Tiergarten
The Tiergarten, with its 500 acres of parkland and 16 miles of footpaths, has become the largest recreational area in Berlin, transformed in the 19th century by P. J. Lenné from the Kurfürst’s animal enclosure into an English-style landscape garden. The most colossal of its numerous monuments is the Siegessäule and its gilt Victory, erected during the reign of William I and disrespectfully dubbed “Golden Elsa” by the local Berlin population. The lookout platform affords a magnificent panoramic view of the city. The northwestern section of Tiergarten contains the Early Classical complex of Bellevue Palace, surrounded by the charming Bellevue Park. Built in 1785 for a brother of Frederick the Great, it has served as the official residence of the German President since 1993.
Frederick William IV’s menagerie formed the basis for the 84-acre Zoological Gardens, whose attractive enclosures were designed to imitate the architecture of the animals’ respective countries of origin. Since its opening in 1844, Germany’s oldest zoo has developed into one of the one of the most varied collections of animals in the world.
Charlottenburg Palace
The wide Baroque dome , the most beautiful of the Hohenzollern palaces, was built in the 17th and 18th centuries and named after Sophie Charlotte, the wife of Frederick I. In addition to the royal couple’s quarters in Frederick the Great-style Rococo, it houses the Gallery of the Romantics (C. D. Friedrich, Carl Blechen) in the new wing added by Knobelsdorff. The extensive palace gardens are a jewel of formal Baroque and informal English landscape gardening, with a mausoleum to Queen Luise, the Schinkel pavilion and the Belvedere (porcelain collection).
The beginning of Schloss-Strasse is marked by two domed buildings housing interesting museums: the Berggruen Collection of works by modern painters (Cézanne, Picasso, etc.) and the Scharf collection, which specialises in surrealist art. The Bröhan Museum occupies a late 19th-century former barracks, and has a collection of paintings and graphics on the Berlin Secession, in addition to everyday objects from the Art Nouveau and Art Déco periods.
The Reichstag
One of the most elaborate of the splendid Wilhelmine-era buildings, the Reichstag was erected in 1884-1894 by Paul Wallot in Italian Late Renaissance style and served as the meeting place of the parliaments of the German Reich and Weimar Republic. From the very beginning, it was a thorn in the side of reactionary forces. William II disparagingly referred to it as a “gossip shop”, the Nazis set it on fire.
After World War II it was declared an outpost of the federal parliament in Bonn. However, it had no real function until the reunification of Germany and the decision by the German Parliament to move from Bonn to Berlin. After being spectacularly wrapped by the American artist couple Christo and Jeanne-Claude in 1995, it was transformed into the new national parliament for a reunited Germany according to an “open” modernist design by British star architect Sir Norman Foster. The deliberately modest plenary chamber is transparent on all sides and even the huge dome, which is now a real tourist attraction, is made of glass and contains two spiral walkways, so that the populace can look down on its parliamentarians.
Potsdamer Platz
Once a desolate, war-ravaged 16.5-acre wasteland in the shadow of the Berlin Wall, this square has become a symbol of the new, reunified Germany. A new urban center has arisen on this, the largest building site in Berlin. The centerpiece is the complex of high-rise buildings designed by today’s star architects for multinational corporations Sony (Helmut Jahn), Daimler-Chrysler (Renzo Piano) and ABB (Giorgio Grassi), containing offices and cultural areas, bars and restaurants, apartments and hotels.
The Sony Center, which opened in January 2000, is dedicated entirely to the silver screen. In addition to an IMAX 3D cinema, it also houses the Filmhaus, bringing together institutions such as the German Film and Television Academy and the Berlin Film Museum under one roof for the first time. Other attractions include the noble Grand Hyatt Hotel, the Musical Theater and the casino.