1.
Berlin
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Berlin is the capital and the largest city of Germany as well as one of its constituent 16 states. With a population of approximately 3.5 million, Berlin is the second most populous city proper, due to its location in the European Plain, Berlin is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. Around one-third of the area is composed of forests, parks, gardens, rivers. Berlin in the 1920s was the third largest municipality in the world, following German reunification in 1990, Berlin once again became the capital of all-Germany. Berlin is a city of culture, politics, media. Its economy is based on high-tech firms and the sector, encompassing a diverse range of creative industries, research facilities, media corporations. Berlin serves as a hub for air and rail traffic and has a highly complex public transportation network. The metropolis is a popular tourist destination, significant industries also include IT, pharmaceuticals, biomedical engineering, clean tech, biotechnology, construction and electronics. Modern Berlin is home to world renowned universities, orchestras, museums and its urban setting has made it a sought-after location for international film productions. The city is known for its festivals, diverse architecture, nightlife, contemporary arts. Since 2000 Berlin has seen the emergence of a cosmopolitan entrepreneurial scene, the name Berlin has its roots in the language of West Slavic inhabitants of the area of todays Berlin, and may be related to the Old Polabian stem berl-/birl-. All German place names ending on -ow, -itz and -in, since the Ber- at the beginning sounds like the German word Bär, a bear appears in the coat of arms of the city. It is therefore a canting arm, the first written records of towns in the area of present-day Berlin date from the late 12th century. Spandau is first mentioned in 1197 and Köpenick in 1209, although these areas did not join Berlin until 1920, the central part of Berlin can be traced back to two towns. Cölln on the Fischerinsel is first mentioned in a 1237 document,1237 is considered the founding date of the city. The two towns over time formed close economic and social ties, and profited from the right on the two important trade routes Via Imperii and from Bruges to Novgorod. In 1307, they formed an alliance with a common external policy, in 1415 Frederick I became the elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, which he ruled until 1440. In 1443 Frederick II Irontooth started the construction of a new palace in the twin city Berlin-Cölln
2.
Oberbaum Bridge
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The Oberbaum Bridge is a double-deck bridge crossing Berlins River Spree, considered one of the citys landmarks. It links Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg, former boroughs that were divided by the Berlin Wall, the lower deck of the bridge carries a roadway, which connects Oberbaum Straße to the south of the river with Warschauer Straße to the north. The upper deck of the bridge carries Berlin U-Bahn line U1, the bridge appears prominently in the 1998 film Run Lola Run. The bridge is built on the boundary of the municipal area with its rural environs. A wooden drawbridge was built as part of the wall, it served as a gate to the city, the name Oberbaumbrücke stemmed from the heavy tree trunk, covered in metal spikes, that was used as a boom to block the river at night to prevent smuggling. At 154 meters it was Berlins longest, but was no longer adequate to the amount of crossing it. Plans began to be drawn up for a new stone construction, the Siemens & Halske company, which was planning to build the Berlin U-Bahn, insisted on a combined crossing for road vehicles, pedestrians, and the new rail line. The new bridge opened in 1896 after two years of construction, in time for the Berlin Trades Exhibition, the two towers were inspired by the Middle Gate Tower in the northern Brandenburg city of Prenzlau. Although purely cosmetic, they served as a reminder that the site was once Berlin’s river gateway, in 1902 the first segment of the U-Bahn opened. Its inaugural journey, carrying 19 passengers, ran from Stralauer Thor, at the end of the bridge. Stralauer Thor was dismantled after being damaged in a 1945 air raid, after Berlin absorbed several other municipalities in 1920, the Oberbaum Bridge became the crossing between the new boroughs of Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg. In April 1945 the Wehrmacht blew up the section of the bridge in an attempt to stop the Red Army from crossing it. After the war ended, Berlin was divided into four sectors, the Oberbaum Bridge crossed between the American and Soviet sectors. Until the mid-1950s, pedestrians, motor vehicles, and the city tramway were able to cross the bridge without difficulty, the West Berlin U-Bahn line was forced to terminate at Schlesisches Tor. Beginning on 21 December 1963, the Oberbaum Bridge was used as a border crossing for West Berlin residents only. It opened to pedestrians and traffic on 9 November 1994, the anniversary of the opening of the Berlin Wall. The U-Bahn line to Warschauer Straße station was reopened a year later, since 1997, a neon installation entitled Stone - Paper - Scissors by Thorsten Goldberg has adorned the bridge. Due to their higher turnout and the armament, the Friedrichshain detachments have won the water battle on a regular basis
3.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
4.
