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Thanks again, Hugh.
We've now crossed the road and are in front of the Neue Wache, Germany's memorial to victims of warfare, largely caused by the Germans themselves - ironically. Designed by noted German architect Karl Schinkel in 1816, it was originally named the Konigswache - the Kings Guardhouse and was located next to the Zeughaus, the Royal Armoury, which is now the German History Museum. In 1931, the small undistinguished looking building was converted to serve as the country's first national memorial to the dead of the Great War, with its interior redesigned as a space for mourning, with a simple granite sarcophagus containing the remains of an unknown soldier. This was honouring the Volkstrauertag, Germany's day of mourning for its war dead - always the second Sunday before Advent. Twisting the purpose of the commemoration round, the Nazis changed the holiday to the Heldengedenktag "Day of Commemoration of Heroes", turning a day of mourning into a day of celebrating those the Partei considered great folk, like Horst Wessel, the Nazis' first 'martyr'. This was written into law on 27 February 1934, with the Propaganda Ministry implementing proper conduct on the day, such as the abolishing of flying flags at half-mast. A permanent honour guard was placed outside the building. After WW2, the East Germans rededicated the building as a memorial to the 'Victims of Fascism and Militarism', with some irony in ignoring their own distinct style of leadership and rule, which echoed that of the regime the communists replaced. The Changing of the Guard was something of a tourist event similar to that carried out at royal palaces round Europe; the Friedrich Engels Honor Guard performing the ritual until the National Volksarmee was disbanded in 1990.
Berlin Tour 84
The interior of the Neue Wache, with the Kathe Kollwitz scultpure of a mother and her dead son, installed on the instigation of German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, with the open oculus above it, exposing the sculpture to the weather, symbolising the suffering of civilians during WW2. Today it serves as yet another prop for selfie takers. I had to wait for some time to get this uncluttered image while these pests posed with their mobiles in front of it.
Berlin Tour 85
We have now walked further east and crossed the Schlossbrucke onto Museumsinsel, Museum island, where some of Europe's greatest national museums and art collections reside. This is the Altes Museum in the Lustgarten, scene of many a maypole dancing Nazi during National Socialist ceremonials. Originally a garden attached to the royal palace kitchens, the Lustgarten, literally Garden of Lust became a staging point for political rallies following the institution of the Weimar Republic, by communists and national socialists alike. On 7 February 1933 some 200,000 people demonstrated here against the Nazis under Adolf Hitler, that was the last time that happened, and a law was enacted shortly afterwards banning public demonstrations against the new regime. Serving as a rally point under its new masters, Hitler gave speeches to up to a million people in this square, on which new paving was installed. This 'Hitler path' still remains. Today, as evidenced in this image, it's a nice place to chillax in the summer heat, although notice that no one is splashing in the fountains. That changed rapidy as temperatures soared.
Berlin Tour 86
On the easternmost edge of the Lustgarten is the towering Berliner Dom, seen here receiving an exterior spring clean. This is the Berlin Cathedral or Oberpfarr-und Domkirche zu Berlin, to give it its proper name - the term 'Dom' denotes a collegiate church, similar to the Italian 'Duomo' or the English 'Minster' (gee, isn't Wikipedia useful). Designed by Julius and Otto Raschdorf, father and son architects, it was inaugurated in 1905 as the most recent evangelical state church, the previous one on the site having been demolished in the late 1800s to make way for it. Given its enormous size, it is considered a Protestant counterweight to the Basilica of St Peter's in Rome. During Nazi times, once Hitler had removed his political opponents and declared the Nazi party the sole legal government on 14 July 1933, he next moved on the church and proclaimed the Lutheran Reich Church, with himself elevated to the status of a gift from the Hand of God. Its symbol was perhaps the ultimate sacrilege of sacrilegious things, placing a swastika at the centre of the Christian Cross. Displaying their opposition to this, the Berliner Dom's senior clergymen were among 800 arrested and sent to spend the rest of their days in concentration camps, after a visit to the holding cells at either the Reich Security Main Office on Prinz Albrechtstrasse - which see, or Columbiahaus next to the new terminal at the Flugplatz Tempelhof. We're getting to the Fernsehturm...
