Berlin is the capital of Germany and is one of the 16 federal states of Germany. Berlin is city that conserves a different history in every single corner, mostly due to the many clashes and situations that it was lived along the centuries, but that it has been able to overcome gracefully with fortune. The territory keeps much diversity and culture, everything from large museums and monuments that commemorate historical moments that marked the life of those who have lived here, to many places of interest that have become motives of distraction and fun for visitors.
Museum Island
Courtesy of Jörg Kantel at flickr.com
This is one of Berlin’s most visited spots. It gets the name of Museum Island due to having so many museums bunched up together in one spot as well as some of the most important and characteristic places to visit in the city. The area was an idea of the king Frederick William IV of Prussia in 1841, and it was realized with the idea of building a neighborhood dedicated to the arts and sciences that later became a zone filled with museums in the north side of the island. The idea of the king also involved providing noble families with a space where they could display their art and show their talents.
One of the museums that make up Museum Island or the “Museumsinsel” is the Altes Museum, which means “old museum” in German, and as it is indicative of its name, it was built back in 1828. The place used to hold great pieces of art and private collections of very important castles of the region.
The Neues Museum is one of the museums with the most structural changes since it was built in 1859 and after it was almost completely destroyed after World War II. In 2009, a great overhaul was done to the museum in respect to its original structure. The museum exhibits Egyptian collections, mementos from WWII and some prehistoric collections a well.
The National Gallery was built in 1876 and rebuilt again in 2001 due to damaged also suffered in World War II. The gallery holds some of the largest collections in the world from the 19th century.
The Bode Museum is located also on the north side of the island; it holds byzantine art and sculptures. The museum closed its doors in 2000 due to renovations and it opened again 6 years later in 2006.
The Pergamon Museum was completed in 1930, it has modern buildings that were constructed in a way that it wouldn’t contrast harshly with the surrounding buildings.
Monuments
Berlin Victory Column
Also known as the Siegessäule for victory column in German. This monument decorates the streets of Berlin embellishing the sites with its alluring shape. It is made of four bronze reliefs that commemorate the three wars and the victorious march of the Berlin troops in the time of war. The column measures 69 meters and it’s made of four solid blocks decorated with canons and gold. Hitler himself after the victory over France added the last ring of the column.
The Garden of Exile
Its official name is Josef Hoffmann Garden and it’s a park with large pillars as monuments that symbolize the year Jerusalem was founded. The inside of the garden holds earth brought specially from the holy land. This is one of the largest Jewish Museums in Europe.
Brandenburg Gate
Courtesy of Daniel Mennerich at flickr.com
This place is very popular and known for being the place where the fall of the Berlin Wall has been celebrated for years. Many people visit this historical monument all year round that symbolizes the fall of a great division between the people of Berlin. After the gate was rebuilt based on the design of the Greek Acropolis, the gate continues to unite those who visit it as the stage for many important celebrations, events and political demonstrations.
Parks
Tiergarten Park
This is Berlin’s main part and is located exactly in the center of the city. Back in the day, it was the scenario of the many clashes against Prussian troops, but after the fall of the Berlin Wall, it was designated as the location to celebrate an event called the Love Parade that was held here for a few years but it stopped due to poor management of the event. The park is 520 acres in size and is among the largest urban gardens of Germany.
Berlin Zoo
The Berlin Zoo is amongst the largest parks in Germany and it keeps a very large collection of animals from all over the world. The Zoo opened its doors in 1844 and it was Germany’s first zoo. Frederick William IV brought all the animals here. After World War II, only 91 specimens survived as most of them died as a consequence of the combat activity in the area. Years later the zoo was rebuilt and it is considered as one of the most beautiful, most important and with the most history and heritage of all over the world.
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