Germany
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Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
5.
States of Germany
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Germany is a federal republic consisting of sixteen federal states. Since todays Germany was formed from a collection of several states, it has a federal constitution. The remaining 13 states are called Flächenländer, the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949 was through the unification of the western states created in the aftermath of World War II. West Berlin, while not part of the Federal Republic, was largely integrated and considered as a de facto state. In 1952, following a referendum, Baden, Württemberg-Baden, in 1957, the Saar Protectorate rejoined the Federal Republic as the Saarland. Federalism is one of the constitutional principles of Germany. After 1945, new states were constituted in all four zones of occupation, in 1949, the states in the three western zones formed the Federal Republic of Germany. This is in contrast to the development in Austria, where the Bund was constituted first. The use of the term Länder dates back to the Weimar Constitution of 1919, before this time, the constituent states of the German Empire were called Staaten. Today, it is common to use the term Bundesland. However, this term is not used officially, neither by the constitution of 1919 nor by the Basic Law of 1949, three Länder call themselves Freistaaten, Bavaria, Saxony, and Thuringia. He summarizes the arguments for boundary reform in Germany. The German system of dual federalism requires strong Länder that have the administrative and fiscal capacity to implement legislation, too many Länder also make coordination among them and with the federation more complicated. But several proposals have failed so far, territorial reform remains a topic in German politics. Federalism has a tradition in German history. The Holy Roman Empire comprised many petty states numbering more than 300 around 1796, the number of territories was greatly reduced during the Napoleonic Wars. After the Congress of Vienna,39 states formed the German Confederation, the new German Empire included 25 states and the imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine. The empire was dominated by Prussia, which controlled 65% of the territory, after the territorial losses of the Treaty of Versailles, the remaining states continued as republics of a new German federation
6.
Central European Summer Time
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It corresponds to UTC + two hours. Other names which have been applied to Central European Summer Time are Middle European Summer Time, Central European Daylight Saving Time, and Bravo Time. Since 1996 European Summer Time has been observed between 1,00 UTC on the last Sunday of March and 1,00 on the last Sunday of October, the following countries and territories use Central European Summer Time. In addition, Libya used CEST during the years 1951–1959, 1982–1989, 1996–1997, European Summer Time Other countries and territories in UTC+2 time zone Other names of UTC+2 time zone
7.
Vehicle registration plate
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A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate or a license plate, is metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identification purposes. The registration identifier is a numeric or alphanumeric ID that uniquely identifies the owner within the issuing regions database. The first two letters indicate the state to which the vehicle is registered, the next two digit numbers are the sequential number of a district. Due to heavy volume of vehicle registration, the numbers were given to the RTO offices of registration as well, the third part indicates the year of registration of the vehicle and is a 4 digit number unique to each plate. In some countries, the identifier is unique within the entire country, whether the identifier is associated with a vehicle or a person also varies by issuing agency. In the vast majority of jurisdictions, the government holds a monopoly on the manufacturing of vehicle registration plates for that jurisdiction. Thus, it is illegal for private citizens to make and affix their own plates. Alternately, the government will merely assign plate numbers, and it is the owners responsibility to find an approved private supplier to make a plate with that number. In some jurisdictions, plates will be assigned to that particular vehicle for its lifetime. If the vehicle is destroyed or exported to a different country. Other jurisdictions follow a policy, meaning that when a vehicle is sold the seller removes the current plate from the vehicle. Buyers must either obtain new plates or attach plates they already hold, as well as register their vehicles under the buyers name, a person who sells a car and then purchases a new one can apply to have the old plates put onto the new car. One who sells a car and does not buy a new one may, depending on the laws involved, have to turn the old plates in or destroy them. Some jurisdictions permit the registration of the vehicle with personal plates, in some jurisdictions, plates require periodic replacement, often associated with a design change of the plate itself. Vehicle owners may or may not have the option to keep their original plate number, alternately, or additionally, vehicle owners have to replace a small decal on the plate or use a decal on the windshield to indicate the expiration date of the vehicle registration. Plates are usually fixed directly to a vehicle or to a frame that is fixed to the vehicle. Sometimes, the plate frames contain advertisements inserted by the service centre or the dealership from which the vehicle was purchased. Vehicle owners can also purchase customized frames to replace the original frames, in some jurisdictions licence plate frames are illegal
8.
