ended in 1945, but the city survived the devastation of World War II. It has been rebuilt and has shown remarkable economic and cultural development.

The post-war division of Germany placed Berlin entirely within the territory of the German Democratic Republic (GDR, or East Germany). The city itself echoed the national division—East Berlin was the capital of East Germany and West Berlin a Land (state) of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, or West Germany). West Berlin’s isolation was later reinforced by the concrete barrier erected in 1961 and known as the Berlin Wall.

Its status as a landmass made Berlin a focal point of constant confrontation between the Eastern and Western powers as well as a symbol of the Western way of life for 45 years. The collapse of the East German communist regime and the subsequent opening of the wall in late 1989 suddenly raised the prospect of restoring Berlin as the capital of all Germany. That status was restored in 1990 under the terms of the unification treaty, and Berlin was subsequently designated a state, one of 16 constituent states of Germany.

Natural Geography and People of Berlin, the Capital of Germany

Berlin lies approximately 112 miles (180 km) south of the Baltic Sea, 118 miles (190 km) north of the Czech-German border, 110 miles (177 km) east of the former inner German border, and 55 miles (89 km) west of Poland. It lies in the broad glacial valley of the Spree River, which flows through the city center. Berlin’s average elevation is 115 feet (35 metres) above sea level. The highest point near the center of Berlin is the summit of Kreuzberg, a hill 218 feet (66 metres) above sea level.

Measuring about 23 miles (37 km) from north to south and 28 miles (45 km) from east to west, Berlin is by far the largest city in Germany. It is built largely on sandy glacial soils amid a vast belt of forested lakes, formed by the waters of the Dahme River to the southeast and the Havel River to the west; indeed, about a third of Greater Berlin is still covered by mixed pine and birch forests , lakes and beaches. The “Devil’s Mountain” (Teufelsberg), one of many hills built from the rubble left after World War II bombing.

Climate Berlin Capital of Germany

Berlin lies where the influence of the Atlantic Ocean diminishes and the climate of the continental plain begins. The city’s average annual temperature is about 48 °F (9 °C), and average temperatures range from 30 °F (−1 °C) in winter to 65 °F (18 °C) in summer. The average precipitation is 22 inches (568 mm). About one-fifth to one-quarter of the total falls as snow.

Layout of German capital Berlin

The original twin towns of Berlin and Cologne developed from the early 13th century onwards, on an island in the Spree River (the site of Cologne) and a small piece of land on the north bank of the river opposite the island (the site of Berlin). From the late 17th and early 18th centuries, as the Electors of Brandenburg (also kings of Prussia from 1701) became powerful figures in European politics, the city expanded and took on a Baroque appearance; new castles, such as Charlottenburg Palace, were built.

The central area was expanded and decorated with wide avenues, beautiful squares and impressive stone buildings. The central area has wide north-south boulevards, such as Wilhelmstrasse and Friedrichstrasse, as well as its characteristic east-west axis. Complementing this main axis are a number of exits that now serve as major traffic arteries. 

Map And Famous Places In Berlin Capital Of Germany

Although there is only one large park close to the city center—the Tiergarten, just west of the Brandenburg Gate—Berlin has always been a surprisingly green city, with lush trees softening the effect of the stone apartment blocks that line many of its streets. Water is even more prevalent, with the Spree River running through the city center, a wide belt of lakes stretching east and west, and canals running through much of the city.

Until the ?peaceful revolution? of 1989, the most notorious feature of the city’s terrain was the Berlin Wall, erected by the communist East German government in 1961 to prevent free movement between East Berlin (and indeed East Germany) and West Berlin. The boundary between East and West Berlin and the boundary between West Berlin and East Germany, with a total length of 103 miles (166 km), was sealed until 1989 by a solid ring of barriers, consisting mainly of precast concrete panels. 

Here one can find remnants of the wall as well as a small museum dedicated to its history. In some places, buildings were adjacent to the wall, and in the early days of the partition, a number of people died trying to jump to freedom from their upper floors. Today, crosses mark some of the places where these and other would-be refugees, numbering at least 110, perished.

Across the city, an effort to blend the modern with the traditional is evident. A prominent example is the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church (Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche), which incorporated the bell tower of the original 19th-century structure (destroyed in World War II) into an impressive concrete and glass church built in 1961.

The city centre has its own architectural icon and war memorial church ? St. Nicholas Church (Nikolaikirche), dating back to around 1200. Only the red brick shell of Berlin’s oldest building remained after a bombing raid during World War II, but restoration was completed in 1987, on the occasion of Berlin’s 750th anniversary.

A 1,197-foot (365-meter) television tower erected by the communist state dominates central Berlin. Completed in 1969 to mark the 20th anniversary of East Germany, the tower dominates the Berlin skyline and sits next to Alexanderplatz. Nearby was the Palace of the Republic (Palast der Republik). The building, which opened in 1976 as the new seat of the East German parliament (Volkskammer), occupies the site of the former palaces of Prussian and German kings and emperors. 

In the same area are Berlin’s oldest surviving church, Mary’s Church (Marienkirche), and Museum Island, which houses the Old (Altes) and New (Neues) museums, the National Gallery (Nationalgalerie), the Bode Museum, and the Pergamon Museum with its famous Greek altarpiece of Zeus. Most of these museums are neoclassical buildings designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel and his disciples.

Also in the area are the red-brick Town Hall, seat of the state parliament (Rotes Rathaus); the former State Council and Central Committee building; and the rebuilt St. Hedwig’s Church, which dates from 1747 and was the first Roman Catholic church built in Berlin after the Reformation. North of Museum Island, on Oranienburger Strasse, is Berlin’s main synagogue; it was officially reopened in 1991, 125 years after it first opened.

