Berlin's Top Sights

Everybody knows the famous Berlin wall, but the German capital  had actually four city walls. None of them still exists, but you can still find remains or discover their traces. Medieval town wall The first one was erected during medieval times, you can still find a large piece of it in Klosterstrasse, near the Restaurant “Zur Letzten Instanz".    U Bahn:  U2 (Klosterstraße)    the medieval wall in Klosterstraße is the oldest of Berlin's city walls The Fortress T he second wall belonged to a fortress that was built by the order of the “Great Elector" Frederick William (1620-1688) shortly after the 30 Years' War. Contruction of it began in 1658. The fortress was torn down in 1744. A tower of it, the Wusterhausener Bär, still exists in Köllnischer Park.  U2 (Märkisches Museum)   the Wusterhausener Bär The Customs Wall The third wall in Berlin was the Berlin Customs Wall (Berliner Zoll-und Akzisemauer). It came into being from 17

Berlin`s churches always played an important part in Berlins life - from medieval to present times. They are not only interesting because of their religious importance, but also because of their architecture.   Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral) It took ten years (1895-1905) until the Berlin Cathedral was finished. However, the history of the Berlin Cathedral dates back to the 15th century, when the chapel of the Berlin castle was founded. The predecessor of today's cathedral was erected in the 1750’s. On the present site, Berlin’s gifted architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel rebuilt the cathedral. But King Frederick William IV. decided to demolish the Schinkel building to replace it by a new, more elaborate cathedral. The draft was supplied by Julius Raschdorff. Of particular interest is the Hohenzollern crypt, where the remains of many rulers of the Hohenzollern Dynasty rest.  How to get there:  S-Bahn: S5, S7, S75 (Hackescher Markt) Bus:100, 200 (Lustgarten) Tram M5

 On many houses in Berlin you will find memorial plaques.The inscription is usually in German. They remind of famous people, who worked or lived here. Some remind of famous places.  Here are a few examples: This memorial plaque reminds of Konrad Zuse, who built and developed from 1936-1944 the computers Z1 - Z4. The Z3 was the first computer, that really worked, it was launched in 1941. This memorial plaque is in Methfesselstreet.(Kreuzberg) The houses were Konrad  Zuse used to work were destroyed during the war. In this house (Körnerstr 7)  in Schöneberg  stayed the writer Mark Twain in 1891/1892 In this cinema Berlin's free university was founded in 1948 (in Steglitz near Schloßstraße.) the famous writer, historican and publisher bookseller Friedrich Nicolai lived here Brüderstraße 13 in Bezirk Mitte