Boroughs and neighborhoods of Berlin
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Berlin is both a city and one of Germany’s federal states. Since a 2001 administrative reform, it has made up of twelve boroughs or districts, each with its own local government, though all boroughs are subject to Berlin’s city. Each borough is governed by a council with five councillors and a borough mayor, the borough council is elected by the borough assembly. The borough governments power is limited, and subordinate to the Berlin Senate, the borough mayors form a council of mayors, which advises the Senate. Each borough is made up of several officially recognized subdistricts or neighborhoods, the neighborhoods do not have their own governmental bodies, but are recognized by the city and the boroughs for planning and statistical purposes. Berliners often identify more with the neighborhood where they live than with the borough that governs them, the neighborhoods are further subdivided into statistical tracts, which are mainly used for planning and statistical purposes. The statistical tracts correspond roughly but not exactly with neighbourhoods recognized by residents, by 2000, Berlin comprised 23 boroughs, as three new boroughs had been created in East Berlin. Today Berlin is divided into boroughs, reduced from 23 boroughs before Berlins 2001 administrative reform. An administrative reform in 2001 merged the existing boroughs into the current 12 boroughs, the power of the borough governments is limited and their performance of assigned tasks is subject to a regulatory supervision by the Senate. The BVV assembly is elected by the boroughs population and therefore acts as a borough parliament. It elects the members of the council, checks its daily administration and is able to make applications and recommendations. The twelve borough mayors regularly meet in the Council of Mayors, led by the citys Governing Mayor, the localities have no local government bodies, and the administrative duties of the former locality representative, the Ortsvorsteher, were taken over by the borough mayors. Only the unchanged boroughs of Neukölln, Reinickendorf and Spandau havent changed their field, the coat of arms of Pankow was created with a new design in 2008, having been the only district without an emblem for 7 years. As of 2012, the boroughs are made up of a total of 96 officially recognized localities. Almost all of them are subdivided into several other zones. The largest Ortsteil is Köpenick, the smallest one is Hansaviertel, the most populated is Neukölln, the least populated is Malchow
9.