The cultural district on Unter den Linden, the wide boulevard leading from near Alexanderplatz to the Brandenburg Gate, also reflects the old and the new. At its eastern end is the Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom). Along the entire length of the boulevard are modern hotels, shops and landmarks, including the Armory (Zeughaus), the New Guard House (Neue Wache), the Berlin Palace (formerly the Crown Prince’s Palace), the Princesses’ Palace (Prinzessinnenpalais), the Opera House, the Berlin State Library, the Kaiser Wilhelm Palace and the Humboldt University. 

South of Unter den Linden is the Gendarme Market, one of Berlin’s most beautiful architectural centers, home to restored German and French cathedrals and the Konzerthaus (formerly Schauspielhaus), the former royal theater, completed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Wilhelmstrasse, which runs north-south, once housed Prussian and Imperial government buildings. The removal of the western wall of the street revealed the remains of Hitler’s bunker and Potsdamer Platz, once the city’s busiest transport hub.

People of Berlin, the capital of Germany

Although the two parts of the city divided by the wall were roughly equal in size, East Berlin had only two-thirds the population of West Berlin. Because the average age of West Berliners was higher than that of other West Germans, West Berlin encouraged immigration of young workers from West Germany and abroad. When the partition ended, new patterns of population growth quickly emerged. Some people from the west sought cheaper housing in the east. Property values ​​and rents skyrocketed throughout the city. Many international companies sought locations in Berlin.

By the early 1990s, more than 300,000 non-Germans, ?guest workers? and refugees, were permanent residents of the city. The Kreuzberg district has the largest Turkish community in Europe. For much of its history, Berlin had a multi-ethnic population. Since the fall of communism, the city has attracted immigrants, including a significant number of Jews, from many Eastern European countries and the former Soviet Union. Indeed, the city has experienced a modest rebirth of its once thriving Jewish community.

Economy of Berlin Capital of Germany

Industry and Commerce

To a large extent, traditional economic activities, which had been greatly reduced by World War II, were revived throughout Greater Berlin. These included the production of textiles, metals, clothing, porcelain and china, bicycles and machinery. Electronics became a major industry after the war. The production of food, chemicals, tobacco and confectionery continued. Berlin is Germany’s largest industrial city and a major centre of trade and technological development; many companies maintain facilities in the city.

Transport

Modern rapid transit systems have existed since the 19th century. Construction of the Stadt- or Schnellbahn (S-Bahn), a largely elevated and partly underground railway system, began in 1871, and construction of the underground, or Untergrundbahn (U-Bahn), began in 1897. By World War II, the city had one of the most rapid transit systems in Europe . After the construction of the wall, buses became the main means of transport, although tram service continued in some eastern districts. 

Air transport has played an important role since 1945, especially in West Berlin in 1948, when the Soviet Union blockaded the western sectors. Tempelhof, the main air transport sector, lost its traditional role as Berlin’s air transport hub in the 1970s. (It closed permanently in 2008.) German reunification brought a general revision of Berlin’s commercial and passenger air traffic patterns. 

The Bundesautobahn (National Highway) in Berlin is part of a national superhighway network that was inaugurated before World War II. This system is linked to the Berliner Ring, an autobahn circle around the city with Berlin at the center of the approaching spokes. Even before 1990, both Germanys cooperated in maintaining road and rail traffic to and from Berlin. A new highway connecting Berlin with Hamburg was funded by West Germany. 

Administrative and social conditions Berlin Capital of Germany

Berlin has a central government and 12 district governments, with a mayor, or mayor, a 16-member government, and a city council, or parliament, at the central level, or Land ( state ), and district mayors, district councils (governments), and district councils at the local level. The city has many local and state courts, including a constitutional court. The constitution of the former West Berlin, revised in 1990, was the transitional constitution of the state of Berlin until 1995, when a referendum on the revised constitution was passed.

In 1999, based on the Unification Treaty and a resolution of the Bundestag (federal parliament) in 1991, Berlin was re-established as the country’s capital, and in 2000 it also became the seat of the parliament and most federal ministries. Several federal and European institutions, such as the Federal Antitrust Commission, the Federal Office for the Environment, the Federal Office of Health, and the Federal and European Office for Vocational Education, were located in Berlin before reunification.  

Health

Comprehensive health insurance is available throughout the city. Berlin forms the largest centre of medical activity in Germany. It has a comprehensive system of public and private hospitals, including the famous Charité (founded as a royal hospital in 1710), which counted Robert Koch, Rudolf Virchow and Ernst Sauerbruch among its finest scholars, and two clinics, Steglitz and Rudolf Virchow, which are the main teaching centres of Berlin’s three major medical schools.

Education and science in Berlin, the capital of Germany

Berlin has traditionally played a leading role in German education. Secondary education is based on both a three-tier system of separate schools differentiated by ability and a unified system of comprehensive schools (grades 7–10), upper secondary schools (grades 11–13), and a variety of full- and part-time options. The city’s higher education system includes around 20 public and private universities and colleges, including Humboldt University (HU), Free University (FU) and Technical University (TU). 

The problems associated with unification are evident in the education system. But they may be easier to deal with in other “new” states because the unification of east and west occurred within the same state.

Several notable archives and libraries operate in the city. Notable libraries include the United States Memorial Library, built with US assistance; the Art Library, a state museum founded in 1867; and the National Library, which is also a major cultural and educational center.

Since the late 19th century, Berlin has been Germany’s main centre of science and research. In 1910 the Kaiser Wilhelm Society for the Promotion of Science (renamed the Max Planck Society in 1948) was founded. Among its first and internationally acclaimed scholars were Albert Einstein and Max Planck.

So, the German capital is a city with countless things to explore. In Berlin, you can spend your entire vacation exploring the sights, learning about the culture and lifestyle of the locals and much more!

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