Berlin's Top Sights

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

Did you know that Berlin consists partly of villages that origins date back long ago? Today they are part of the metropolitis and you will find hardly traces of them.They gradually merged into the present capital, hustling and bustling with life and traffic. However, you can still find the remains of the former village like a church, a village green and sometimes a pond. Rixdorf is one of Neuköllns gems. If you leave the underground station Karl-Marx-Straße (U7) just walk along Herrenhuter or Uthmann Straße (note the beautiful old houses)  you will be there in no time. Here you are in a quaint village rather than a city. Neukölln was called Rixdorf, before it got its name in 1912. Rixdorf had a bad reputation and its inhabitants were glad when the name was changed on the birthday of Emperor William II on 27th January.   The Bohemian Village in Rixdorf In 1737 the Prussian King Frederick William I invited some protestant refugees from Bohemia to settle here. Nine double hous

For centuries Jews have been living in Berlin - for centuries they were persecuted. From the past to the present day, traces of Jewish life in Berlin can be found at the following places... Synagogues Even from a distance shines the golden dome of the Jewish synagogue in Oranienburger Straße in Mitte. Much of the Berlin Jewish community had settled around this street.The synagogue was built in 1866 by Eduard Knoblauch. During World War II it was destroyed, reconstructed in the 1980’s and reopened in 1993. Today it houses the Centrum Judicaium , inside is a permanent exhibition about the history of the synagogue. centrum judicaium Centrum Judicaium The Jewish Synagogue in Rykestraße in Prenzlauer Berg, the largest synagogue in Germany, opened in 1904. It survived the terror of National Socialism relatively unscathed and in 1953 it was inaugurated again. Rykestraße 53 10405 Berlin   Synagoge Rykestr. U2 (Senefelderplatz) The Jewish Community H