East Berlin
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East Berlin existed between 1949 and 1990 and consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors became West Berlin, strongly associated with West Germany, from 13 August 1961 until 9 November 1989, East Berlin was separated from West Berlin by the Berlin Wall. In East German official usage, it widespread in the 1970s to refer to the Western part of the city as Westberlin. In May 1945, the Soviet Union installed a city government for the city that was called Magistrate of Greater Berlin. After the war, the Allied Forces initially administrated the city together within the Allied Kommandatura, however, in 1948 the Soviet representative left the Kommandatura and the common administration broke apart during the following months. In the Soviet sector, a city government was established. When the German Democratic Republic was formed in 1949, it immediately claimed East Berlin as its capital - a claim that was recognized by all Communist countries, nevertheless, its representatives to the Peoples Chamber were not directly elected and did not have full voting rights until 1981. In June 1948, all railways and roads leading to West Berlin were blocked, however, more than one-thousand East Germans were escaping to West Berlin each day by 1960. In August 1961, the East German Government tried to stop that from happening by building the Berlin Wall and it was very dangerous for illegal migrants to cross because of the presence of armed guards that were trained to shoot people in such cases. East Germany was a socialist republic, but there was not complete economic equality, privileges such as prestigious apartments and good schooling were given to members of the ruling party and their family. Eventually, Christian churches were allowed to operate without restraint after years of harassment by authorities, in the 1970s wages of East Berliners rose and working hours fell. The United States Command Berlin, for example, published detailed instructions for U. S. military, in fact, the three Western commandants regularly protested against the presence of the East German National Peoples Army in East Berlin, particularly on the occasion of military parades. Nevertheless, the three Western Allies eventually established embassies in East Berlin in the 1970s, although they never recognized it as the capital of East Germany, treaties instead used terms such as seat of government. On 3 October 1990, West and East Germany and West and East Berlin were reunited, after reunification, the East German economy suffered significantly. Many East German factories were shut due to inability to comply with West German pollution and safety standards. Because of this, an amount of West German economic aid was poured into East Germany to revitalize it. This stimulus was part-funded through a 7. 5% tax on income, despite the large sums of economic aid poured into East Berlin, there still remain obvious differences between the former East and West Berlin. East Berlin has a visual style, this is partly due to the greater survival of prewar façades and streetscapes
10.
Mitte
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Mitte is the first and most central borough of Berlin. It was created in Berlins 2001 administrative reform by the merger of the districts of Mitte proper, Tiergarten and Wedding. It is one of the two boroughs which comprises former West and East Berlin districts, note that when Berliners speak of Mitte, they usually refer to the smaller locality and not to the larger borough. Mitte is located in the part of Berlin along the Spree River. It borders on Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf in the west, Reinickendorf in the north, Pankow in the east, Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg in the southeast, in the middle of the Spree lies Museum Island with its museums and Berlin Cathedral. The central square in Mitte is Alexanderplatz with the prominent Fernsehturm, Germanys highest building, juni to the Victory Column and the centre of former West Berlin in Charlottenburg, or Karl-Marx-Allee from Alexanderplatz to Friedrichshain and the eastern suburbs. The former Mitte district had established by the 1920 Greater Berlin Act and comprised large parts of the historic city around Alt-Berlin. Brandenburg Gate was the exit at the Berlin city boundary until 1861. Between 1961 and 1990, Mitte was the part of East Berlin, however at the same time it was surrounded by the Berlin Wall at its north, south. The immigrant community is diverse, however, Turks, Africans, Eastern Europeans. Kerület, Budapest, Hungary since 2005 Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow, Russia since 2006 Berlin Mitte Official homepage Official homepage of Berlin
11.
Prenzlauer Berg
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Prenzlauer Berg is a locality of Berlin, forming the southerly and most urban part of the district of Pankow. Since its founding in 1920 until 2001, Prenzlauer Berg was a district of Berlin in its own right, however, that year it was incorporated into the greater district of Pankow. It was an important site for the revolution that brought down the Berlin Wall in 1989. In the 1990s the borough was home to a vibrant squatting scene. It has since experienced rapid gentrification, Prenzlauer Berg is a portion of the Pankow district in northeast Berlin. To the West and Southwest it borders Mitte, to the South Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, to the East Lichtenberg, geologically, the borough straddles the southernmost edge of the Barnim glacial deposit formed during the last Ice Age. Prenzlauer Berg was always seen as a hill by the inhabitants of historic Berlin situated to the South in the valley along the river Spree. Until the 20th century the area was referred to as Windmill Hill. Today, the highest point of the district is 91 meters above sea level in the northwest of Volkspark Prenzlauer Berg. This hill consists of the rubble from the houses that were destroyed in World War II during allied air raids. Prenzlauer Berg is characterized by Wilhelmine buildings, that were erected at the turn of the 20th century, over 80% of all housing in this area was constructed before 1948, with the oldest building still standing being from 1848 at 77 Kastanienallee. Though substantial, there was less war-related destruction here than in parts of the city. At the time of German Reunification the boroughs residential areas were characterized by dilapidated grey facades that had not seen a coat of paint since the 1930s. In the 1990s the buildings who belonged to state-owned housing associations were sold to investors who had them renovated and raised the rents. Most of the original inhabitants were not able to afford the increased costs and have since moved away. In the 21st century the many empty lots that were sites for the street culture integral to the character of the borough were filled by high-class condominiums. Today, Prenzlauer Berg forms a nearly homogeneous historic building area, over 300 buildings remain protected as historic monuments, like the municipal swimming pool at Oderberger Straße and the breweries on Milastraße and Knaackstraße. The borough is famous for its restaurants and bars, the nightlife concentrates around the U-Bahn station Eberswalder Straße
12.
