Pomeranian Adventure Tour -- Ber

Pomeranian Adventure Tour -- Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic. It is located in northeastern Germany, about 70 kilometers (40 miles) west of the Polish border, and has a population of approximately 3.5 million in the city limits, with almost 5 million in the metropolitan area. It is the largest city in Germany, and the second largest in the European Union. The city center lies along the River Spree.

Berlin was the capital of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1701-1918, the German Empire from 1871-1918, the Weimar Republic from 1919-1932, and the Third Reich from 1933-1945. After World War II, the city was divided, and East Berlin became the capital of the German Democratic Republic (DDR, East Germany). West Berlin was a West German enclave surrounded by the Berlin Wall from 1961-1989. Following the reunification of Germany in 1990, the city became the capital of all of Germany and is the seat of the President of Germany, whose official residence is Schloss Bellevue. The Bundesrat (federal council) is representative of the 16 states and has its seat at the former Prussian Herrenhaus (House of Lords). Most of the governmental ministries are in Berlin, but a few are still located in Bonn, the former capital of West Germany.

The city and state parliament is the Abgeordnetenhaus (the House of Representatives), which has 141 seats. Berlin's executive body is the Senat von Berlin (the Senate of Berlin). The Senate consists of the Regierender Bürgermeister (Governing Mayor) and up to eight senators holding ministerial positions, one of them holding the official title of Bürgermeister (Mayor). The Governing Mayor is simultaneously the lord mayor of the Oberbürgermeister der Stadt (lord mayor of the city) and the Ministerpräsident des Bundeslandes (prime minister of the federal state). Berlin is divided into twelve boroughs (Bezirke), and each borough is divided into Stadtteile (localities). There are 95 localities, each representing small residential areas. Each borough is governed by a borough council (Bezirksamt), consisting of five councilors (Bezirksstadträte) and a borough mayor (Bezirksbürgermeister). The borough council is elected by the borough assembly (Bezirksverordnetenversammlung).

Unemployment in Berlin is currently around 16%. Efforts are being made to bring in more industry and new business sectors. The city is a center for national and international immigration since the Edict of Potsdam in 1685, guaranteeing religious freedom and tax-free status for ten years. Berlin is an important center for the European and German film industry. It has four major universities, and numerous private, professional and technical colleges. It also has one of the most diverse and vibrant nightlife scenes in Europe, and is the home to 153 museums. It is also the home to more than 50 theaters, three major opera houses, and seven symphony orchestras. The city also has two zoos and a botanical garden. Public transportation is provided by the S-Bahn (passenger trains) and U-Bahn (subway) and a large bus system.

Berlin was devastated in World War II bombing, and many of the old buildings that were not destroyed were torn down in the 1950s and 1960s in both the East and West sectors. The city has an eclectic array of architecture and sights.

Berlin was first mentioned around the end of the 12th century. In 1451 Berlin became the royal residence of the Brandenburg electors, and Berlin had to give up its status as a free Hanseatic city. In 1539, the electors and the city officially became Lutheran. A third of the houses and half of the population were lost in the Thirty Years' War. Frederick William, known as the "Great Elector," who had succeeded his father George William as ruler in 1640, initiated a policy of promoting immigration and religious tolerance. With the Edict of Potsdam in 1685, Frederick William offered asylum to the French Huguenots. More than 15,000 Huguenots came to Brandenburg, with 6,000 settling in Berlin. By 1700, approximately 20% of the population was French. Many other immigrants came from Bohemia, Poland, and Salzburg.

Berlin became the capital of Prussia with the coronation of Frederick I in 1701 as king. In 1740, Friedrich II, known as Frederick the Great (1740-1786) came to power, and Berlin became a center of the Enlightenment. Napoleon marched into the city in 1806, but granted self-government to the city. The Industrial Revolution transformed Berlin during the 19th century. with the economy and population growing greatly. In 1871, Berlin became capital of the newly founded German Empire.

At the end of World War I in 1918, the Weimar Republic was established in Berlin. By 1920, the city expanded greatly, with a population of around 4 million. In the 1920s, Berlin was famous for its liberal subcultures, including homosexuality, prostitution, and radical political groups. Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power in 1933 and started World War II in 1939. Nazi rule destroyed the Jewish community of 170,000. During the war, large parts of Berlin were destroyed. After the war, the city was flooded with refugees from the eastern provinces. The city was divided into four sectors, with three of the sectors forming West Berlin and one forming East Berlin. In 1948, the Soviet Union imposed an economic blockade of West Berlin, and the west airlifted in food and other supplies from June 1948 to May 1949. In 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany was founded in West Germany, while the Marxist-Leninist German Democratic Republic was proclaimed in East Germany. The founding of the two German states increased Cold War tensions. Berlin was completely separated, and it was possible for Westerners to pass from one to the other only through strictly controlled checkpoints. Most East Germans could no longer travel to the West. In 1989, the East German population pushed for a market-based economy, and its citizens gained free access across the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989. On 3 October 1990, the two parts of Germany were reunified as the Federal Republic of Germany, and Berlin became the German capital according to the unification treaty. In 1999, the German parliament and government began their work in Berlin.

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