Berlin Tour 87
...And here it is in all its glory; the most prominent Berlin landmark, if not the best known - that honour surely goes to the Brandenburg Gate, but specifically since the Fernsehturm can be seen from just about everywhere in the central city it earns the title of the most prominent. Constructed between 1965 and 1969, it was primarily a propaganda statement by the DDR government, being the tallest tower in Germany, a distinction it still holds, but most importantly to the East Germans, being more than 220 metres taller than the radio tower in West Berlin, although its construction gave East Germans colour TV for the first time. These days its status is more enlightened as one of the most famous symbols of the city, alongside the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag and the Siegessaule, all of which embelishes the whole range of tourist kitsch, from tea towels and t-shirts to candy and snow globes, which can be purchased at the shop on the ground floor before leaving the complex! Standing 365 metres tall, the tower holds a bar and observation deck and revolving restaurant on the floor above in the central sphere some 200 metres up, although bookings for this are essential as it is enormously popular. Berliners, with their typical dry world view call this the TV-Spargel, or TV-Asparagus. The first time I saw it I nicknamed it the Death Star, reminiscent of the floating orb in the Star Wars films. We'll come back to it by the end of the walking tour for some stunning views over the city.
Berlin Tour 88
We are standing on Spandauerstrasse looking toward the Rotes Rathaus, the Berlin town hall. Built between 1861 and 1869, it was damaged during WW2 as it was the scene of bitter fighting in April 1945 as the Soviet armies swept into the city from the east. This represents the eastern edge of what the Nazis called the Zitadelle, in the city's defence; a circular stronghold stretching as far west as Zoo Station, where the defences were ordered to hold out until the last, which they did. Once the Zitadelle had been reached by the Soviet armies, bitter building-to-building, room-to-room fighting took place, with the Rathaus being attacked on the 29th of April, by two infantry regiments supported by tanks and self-propelled guns, - the 1008th Rifle regiment and the 1010th Regiment of the 266th Rifle Division. According to Marshal Georgi Zhukov in his report on the attack on the building, resistance was so fierce that the only means of breaching it was by blowing holes in the exterior under cover of smoke screens. Hand grenades were used to clear the halls, while each room was individually scoured and cleared of remaining Germans. Just to the right of the building, running behind it is the street on which the Nazi's first martyr, Horst Wessel's family home was located. It is today named Judenstrasse - Jewish Street (!) The shrine that the Nazis unveiled to him has long been swept away and forgotten.
Berlin Tour 89
Wildly different architectural styles at play; another iconic Berlin image. I remember taking this identical photo the first time I went to Berlin in the early 1990s; it was taken from the corner of Spadauerstrasse and Rathausstrasse, from the diagonally opposite side of the road from the Rathaus, looking due east. In the grounds to the left of the previous image was where sections of the Fernsehturm's ball was assembled before it was raised up the concrete tower housing the lift shaft. Post war, the Rotes Rathaus served as the temporary hall for Allied Control Commission meetings about the city's future, until 1948, when the Soviets took control of it for their needs, which amounted to the same purpose.
Berlin Tour 90
We've walked back along Spandauerstrasse, turned due east and past the Fernsehturn across to Alexanderplatz. One of the principal squares in the city, Alexanderplatz had little cultural and civic significance until the division of the city after WW2, when it became the central public hub of East Berlin. It was originally a housing block with shops lining a simple square with transport links, but following a visit to the city by Tsar Alexander I on 25 October 1805, the square was named after him. It is now considered to be the most visited place in Berlin, with around 360,000 visitors per day and is a hang out for youngsters and hipsters - all the cool kids go to Alexanderplatz today, to busk, sell tacky East German souvenirs, skateboard or just to hang out in clumps, as only bored youth can. Saturn in the background is a multi-storey department store, and I bought a new camera lens while I was there. I do enjoy Berlin in summer; the vibe is irresistable.
Berlin Tour 91
Alexanderplatz' world clock was a celebrated feature of the square in DDR times, telling those who saw it what the time was in cities round the world they weren't allowed to visit. Opened to the public on 30 September 1969, the Urania-Weltzeituhr works like this - from Wikipedia:
"The main feature of the World Clock is a large twenty-four sided column (the cross section of which is a regular icositetragon). Each side of the column represents one of the twenty-four main time zones of the Earth, and has the names of major cities which use that time zone engraved into it. A windrose is painted onto the pavement below the column which holds up the clock. Four smaller analog clocks are located on the sides of the narrow column which holds up the rotunda, and the entire clock is more than large enough for people to stand under it and read the smaller clocks.
The clock is mechanical, and in normal operation is constantly in motion, although the motion is too slow to be seen by a human observer – it is only readily apparent in timelapse recordings. Numbers – in a line from one through twenty-four – revolve around the outside of the clock throughout the day. To read the clock, a user finds the side of the icositetragon which corresponds to the city or time zone they are interested in and notes the number under it. The number corresponds to the current hour in that city. If the number is not directly under the side, but is instead off-set by some fraction, that can be used as a way to estimate the number of minutes past the hour it is in that city. This is made easier because each number is in a different-colored rectangle, the length of which corresponds to one side of the icositetragon."