Kreuzberg
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Kreuzberg, a part of the combined Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough located south of Mitte since 2001, is one of the best-known areas of Berlin. The borough is known for its large percentage of immigrants and descendants of immigrants. As of 2006,31. 6% of Kreuzbergs inhabitants did not have German citizenship, the counterculture tradition of Kreuzberg led to a plurality of votes for the Green Party, which is unique among all Berlin boroughs. The local MP Hans-Christian Ströbele is the only Green politician directly elected to the federal Bundestag parliament, Kreuzberg is bounded by the river Spree in the east. The Landwehrkanal flows through Kreuzberg from east to west, with the Paul-Lincke-Ufer running alongside it, other characteristics are the old U-Bahn line of the present-day U1, the Görlitzer Park in SO36 and the Viktoriapark on the slope of the Kreuzberg hill in SW61. Kreuzberg is divided into 2 zones, Östliches Kreuzberg, Westliches Kreuzberg, in contrast to many other areas of Berlin, which were villages before their integration into Berlin, Kreuzberg has a rather short history. It was formed on 1 October 1920 by the Greater Berlin Act providing for the incorporation of suburbs, on 27 September 1921 the borough assembly of Hallesches Tor decided to rename the borough after the homonymous hill. Kreuzberg, literally meaning cross hill, is the point of highest elevation in the Kreuzberg locality, the hill is traditionally a place for weekend trips. It received its name from the 1821 Prussian National Monument for the Liberation Wars by Karl Friedrich Schinkel within the Viktoriapark, except for its northernmost part, the quarter Friedrichstadt, todays Kreuzberg was a very rural place until well into the 19th century. This changed when, in the 1860s, industrialization caused Berlin to grow rapidly and this called for extensive housing – much of which was built exploiting the dire needs of the poor, with widespread land speculation. Many of Kreuzbergs buildings originate from that time and they were built on the streets laid out in the Hobrecht-Plan in an area that came to be known architecturally as the Wilhelmine Ring. Far into the 20th century, Kreuzberg was the most populous of Berlins boroughs even in numbers, with more than 400,000 people, although it was. As a result, with more than 60,000 people per square kilometer, in addition to housing, Kreuzberg was also one center of Berlins industry. Both of these quarters were almost entirely destroyed by air raids during World War II. In remembrance of the old tradition, the Axel Springer press company erected its German headquarters at Kochstraße again, after World War II, Kreuzbergs housing rents were regulated by law which made investments unattractive. As a result, housing was of low quality, but cheap, starting in the late 1960s, increasing numbers of students, artists, and immigrants began moving to Kreuzberg. Enclosed by the Berlin Wall on three sides, the area famous for its alternative lifestyle and its squatters, especially the SO36 part of Kreuzberg. Starting in 1987, there have been violent riots in SO36 on Labour day, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Kreuzberg suddenly found itself in the middle of the city again
13.
