In Berlin, you can feel its courage to face the history and see the flourishing development of its cultural industry; in addition to the rich museums, you can meet the street’s great graffiti creations; or you can go to the park for a quiet moment after looking at the modern buildings; you can go to the luxury store and also find something interesting at the flea market; you can enjoy classical music in the concert hall and then swing to the nightclub with electronic music.
1. German Parliament Building
The German Parliament Building built in 1894 was already the site of the National Assembly during the German Empire and the Weimar Republic. On the evening of February 27, 1933, the famous arson of the Congress took place. Since then, the Nazi Party has mastered the National Assembly and pushed the whole country to the abyss of World War II. During the splits of Germany, The restored parliament building was located in West Berlin while at this time the Federal Republic of Germany’s parliament had moved to Bonn. After the reunification of the two congresses, the Building has undergone another round of re-construction with adding a special glass dome in order to regain the role of the Capitol. The lightness of the dome and the thickness of the entire building are in sharp contrast. The Parliament Building officially has become the meeting place of the German Federal Parliament since 1999. “DEM DEUTSCHEN VOLKE” on the west gate of the Capitol means “for the German people”.
2. Berlin Museum Island
The Museum Island in Berlin is a small island that brings together a five museums. The Island was built between 1824 and 1930. It was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999 due to the commemorative significance of culture and architecture. The five museums are: the old museum and the new museum, the National Gallery, the Bode Museum and the Pergamon Museum. Among them, the large-scale buildings collected in the Pergamon Museum are the most famous. The treasure of its town hall is the Pergamon altar at the 2nd century BC that occupies the entire pavilion. There is the Ishtar gate of Babylon with various colors and vivid sculptures. The secondly most visited is the new museum. The exhibits here are mainly ancient Egyptian artifacts. Among them, the bust of the famous ancient Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep IV’s wife Nefertiti is the treasure of the new museum. The statue is elegant with the vivid facial features. In addition, there are precious exhibits of the Neanderthal skull, the artifacts of the Troy city and so on.
3. East Side Gallery
This is the longest and most famous Berlin Wall that was preserved with the length of 1.3 km. In 1990, the Berlin Wall was torn down. After the reunification of the two sides, the rest of the Berlin Wall became a paradise where the contemporary artists create their works. Their works were mainly about the political issues. The wall was renovated in 2009. This Berlin Wall is the most visited section of the three remaining Berlin Walls. Among the paintings, the most famous one is “Kiss of the Brothers”. Of course, there are many different styles of paintings that can be slowly and carefully enjoyed.
4. Berlin Cathedral
Built between 1894 and 1905, it used to be a special church for the royal family. The interior is extremely gorgeous and magnificent. It’s decorated with columns with complicated lines and exquisite murals and even the stigma is gold-plated. The Berlin Cathedral is the Christian Lutheran Church and there has never been a bishop entering. The overall exterior wall of the cathedral is black that has been left by bombing during World War II. These black traces don’t make the church dark but rather more solemn and great.
5. Brandenburg Gate
The Brandenburg Gate is the symbol of Berlin and the national symbol of Germany. This neoclassical sandstone building built in 1791 is based on the Acropolis city gate. On the top of the door is a bronze statue of a victory goddess driving a four-wheeled carriage. There is an oak tree. the garlands, the iron cross and the eagle with the open wings in the hands of the goddess, which all symbolize the victory of the war. The Brandenburg Gate faces east and its east is the heart of Berlin’s Old Town. It’s the only remaining Berlin gate. The Brandenburg Gate has stood here for more than two hundred years and has witnessed the rise and fall of German history. During the split of the East and West Germany, the Berlin Wall was erected on the west side of the Brandenburg Gate, and no one passed for decades.
6. European Memorial to the murdered Jews
Looked from a higher place, this monument group built on the site of the infamous Nazi Propaganda Department is shaped like a wave of coffin. This monument was not built for the surviving Jews but for the Germans and for their collective memory. It shows the courage of the Germans to face history and also lets people feel the repression and shock. The place is a huge cement forest. A total of 2711 concrete cubic columns are arranged neatly in a grid in this open field, and they are staggered due to the uneven terrain and height. At first glance, it’s the world of gray and white. The design of the monument is symbolic representing an original order that is far from humans due to human factors. But you can also abandon these established statements and feel the restlessness in the cold and hard place.
7. Pergamon Museum
The Pergamon Museum was built between 1909 and 1930. It’s famous for the miniature monuments, such as the masterpieces of the ancient Greek civilization era – the altar of the Pergamon at the 2nd century BC that occupies an entire exhibition hall and is the treasure of the museum’s town hall. There is also the exquisitely carved door of the Miller century, the brick wall of the Ilmi goddess temple, the bas-relief of the Temple of the Arrasulpal II of Nimrud and many other ancient civilizations and Islamic art.
8. Berlin Wall Ruins Memorial Park
Most of the Berlin Wall which has existed for more than 40 years has now been overthrown. The existing sections (such as the East Side Gallery) have not shown the original appearance of the year. Only the 220-meter-long wall preserved in this heritage park allows you to see the original Berlin Wall. You will find that the Berlin Wall is not just a wall, but a set of blockades consisting of a lookout tower, concrete walls, open areas and anti-vehicle trenches. There are various exhibitions in the open space to tell the story of the split period. You can also climb the tower observation deck to look at the wall structure. In addition to the open residual walls, the ruins park also includes the introduction of the remains of the various parts of the death zone, a reconciliation church after the Cold War, the archives center on the west side and the war tomb on the east side.
9. Berlin Jewish Museum
The history of the Jewish people living in Germany is not only related to the brutal World War II. In fact, their relationship is very long and closely related. Of course, World War II is a very important period. In fact, the museum building itself is an architectural sculpture of the great significance. There is such a museum in Berlin – the core city of World War II, which also reflects the profound reflection on the catastrophe of World War II. For the architectural enthusiasts, the museum itself is a work of art. The narrow windows on the wall are like the scars of the Jews. When you step on the deep and narrow passages, there’s a creaking sound that makes visitors could not help being serious. Libeskind is definitely a master who is good at expressing the exact emotion for tragic disasters by the building.
10. German History Museum
The German History Museum was founded in 1987 by German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Berlin Mayor Dipgen on the occasion of the 750th anniversary of the founding of Berlin. In 2004, the new wing of the museum designed by Ieoh Ming Pei was completed. The permanent exhibition was opened to the public with the theme “Image and Witness of German History of Two Thousand Years” in 2004. The spiral glass center column lie between the three floors and it looks like a transparent snail shell.
Compared to many other historic cities in the world, Berlin’s history may not be so long and there are not so many prosperous historical heritages. Berlin plays an important role not only in European history but also in world history both in the past and the present. Berlin is a historical city that is constantly changing. It is a mysterious.