14 years of travels in Europe, and a few non-European countries, and still going. Random photos taken over the years with some commentary and background info. Thanks Rick Steves!
Fernsehturm.The Fernsehturm (German for "television tower") is a television tower in the city centre of Berlin, Germany. Close to Alexanderplatz and part of the World Federation of Great Towers (WFGT), the tower was constructed between 1965 and 1969 by the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) administration who intended it as a symbol of Berlin, which it remains today, as it is easily visible throughout the central and some suburban districts of Berlin. – wikipedia
Neue Wache.
The Neue Wache (New Guard House) is a building in central Berlin, the capital of Germany. It is located on the north side of the Unter den Linden, a major east-west thoroughfare in the centre of the city. Dating from 1816, the Neue Wache was designed by the architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel and is a leading example of German neoclassicism. Originally built as a guardhouse for the troops of the Crown Prince of Prussia, the building has been used as a war memorial since 1931.Inside the building is Käthe Kollwitz's sculpture Mother with her Dead Son. This sculpture is directly under the oculus, and so is exposed to the rain, snow, and cold of the Berlin climate, symbolising the suffering of civilians during World War II. – wikipedia
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Konzerthaus Berlin.
"The Konzerthaus Berlin (once called the Schauspielhaus Berlin) is a concert hall situated on the Gendarmenmarkt square in the central Mitte district of Berlin. Since 1994 it has been the seat of the German orchestra Konzerthausorchester Berlin." – Wikipedia
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Hackescher Markt.
"The Hackescher Markt (Hacke Market, named after Hans Christoph Friedrich von Hacke) is a place in central Berlin, Germany, situated at the end of the Oranienburger Strasse. It is a cultural centre and famous for its nightlife. Hackescher Markt is a rail station on the Berlin Stadtbahn, originally called Börse, and called Marx-Engels-Platz during the DDR era." – Wikipedia
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The Reichstag dome.
"The current Reichstag dome is an iconic glass dome constructed on top of the rebuilt Reichstag building in Berlin. It was designed by architect Norman Foster and built to symbolize the reunification of Germany. The distinctive appearance of the dome has made it a prominent landmark in Berlin.
The Reichstag dome is a large glass dome with a 360 degree view of the surrounding Berlin cityscape. The debating chamber of the Bundestag, the German parliament, can be seen down below. A mirrored cone in the center of the dome directs sunlight into the building. The dome is open to the public and can be reached by climbing two steel, spiraling ramps that are reminiscent of a double-helix.
The glass dome was also designed by Foster to be environmentally friendly. Energy efficient features involving the use of the daylight shining through the mirrored cone were applied, effectively decreasing the carbon emissions of the building." – Wikipedia
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Hitler's bunker, now a parking lot.
"The Führerbunker (German, literally meaning "shelter for the leader" or "the Führer's shelter") is a common name for a complex of subterranean rooms in Berlin, Germany, where German dictator Adolf Hitler and his wife Eva Braun committed suicide during World War II. The bunker is perhaps the most famous of Hitler's Führer Headquarters; another famous one is the Wolf's Lair (Wolfsschanze) in East Prussia." – Wikipedia
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Checkpoint Charlie.
"Checkpoint Charlie "Checkpoint C" was the name given by the Western Allies to the most well known Berlin Wall crossing point between East Germany and West Germany during the Cold War.
The Soviet Union prompted the erection of the Berlin Wall in 1961 to stem the flow of Eastern Bloc emigration westward through what had become a "loophole" in the Soviet border system, preventing escape over the city sector border from East Berlin to West Berlin. Checkpoint Charlie became a symbol of the Cold War, representing the separation of east and west, and — for some East Germans — a gateway to freedom. Soviet and American tanks briefly faced off at the location during the Berlin Crisis of 1961.
After the dissolution of the Eastern Bloc and the reunification of Germany, the building at Checkpoint Charlie became a tourist attraction. It is now located in a museum outside Berlin." – Wikipedia
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Altes Museum.
"The Altes Museum (German for Old Museum), is one of several internationally renowned museums on Berlin's Museum Island in Berlin, Germany. Since restoration work in 1966, it houses the antique collection (Antikensammlung) of the Berlin State Museums. The museum was built between 1825 and 1828 by the architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel in the neoclassical style to house the Prussian Royal family's art collection. Until 1845, it was called the Royal Museum." – Wikipedia
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Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church.
"The Protestant Kaiser William Memorial Church (in German: Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche) is located in Berlin on the Kurfürstendamm in the centre of the Breitscheidplatz. The original church on the site was built in the 1890s. It was badly damaged in a bombing raid in 1943. The present building, which consists of a church with an attached foyer and a separate belfry with an attached chapel, was built between 1959 and 1963. The damaged spire of the old church has been retained and its ground floor has been made into a memorial hall." – Wikipedia
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The Holocaust Memorial.
"The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (German: Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas), also known as the Holocaust Memorial (German: Holocaust-Mahnmal), is a memorial in Berlin to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, designed by architect Peter Eisenman and engineer Buro Happold. It consists of a 19,000 square meter (4.7 acre) site covered with 2,711 concrete slabs or "stelae", arranged in a grid pattern on a sloping field. The stelae are 2.38m (7.8') long, 0.95m (3' 1.5") wide and vary in height from 0.2 m to 4.8m (8" to 15'9"). According to Eisenman's project text, the stelae are designed to produce an uneasy, confusing atmosphere, and the whole sculpture aims to represent a supposedly ordered system that has lost touch with human reason. A 2005 copy of the Foundation for the Memorial's official English tourist pamphlet, however, states that the design represents a radical approach to the traditional concept of a memorial, partly because Eisenman did not use any symbolism. An attached underground "Place of Information" (German: Ort der Information) holds the names of all known Jewish Holocaust victims, obtained from the Israeli museum Yad Vashem.
Building began on April 1, 2003 and was finished on December 15, 2004. It was inaugurated on May 10, 2005 and opened to the public on May 12 of the same year. It is located one block south of the Brandenburg Gate, in the Friedrichstadt neighborhood. The cost of construction was approximately €25 million." – Wikipedia
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