Volkspark Friedrichshain
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Volkspark Friedrichshain is a large urban park on the border of the Berlin neighborhoods of Friedrichshain and Prenzlauer Berg. The oldest public park in Berlin, at 52 hectares, it is also the fourth-largest, after Tempelhofer Park, Tiergarten, the park was constructed on the space of a former vineyard, and officially opened in 1848 with an area of 46 hectares. The size, shape, and layout of the park have changed over the intervening years, one of the earliest changes was due to the construction of Berlins first urban hospital, Krankenhaus im Friedrichshain, which was built in 1868 to 1874 in the southeast part of the park. The hospital, which was designed by Martin Gropius and Heino Schmieden, was directed by the notable Rudolf Virchow. An element of the park that survived the destruction wrought during the Second World War is the Fairy Tale Fountain, designed in 1913 by Berlins city building director, Ludwig Hoffmann, the fountain contains 106 stone sculptures representing characters from traditional German fairy tales. The fountain was created for the children of Berlin, during a time in which rickets, the Second World War had a dramatic impact upon the rest of the park. The Nazi military made use of the park, constructing flak towers in 1941, as well as bunkers, at the end of the war Berlin was divided into four parts by the Allied Powers, and the Volkspark resided in the Soviet Sector. The reconstruction of the park was undertaken by the German Democratic Republic. A plan was devised by Reinhold Linger, the GDR director of landscape and park architecture, in 1946 the bunkers were destroyed, filled, and covered by over two million cubic meters of rubble from the ruins of destroyed buildings. The larger of the two became known as both Mont Klamott and Große Bunkerberg, the tall bunker mountain, and is 78 meters tall. The smaller hill, Kleine Bunkerberg, the small mountain, has a height of 48 meters. With the passage of time and the growth of greenery, the hills now appear to be natural features. The park continued its evolution during the cold war, an open air theater was constructed in 1950, and after recent renovation remains open today. Two pools were constructed during the period from 1949–1951, a 5-meter deep pool for diving, in 1989, a Japanese Pavilion which included a Peace Bell dedicated to unity against nuclear war was constructed in between the two Schuttberge as a gift from Japan to East Berlin. The swimming pools built in the GDR period have been replaced by a complex for beach volleyball, rock climbing, skateboarding. The Volkspark is a leisure location in Berlin, and is open 24 hours. In addition to the amenities mentioned earlier, the park has playgrounds, many large Liegewiese, a pond, tennis courts, a wading pool. It is also crisscrossed with paths appropriate for jogging at several difficulty levels, the Park is easily accessible using Bus number 200 from Unter den Linden, Alexanderplatz, etc
14.
Nazism
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National Socialism, more commonly known as Nazism, is the ideology and practice associated with the 20th-century German Nazi Party and Nazi Germany, as well as other far-right groups. Nazism subscribed to theories of racial hierarchy and Social Darwinism, identifying Germans as part of what Nazis regarded as an Aryan or Nordic master race and it aimed to overcome social divisions and create a homogeneous society, unified on the basis of racial purity. The term National Socialism arose out of attempts to create a nationalist redefinition of socialism, the Nazi Partys precursor, the Pan-German nationalist and anti-Semitic German Workers Party, was founded on 5 January 1919. By the early 1920s, Adolf Hitler assumed control of the organisation, following the Holocaust and German defeat in World War II, only a few fringe racist groups, usually referred to as neo-Nazis, still describe themselves as following National Socialism. The full name of Adolf Hitlers party was Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, the shorthand Nazi was formed from the first two syllables of the German pronunciation of the word national. The term was in use before the rise of the NSDAP as a colloquial and derogatory word for a peasant, characterizing an awkward. It derived from Ignaz, being a version of Ignatius, a common name in Bavaria. Opponents seized on this and shortened the first word of the name, Nationalsozialistische. The NSDAP briefly adopted the Nazi designation, attempting to reappropriate the term, the use of Nazi Germany, Nazi regime, and so on was popularised by German exiles abroad. From them, the spread into other languages and was eventually brought back to Germany after World War II. In English, Nazism is a name for the ideology the party advocated. The majority of scholars identify Nazism in practice as a form of far-right politics, far-right themes in Nazism include the argument that superior people have a right to dominate over other people and purge society of supposed inferior elements. Adolf Hitler and other proponents officially portrayed Nazism as being neither left- nor right-wing, but the politicians of the Right deserve exactly the same reproach. It was through their miserable cowardice that those ruffians of Jews who came into power in 1918 were able to rob the nation of its arms, a major inspiration for the Nazis were the far-right nationalist Freikorps, paramilitary organisations that engaged in political violence after World War I. The Nazis stated the alliance was purely tactical and there remained substantial differences with the DNVP, the Nazis described the DNVP as a bourgeois party and called themselves an anti-bourgeois party. After the elections in 1932, the alliance broke after the DNVP lost many of its seats in the Reichstag, the Nazis denounced them as an insignificant heap of reactionaries. The DNVP responded by denouncing the Nazis for their socialism, their violence. Kaiser Wilhelm II, who was pressured to abdicate the throne and flee into exile amidst an attempted communist revolution in Germany, there were factions in the Nazi Party, both conservative and radical
15.
