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pictures made by Nora Bruns
Last update: November 11th

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Berlin Wall

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TV-Tower

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Public Transfer

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Angel of Berlin
In 1230 the margraves of Brandenburg gave the two small trade villages Coelln and Berlin townrights. As a trade center and thoroughfare from East to West both cities grew fast within the next decades. In 1432, at a time where Berlin and Coelln already became a rich and powerful Double-city, the townmembers created a common administration and established Berlin-Coelln as one of the leading members of the "Hanse"-federation.

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Berlin Bar Scene

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Berlin Bar Scene

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TV-Tower

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Silhoutte of TV-Tower

During the "Thirty-Year-War" from 1618 to 1648 Berlin was plundered several times so that the number of citizens was diminished from 15000 to 6000. The "Great Elector" Friedrich Wilhelm ordered the rebuilding of the economy of Berlin. With the declaration of the "Edict of tolerance" in 1664 and the "Edict of Potsdam" in 1665 a lot of religious persecuted (especially french Calvinists and Jewish people) moved to Berlin. In 1701 Berlin-Coelln became the King's residence of Friedrich I, king in Prussian.

His successor "Soldier-King" Friedrich Wilhelm I founded the Prussian military state with Berlin as capital. Under the reign of his son, Friedrich II, Prussian became one of the most powerful European countries and Berlin one of the most well-known capital-towns in Europe.

The beginning of the cultural and educational development started in 1810, when the first university was founded. With the industrial revolution in the middle of the 19th century Berlin became what it is nowadays, a large industrial center in Germany. But the most dark period was yet to come.

In 1933 Hitler became Chancellor of Germany creating a dictatureship which ended in the 2nd World War.

After the capitulation on May 8th 1945 Berlin was divided into 4 sectors governed by the victor nations USA, France, England and Sovietunion. 4 years later the German Democratic Republic (GDR) was founded with the Soviet-occupied sector (socalled East-Berlin) as capital.

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Humboldt University

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Modern Art

Gendarmenmarkt

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German Cathedral at the Gendarmen Markt / Historical Theatre

With the building of the Berlin-Wall in 1961 (in order to spot people from the GDR to escape into the West) the city of Berlin was divided into two parts again. The Berlin Wall was teared down in 1989.

After the reunion in 1991 Berlin was declared as the new capital of the united Germany. Still, you can see a lot of the historical monuments in some parts in Berlin telling a unique 760-years-lasting story of trade, glory, culture, war, division and reunion.

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Ampelmännchen

Berlin changes every day