Berlin
[14] First documented in the 13th century[10] and at the crossing of two important historic trade routes,[15] Berlin was designated the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1417–1701), Kingdom of Prussia (1701–1918), German Empire (1871–1918), Weimar Republic (1919–1933), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945).[18][19][20] The economy of Berlin is based on high tech and the service sector, encompassing a diverse range of creative industries, startup companies, research facilities, and media corporations.[26] Of Berlin's twelve boroughs, five bear a Slavic-derived name—Pankow, Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Marzahn-Hellersdorf, Treptow-Köpenick and Spandau; furthermore, across the city's 96 neighbourhoods, there are 22 which bear a Slavic-rooted name—Altglienicke, Alt-Treptow, Britz, Buch, Buckow, Gatow, Karow, Kladow, Köpenick, Lankwitz, Lübars, Malchow, Marzahn, Pankow, Prenzlauer Berg, Rudow, Schmöckwitz, Spandau, Stadtrandsiedlung Malchow, Steglitz, Tegel and Zehlendorf.[44] The Industrial Revolution transformed Berlin during the 19th century; the city's economy and population expanded dramatically, and it became the main railway hub and economic center of Germany.The metropolis experienced its heyday as a major world capital and was known for its leadership roles in science, technology, arts, the humanities, city planning, film, higher education, government, and industries.In a 2016 terrorist attack linked to ISIL, a truck was deliberately driven into a Christmas market next to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, leaving 13 people dead and 55 others injured.[72] Due to the fall in passenger numbers resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, plans were announced to close BER's Terminal 5, the former Schönefeld Airport, beginning in March 2021.[77] However, a clause added to the Basic Law in 1994, Article 118a, allows Berlin and Brandenburg to unify without federal approval, requiring a referendum and a ratification by both state parliaments.The fusion had the near-unanimous support by a broad coalition of both state governments, political parties, media, business associations, trade unions and churches.It was remodeled by British architect Norman Foster in the 1990s and features a glass dome over the session area, which allows free public access to the parliamentary proceedings and magnificent views of the city.[97][98] Also on the island and next to the Lustgarten and palace is Berlin Cathedral, emperor William II's ambitious attempt to create a Protestant counterpart to St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.[109] In December 2019 there were 777,345 registered residents of foreign nationality and another 542,975 German citizens with a "migration background" (Migrationshintergrund, MH),[104] meaning they or one of their parents immigrated to Germany after 1955.The most commonly spoken foreign languages in Berlin are Turkish, Polish, English, Persian, Arabic, Italian, Bulgarian, Russian, Romanian, Kurdish, Serbo-Croatian, French, Spanish and Vietnamese.Berlin hosts in total 158 foreign embassies[143] as well as the headquarters of many think tanks, trade unions, nonprofit organizations, lobbying groups, and professional associations.[146] Important economic sectors in Berlin include life sciences, transportation, information and communication technologies, media and music, advertising and design, biotechnology, environmental services, construction, e-commerce, retail, hotel business, and medical engineering.The national railway operator Deutsche Bahn,[157] Europe's largest digital publisher[158] Axel Springer as well as the MDAX-listed firms Zalando and HelloFresh and also have their main headquarters in the city.Among the largest international corporations who have their German or European headquarters in Berlin are Bombardier Transportation, Securing Energy for Europe, Coca-Cola, Pfizer, Sony and TotalEnergies.In addition, around 20 news agencies, more than 90 regional daily newspapers and their websites, as well as the Berlin offices of more than 22 national publications such as Der Spiegel, and Die Zeit reinforce the capital's position as Germany's epicenter for influential debate.