Berlin's Top Sights

Berlin has got mountains. Well to be honest, the majority of them are not real, they are made of rubble and they are called Trümmerberge. What is a Trümmerberg? Wilhelm-Förster observatory at  Insulaner At the end of the Second World War about 70% of Berlin was destroyed.But where to put the rubble? That was a big problem! Finally, a solution was found. It was decided to pile it up . It was mostly transported with trains to choosen places. Provisional rails were laid. The real heroes were women - they diligently and painfully removed the rubble, then they piled it up thus creating artificial mountains. A monument of such a woman (by the sculptor Katharina Szelinski-Singer) can be found in the Volkspark Hasenheide. Later the hills were planted and parks were created. The Berliners call such mountains "Mont Klamott". The Insulaner and the Marienhöhe The Insulaner (75m) finished in 1951, is such a typical rubble

The BVG is a good way  to discover Berlin in a relaxing way. On a ride with the bus M48 you will pass places, houses and town halls that played an important part in Berlin's history. From the noble suburb of Zehlendorf, the M48 starts its journey through the city to Alexanderplatz. From Zehlendorf to Kleistpark   The first sight is Zehlendorf’s octagonal village church. It dates from 1768. One of the most popular excursion destinations in its neighbor district Steglitz is the Botanical Garden. It was officially opened in 1910. Previously, the Botanical Garden was located in Schöneberg - we will pass the site later! A relatively small castle - or rather said a manor house, that still exists - gave its name to the busy Schloßstraße (castle street). It was built around 1804 and a part of the building houses a theatre. The Schloßstraße is one of the most important shopping streets in Berlin. It has got three large shopping centers!  Impressive is the Town Hall in Friedena

Some of Berlin's town halls look like castles, some are still used and some not. Berlin has a variety of them. Due to the union of several districts, some of the town halls are no longer used as government seats. Today we are going to take a closer look at the best known and most impressive ones. By the way, the German name for town hall is Rathaus. Rotes Rathaus (Red Town Hall) Berlin’s main town hall was built 1861-1869 by Hermann Waesemann. A frieze around the building tells Berlin's history. The tower is 74 meters high. During the division of Berlin, the government of East Berlin used the building. The politicians of West Berlin met in the town hall in Schöneberg. Opposite the Rotes Rathaus lies the Altes Stadthaus (old townhouse) . It was opened in 1911, because the Rotes Rathaus could no longer accommodate all the offices! Rathausstraße 15 10178 Berlin Bus: 100, 200, M48 The Rotes Rathaus is Berlin's best known town hall. The Altes Stadthaus l

 Feuerland (Fireland) is an area almost quite unknown even by us Berliner’s ! This "hot" area around Chauseestraße in Mitte got it’s name in the middle of the 19th century. But why is it called so?  Many companies that produced engines and metalwork settled here.These factories used a lot of fire for production, large amounts of smoke from the chimneys rose into the sky,  August Borsig, Louis Schwartzkopff, Friedrich Adolf Pflug and Johann Friedrich Ludwig Wöhlert had their factories here. None of these are left. The factories closed or moved away. Only street names, such as Schwartzkopffstrasse, remind of the former factory owners. Dorotheenstädtischer Cemetery You should visit the Dorotheenstädtischer Cemetery if you are interested in Berlin's history, politics, science and culture. The cemetery was created around 1763 outside the Oranienburger Tor, which lay not in Berlin. At that time, it was feared that the neighborhood of the graves could cause diseases,

One of the most exciting and multicultural districts of Berlin is Kreuzberg. It is fun , cultural and has many exiting events. Since 2001 Kreuzberg is merged with Friedrichshain. But where does the name come from?      Kreuzberg and Viktoriapark In the middle of this district is the 66 meter high Kreuzberg, which was called Tempelhofer Berg until the 19th century. In 1821 a monument was erected on this mountain to commemorate the liberation war against Napoleon.The plans for this monument are by Karl Friedrich Schinkel . There is a waterfall on the slope of the Viktoriapark, which surrounds the monument.   How to get there: U6 (Mehringdamm) , Bus140  (Kreuzberg/Wasserfall) The waterfall at Viktoriapark The cemeteries at Mehringdamm and Yorckstraße Mehringdamm is one of the main thoroughfares in Kreuzberg. Its landmark is a very imposing building that looks like a castle.  It dates back to the 1850’s and housed once barracks  - today tax authorities are