Horst Wessel
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He rose to command several SA squads and districts. On 14 January 1930, he was shot in the head by two members of the Communist Party of Germany, Albrecht Ali Höhler was arrested and charged with his murder. He was initially sentenced to six years in prison, but was taken out of jail. Wessels funeral was given attention in Berlin, with many of the Nazi elite in attendance. After his death, he became a major Nazi propaganda symbol in the Third Reich, the march he had written the lyrics to was re-named the Horst-Wessel-Lied, and became the official anthem of the Nazi Party. After Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, the became the co-national anthem of Germany. Wessels mother, Bertha Luise Margarete Wessel, also came from a family of Lutheran pastors, Wessels parents were married on 1 May 1906. He grew up alongside his sister Ingeborg Paula Margarethe and his brother Werner Georg Erich Ludwig, on 19 April 1926, Wessel enrolled in Friedrich Wilhelm University to study law. Near the end of time, he also founded his own youth group, the Knappschaft. He soon became a leader, engaging in street battles with youth members of their adversarial groups, such as the Social Democratic Party. The Viking League and the Olympia Association were banned in Prussia in May 1926, Wessel, realizing that the League would not achieve its self-defined mission, resigned from it on 23 November 1926. The party comrades clung to him with great devotion, the SA would have let itself be cut to pieces for him. Goebbels – he was like Hitler himself, Goebbels – he was our Goebbels. For a few years, Wessel lived a life, as a middle-class university law student, and as a member of the primarily working-class SA. The anti-Semitic Krasnov accepted as fact The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, according to Wessels sister, Krasnovs book was tremendously influential with her brother. In August 1927, Wessel traveled in a group of fifty SA men to the Nazi Party rally in Nuremberg, joining other Berlin-based Nazis to make a group of 400, at the time, the SA was banned in Berlin. When they returned, the brownshirts were arrested, Wessel did this despite SA rules forbidding its members from working for the party. In 1929, Wessel became the Street Cell Leader of the Alexanderplatz Storm Section of the SA, in May, he was appointed district leader of the SA for Friedrichshain where he lived, SA-Sturm 5
16.
Gentrification
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Gentrification is a process of renovation of deteriorated urban neighborhoods by means of the influx of more affluent residents. This is a common and controversial topic in politics and in urban planning, conversations surrounding gentrification have evolved, as many in the social-scientific community have questioned the negative connotations associated with the word gentrification. Gentrification is typically the result of increased interest in a certain environment, early gentrifiers may belong to low-income artist or boheme communities, which increase the attractiveness and flair of a certain quarter. In addition to these benefits, gentrification can lead to population migration. The term gentrification has come to refer to a phenomenon that can be defined in different ways. Historians say that gentrification took place in ancient Rome and in Roman Britain, the word gentrification derives from gentry—which comes from the Old French word genterise, of gentle birth and people of gentle birth. In England, Landed gentry denoted the social class, consisting of gentlemen and this change has the potential to cause displacement of long-time residents and businesses. When long-time or original neighborhood residents move from an area because of higher rents, mortgages. Gentrification is a housing, economic, and health issue that affects a communitys history and culture and it often shifts a neighborhoods characteristics, e. g. racial-ethnic composition and household income, by adding new stores and resources in previously run-down neighborhoods. German geographers have a more distanced view on gentrification, actual gentrification is seen as a mere symbolic issue happening in a low amount of places and blocks, the symbolic value and visibility in public discourse being higher than actual migration trends. Gerhard Hard assumes that urban flight is more important than inner city gentrification. Volkskunde scholar Barbara Lang introduced the term symbolic gentrification with regard to the Mythos Kreuzberg in Berlin, Lang assumes that complaints about gentrification often come from those who have been responsible for the process in their youth. When former students and bohemians started raising families and earning money in better paid jobs, especially Berlin is a showcase of intense debates about symbols of gentrification, while the actual processes are much slower than in other cities. The citys Prenzlauer Berg district is, however, a child of the capitals gentrification. This leads to mixed feelings amidst the local population, the neologism Bionade-Biedermeier was coined about Prenzlauer Berg. It describes the milieu of the former quartier of the alternative scene. There are several approaches that attempt to explain the roots and the reasons behind the spread of gentrification, bruce London and J. John Palen compiled a list of five explanations, demographic-ecological, sociocultural, political-economical, community networks, and social movements. The first theory, demographic-ecological, attempts to explain gentrification through the analysis of demographics, population, social organization, environment and this theory frequently refers to the growing number of people between the ages of 25 and 35 in the 1970s, or the baby boom generation
17.