Berlin Tour 92
That's it for now, on this, the penultimate post of my walking tour. Next, the darkest chapter in post-war Berlin's colourful history.
We've now crossed the road and are in front of the Neue Wache, Germany's memorial to victims of warfare, largely caused by the Germans themselves - ironically. Designed by noted German architect Karl Schinkel in 1816, it was originally named the Konigswache - the Kings Guardhouse and was located next to the Zeughaus, the Royal Armoury, which is now the German History Museum. In 1931, the small undistinguished looking building was converted to serve as the country's first national memorial to the dead of the Great War, with its interior redesigned as a space for mourning, with a simple granite sarcophagus containing the remains of an unknown soldier. This was honouring the Volkstrauertag, Germany's day of mourning for its war dead - always the second Sunday before Advent. Twisting the purpose of the commemoration round, the Nazis changed the holiday to the Heldengedenktag "Day of Commemoration of Heroes", turning a day of mourning into a day of celebrating those the Partei considered great folk, like Horst Wessel, the Nazis' first 'martyr'. This was written into law on 27 February 1934, with the Propaganda Ministry implementing proper conduct on the day, such as the abolishing of flying flags at half-mast. A permanent honour guard was placed outside the building. After WW2, the East Germans rededicated the building as a memorial to the 'Victims of Fascism and Militarism', with some irony in ignoring their own distinct style of leadership and rule, which echoed that of the regime the communists replaced. The Changing of the Guard was something of a tourist event similar to that carried out at royal palaces round Europe; the Friedrich Engels Honor Guard performing the ritual until the National Volksarmee was disbanded in 1990.
The interior of the Neue Wache, with the Kathe Kollwitz scultpure of a mother and her dead son, installed on the instigation of German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, with the open oculus above it, exposing the sculpture to the weather, symbolising the suffering of civilians during WW2. Today it serves as yet another prop for selfie takers. I had to wait for some time to get this uncluttered image while these pests posed with their mobiles in front of it.
We have now walked further east and crossed the Schlossbrucke onto Museumsinsel, Museum island, where some of Europe's greatest national museums and art collections reside. This is the Altes Museum in the Lustgarten, scene of many a maypole dancing Nazi during National Socialist ceremonials. Originally a garden attached to the royal palace kitchens, the Lustgarten, literally Garden of Lust became a staging point for political rallies following the institution of the Weimar Republic, by communists and national socialists alike. On 7 February 1933 some 200,000 people demonstrated here against the Nazis under Adolf Hitler, that was the last time that happened, and a law was enacted shortly afterwards banning public demonstrations against the new regime. Serving as a rally point under its new masters, Hitler gave speeches to up to a million people in this square, on which new paving was installed. This 'Hitler path' still remains. Today, as evidenced in this image, it's a nice place to chillax in the summer heat, although notice that no one is splashing in the fountains. That changed rapidy as temperatures soared.
On the easternmost edge of the Lustgarten is the towering Berliner Dom, seen here receiving an exterior spring clean. This is the Berlin Cathedral or Oberpfarr-und Domkirche zu Berlin, to give it its proper name - the term 'Dom' denotes a collegiate church, similar to the Italian 'Duomo' or the English 'Minster' (gee, isn't Wikipedia useful). Designed by Julius and Otto Raschdorf, father and son architects, it was inaugurated in 1905 as the most recent evangelical state church, the previous one on the site having been demolished in the late 1800s to make way for it. Given its enormous size, it is considered a Protestant counterweight to the Basilica of St Peter's in Rome. During Nazi times, once Hitler had removed his political opponents and declared the Nazi party the sole legal government on 14 July 1933, he next moved on the church and proclaimed the Lutheran Reich Church, with himself elevated to the status of a gift from the Hand of God. Its symbol was perhaps the ultimate sacrilege of sacrilegious things, placing a swastika at the centre of the Christian Cross. Displaying their opposition to this, the Berliner Dom's senior clergymen were among 800 arrested and sent to spend the rest of their days in concentration camps, after a visit to the holding cells at either the Reich Security Main Office on Prinz Albrechtstrasse - which see, or Columbiahaus next to the new terminal at the Flugplatz Tempelhof. We're getting to the Fernsehturm...
