Berlin, Germany Overview

The capital of Germany, Berlin, is also the biggest city in the country. Berlin has been transformed from the symbol of European division to the place where East and West Europe meet.

The New Berlin attracts lots of visitors every year. Brandenburg Gate, once a symbol of the divided Germany, has again become the emblem of the German capital. Around it, the new centre of Berlin is rising up, a unique urban setting in which the old joins with the new, and the future of the city becomes visible. The city's calendar of events lists official opening ceremonies for government buildings, embassies, television studios, stations, residential and business areas and new transport routes. The signs of new beginnings, new buildings and modernization can be seen throughout the city.

The New Berlin also remains a city of contradictions: sophisticated innovative architecture of the 21st century interspersed with buildings of no significance, socially deprived areas bordering luxury shopping streets, ugly roadways in close proximity to inviting parks, seemingly derelict areas suddenly giving way to districts full of vital, urban life - a fascinating juxtaposition concealing nothing and, instead, revealing the specific character of the metropolis of Berlin.

It is the historical heritage of the city which significantly determines its character. Although Berlin has undergone constant changes and suffered large-scale destruction, much has been preserved, restored and expanded. Much evidence of the past still can be experienced today.

The bulk of Berlin's monuments originate from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The processes of industrialization and urbanization in the last two hundred years, along with Berlin's development from the Prussian residence to the capital of the German Empire and, ultimately, to the current seat of parliament and government, have left the most traces. Although the metropolis has generated metropolitan monuments befitting its status, there are still a surprising number of village sites and pre-industrial buildings preserved as historical monuments, and the Office for the Archeological Monument Preservation is particularly concerned with pre-historical, early historical and medieval relics.

The cultural scene is constantly on the move. The survival of the numerous theatres, orchestras, choirs and other institutions must be assured - and this is no easy task in view of the limited financial leeway. Berlin is developing to be one of the most important museum cities in the world.

The Berlin cultural scene with its volume, variety, liveliness and attractiveness contributes significantly to the unmistakable profile of the city. The seventeen state museums of the Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz (Prussian Cultural Foundation) form the largest museum complex of the whole continent. Berlin is Germany's most important theatrical city. Berlin currently has three opera houses, over 150 theatres and stage companies, 800 choirs, about 170 museums and collections, about 300 communal and private galleries, over 250 public libraries, 265 cinemas and numerous other cultural institutions.

Every year, over six million people visit the museums and temporary exhibitions. In each season, the concert halls and theatres attract almost three million visitors.

For years, festivals such as the Bach Festival or the events organized within the framework of the Berlin Festivals (for instance, the International Film Festival, the Berlin Festival Weeks and the Jazz Festival) have occupied a firm place in the cultural calendar of the city. And happenings such as the Love Parade, the first and largest event of its kind in the world which has attracted Techno fans to Berlin since 1992, help to gain Berlin an international reputation as a city of culture.