Berlin is a city with an ancient history. Fairly injured during the Second World War, he was divided for a long time in two, and the consequences of this separation are felt until now. Nevertheless, the city managed to get out of the experience, and now Berlin is a fairly typical (in a good sense) European capital. Now it is a cozy, clean city, in which there is everything – both old and modern.
Berlin is the second most populated city and the fifth largest city in the EU. By population, the capital of Germany is second only to London.
Berlin is often called “Athens on the Spree” in honor of the river on whose banks it is located.
In August 1961, West Berlin, separated from the East after the war, was surrounded by a Berlin wall, which was designed to stop the leakage of population from one occupation sector of the city to another. The Berlin Wall, which was destroyed only in 1989, became one of the main symbols of the confrontation between the USSR and the West.
Berlin is one of the most popular European cities among tourists.
There are two main versions of the origin of the name “Berlin”. According to the first, the city got its name from the German word “bear”, according to the second – from the Slav word “swamp”.
More than half of Berliners do not marry. Widespread cohabitation without marriage, because in this case, rent and utilities are much cheaper. For reasons of economy, steels and marriages without common life under one roof became popular.
In Berlin there are 2100 bridges and 5334 kilometers of motorways. For comparison, in Venice there are only about 400 bridges, and after all the city is located on a hundred islands.
In 2011, the opening of a new ultramodern airport Berlin-Brandenburg, which was to become the main “air gateway” of the German capital, was to be held. However, it turned out that during its construction a major engineering miscalculation was allowed, and the opening was postponed – first in 2013, and then in 2018. During this time, the cost of the project has increased from 1.7 billion euros to 5.5 billion euros.
The Berlin subway, opened at the beginning of the 20th century, is the oldest in Germany. Its longest branch stretches for 32 kilometers, the shortest – only 3 kilometers.
Three of the world-famous symbols of Berlin – the Victory Column, the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag Building.
In Berlin in 2001 was the first international art exhibition United Buddy Bears, which was then presented on all continents of the Earth. The exposition, for which famous artists from all over the world painted funny bears with their paws raised, had a tremendous success.
In Berlin there are two zoos – one in the east, and the second in the western part of the city, since for a long time they developed separately from each other. The Berlin Zoo is the oldest in Germany, and the Friedrichsfelde Zoo with an area of 160 hectares is considered the largest in Europe.
In Berlin, all state museums can be visited free of charge on Thursdays from 16:00 to 20:00.
In addition to low-rise buildings, in Berlin there are more than a dozen skyscrapers 100 meters high and above. Although what is a hundred skyscrapers? In Bangkok, for example, there are an order of magnitude more.
In honor of Berlin was named the asteroid Berolin, discovered by scientists in the late XIX century.
In total there are about 120 cities with the name “Berlin” in the world. A significant part of them are small settlements in the USA.
In one of the Berlin skyscrapers is the fastest elevator in Europe – it moves at a speed of just over 31 kilometers per hour.
Everyone who has at his disposal from 2 to 8 thousand euros, can rent for a private party or a celebration of almost any of the 180 museums in Berlin.
Musicians are allowed to perform at approximately 40 stations of the Berlin metro, but they must last no more than an hour.