[188] The Deutsche Bahn runs the high speed Intercity-Express (ICE) to domestic destinations, including Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Stuttgart, and Frankfurt am Main.The Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) and the German State-owned Deutsche Bahn (DB) manage several extensive urban public transport systems.More than half of all German Nobel Prize winners in Physiology or Medicine, including Emil von Behring, Robert Koch and Paul Ehrlich, have worked at the Charité.[202] The FU, the HU, the TU, and the Charité make up the Berlin University Alliance, which has received funding from the Excellence Strategy program of the German government.[219] One of Europe's successful research, business and technology clusters is based at WISTA in Berlin-Adlershof, with more than 1,000 affiliated firms, university departments and scientific institutions.Young people, international artists and entrepreneurs continued to settle in the city and made Berlin a popular entertainment center in the world.[223] The expanding cultural performance of the city was underscored by the relocation of the Universal Music Group who decided to move their headquarters to the banks of the River Spree.With a seating capacity of 1,895 and a stage floor of 2,854 square meters (30,720 sq ft), the Friedrichstadt-Palast in Berlin Mitte is the largest show palace in Europe.For Berlin's independent dance and theatre scene, venues such as the Sophiensäle in Mitte and the three houses of the Hebbel am Ufer (HAU) in Kreuzberg are important.[257][258] Many local foods originated from north German culinary traditions and include rustic and hearty dishes with pork, goose, fish, peas, beans, cucumbers, or potatoes.[221] Berlin is also well known for its numerous cafés, street musicians, beach bars along the Spree River, flea markets, boutique shops and pop-up stores, which are a source for recreation and leisure.[278] A fan fest at Brandenburg Gate, which attracts several hundreds of thousands of spectators, has become popular during international football competitions, such as the UEFA European Championship.
Berlin (disambiguation)Capital citymunicipalitySpree riverMuseum IslandBerlin TV TowerBerlin PalaceBrandenburg GateReichstagGendarmenmarktBerlin CathedralPotsdam SquareCoat of armsGermanyBerlinAbgeordnetenhaus of BerlinGoverning MayorKai WegnerBundesrat votesBundestag seatsDemonymsTime zoneArea codesGeocodeNUTS RegionISO 3166 codeVehicle registrationGeoTLD.berlin2nd of 16capitalpopulationhighest populationcity limitsEuropean Unionstates of Germanythird smallest stateBrandenburgPotsdamBerlin-Brandenburg capital regioninhabitantsregionRhine-Ruhrfifth-biggest metropolitan region by GDPSpandauMüggelseeparks and gardenstrade routesMargraviate of BrandenburgKingdom of PrussiaGerman EmpireWeimar RepublicNazi GermanyAge of EnlightenmentNeoclassicismGerman revolutions of 1848–1849Gründerzeit1920s BerlinAfter World War IIWest BerlinEast BerlinBerlin WallGerman reunificationeconomy of Berlinhigh techservice sectorcreative industriesstartup companiesa complex public transportation networkTourism in Berlinhealthcare industrybiomedical engineeringbiotechnologyautomotive industryelectronicsHumboldt University of BerlinTechnische Universität BerlinBerlin University of the ArtsFree University of BerlinBerlin Zoological GardenBabelsberg Studiomany films set in BerlinWorld Heritage SitesPalaces and Parks of Potsdam and BerlinBerlin Modernism Housing EstatesReichstag buildingPotsdamer PlatzMemorial to the Murdered Jews of EuropeBerlin Wall Memorialnumerous museums, galleriesHistory of BerlinTimeline of BerlinBrandenburg-PrussiaNorth German ConfederationAllied-occupied GermanyWest GermanyEast Germanyan area formerly settled by SlavsWest SlavsPolabiantwelve boroughsPankowSteglitz-ZehlendorfMarzahn-HellersdorfTreptow-KöpenickAltglienickeAlt-TreptowBuckowKladowKöpenickLankwitzLübarsMalchowMarzahnPrenzlauer BergSchmöckwitzStadtrandsiedlung MalchowSteglitzZehlendorfhuman settlementsMaglemosian cultureLusatian cultureGermanic tribesSemnonesBurgundiansHevelli