...And here it is in all its glory; the most prominent Berlin landmark, if not the best known - that honour surely goes to the Brandenburg Gate, but specifically since the Fernsehturm can be seen from just about everywhere in the central city it earns the title of the most prominent. Constructed between 1965 and 1969, it was primarily a propaganda statement by the DDR government, being the tallest tower in Germany, a distinction it still holds, but most importantly to the East Germans, being more than 220 metres taller than the radio tower in West Berlin, although its construction gave East Germans colour TV for the first time. These days its status is more enlightened as one of the most famous symbols of the city, alongside the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag and the Siegessaule, all of which embelishes the whole range of tourist kitsch, from tea towels and t-shirts to candy and snow globes, which can be purchased at the shop on the ground floor before leaving the complex! Standing 365 metres tall, the tower holds a bar and observation deck and revolving restaurant on the floor above in the central sphere some 200 metres up, although bookings for this are essential as it is enormously popular. Berliners, with their typical dry world view call this the TV-Spargel, or TV-Asparagus. The first time I saw it I nicknamed it the Death Star, reminiscent of the floating orb in the Star Wars films. We'll come back to it by the end of the walking tour for some stunning views over the city.
We are standing on Spandauerstrasse looking toward the Rotes Rathaus, the Berlin town hall. Built between 1861 and 1869, it was damaged during WW2 as it was the scene of bitter fighting in April 1945 as the Soviet armies swept into the city from the east. This represents the eastern edge of what the Nazis called the Zitadelle, in the city's defence; a circular stronghold stretching as far west as Zoo Station, where the defences were ordered to hold out until the last, which they did. Once the Zitadelle had been reached by the Soviet armies, bitter building-to-building, room-to-room fighting took place, with the Rathaus being attacked on the 29th of April, by two infantry regiments supported by tanks and self-propelled guns, - the 1008th Rifle regiment and the 1010th Regiment of the 266th Rifle Division. According to Marshal Georgi Zhukov in his report on the attack on the building, resistance was so fierce that the only means of breaching it was by blowing holes in the exterior under cover of smoke screens. Hand grenades were used to clear the halls, while each room was individually scoured and cleared of remaining Germans. Just to the right of the building, running behind it is the street on which the Nazi's first martyr, Horst Wessel's family home was located. It is today named Judenstrasse - Jewish Street (!) The shrine that the Nazis unveiled to him has long been swept away and forgotten.
Wildly different architectural styles at play; another iconic Berlin image. I remember taking this identical photo the first time I went to Berlin in the early 1990s; it was taken from the corner of Spadauerstrasse and Rathausstrasse, from the diagonally opposite side of the road from the Rathaus, looking due east. In the grounds to the left of the previous image was where sections of the Fernsehturm's ball was assembled before it was raised up the concrete tower housing the lift shaft. Post war, the Rotes Rathaus served as the temporary hall for Allied Control Commission meetings about the city's future, until 1948, when the Soviets took control of it for their needs, which amounted to the same purpose.
We've walked back along Spandauerstrasse, turned due east and past the Fernsehturn across to Alexanderplatz. One of the principal squares in the city, Alexanderplatz had little cultural and civic significance until the division of the city after WW2, when it became the central public hub of East Berlin. It was originally a housing block with shops lining a simple square with transport links, but following a visit to the city by Tsar Alexander I on 25 October 1805, the square was named after him. It is now considered to be the most visited place in Berlin, with around 360,000 visitors per day and is a hang out for youngsters and hipsters - all the cool kids go to Alexanderplatz today, to busk, sell tacky East German souvenirs, skateboard or just to hang out in clumps, as only bored youth can. Saturn in the background is a multi-storey department store, and I bought a new camera lens while I was there. I do enjoy Berlin in summer; the vibe is irresistable.
Alexanderplatz' world clock was a celebrated feature of the square in DDR times, telling those who saw it what the time was in cities round the world they weren't allowed to visit. Opened to the public on 30 September 1969, the Urania-Weltzeituhr works like this - from Wikipedia:
"The main feature of the World Clock is a large twenty-four sided column (the cross section of which is a regular icositetragon). Each side of the column represents one of the twenty-four main time zones of the Earth, and has the names of major cities which use that time zone engraved into it. A windrose is painted onto the pavement below the column which holds up the clock. Four smaller analog clocks are located on the sides of the narrow column which holds up the rotunda, and the entire clock is more than large enough for people to stand under it and read the smaller clocks.
The clock is mechanical, and in normal operation is constantly in motion, although the motion is too slow to be seen by a human observer – it is only readily apparent in timelapse recordings. Numbers – in a line from one through twenty-four – revolve around the outside of the clock throughout the day. To read the clock, a user finds the side of the icositetragon which corresponds to the city or time zone they are interested in and notes the number under it. The number corresponds to the current hour in that city. If the number is not directly under the side, but is instead off-set by some fraction, that can be used as a way to estimate the number of minutes past the hour it is in that city. This is made easier because each number is in a different-colored rectangle, the length of which corresponds to one side of the icositetragon."
That's it for now, on this, the penultimate post of my walking tour. Next, the darkest chapter in post-war Berlin's colourful history.