Greater Berlin Act
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Berlin had been part of the Province of Brandenburg since 1815. On 1 April 1881, the city became Stadtkreis Berlin, a city district separate from Brandenburg, the Greater Berlin Act was passed by the Prussian parliament on 27 April 1920 and came into effect on 1 October of the same year. With this, the act was an important foundation for the rise of Berlin to a centre of Europe in the 1920s. Apart from minor changes, the city boundary defined in the law is still the same as today, since the reunification of Germany it is the border between the German states of Berlin and Brandenburg
18.
Referendum
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A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to vote on a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new law, in some countries it is synonymous with a plebiscite or a vote on a ballot question. Some definitions of plebiscite suggest that it is a type of vote to change the constitution or government of a country, however, some other countries define it differently. For example, Australia defines referendum as a vote to change the constitution, the addition of the verb sum to a gerundive, denotes the idea of necessity or compulsion, that which must be done, rather than that which is fit for doing). This determines the form of the plural in English, which according to English grammar should be referendums, the use of referenda as a plural form in English is thus insupportable according to the rules of both Latin and English grammar alike. The Latin plural gerundive referenda, meaning things to be referred, compare also, Agenda those matters which must be driven forward, from ago, to drive, Memorandum, that matter which must be remembered, from memoro, to call to mind, etc. The name and use of the referendum is thought to have originated in the Swiss canton of Graubünden as early as the 16th century. Today, a referendum can also often be referred to as a plebiscite, for example, Australia defines referendum as a vote to change the constitution, and plebiscite as a vote that does not affect the constitution. In contrast, Ireland has only held one plebiscite, which was the vote to adopt its constitution. Of that which has most definitely already occurred and this is in line with Eamon De Valeras oft stated belief that the people do not have the right to do wrong which in this context means to reject his new Eire constitution. The term referendum covers a variety of different meanings, a referendum can be binding or advisory. In some countries, different names are used for two types of referendum. From a political-philosophical perspective, referendums are an expression of direct democracy, however, in the modern world, most referendums need to be understood within the context of representative democracy. Australia ranked second with dozens of referendums, a referendum usually offers the electorate a choice of accepting or rejecting a proposal, but this is not necessarily the case. In Switzerland, for example, multiple choice referendums are common and this question can be resolved by applying voting systems designed for single winner elections to a multiple-choice referendum. Swiss referendums get around this problem by offering a separate vote on each of the options as well as an additional decision about which of the multiple options should be preferred. In the Swedish case, in both referendums the winning option was chosen by the Single Member Plurality system, in other words, the winning option was deemed to be that supported by a plurality, rather than an absolute majority, of voters. In the 1977, Australian referendum, the winner was chosen by the system of preferential instant-runoff voting, the 1992 New Zealand poll, was counted under the two-round system, as were polls in Newfoundland and Guam, for example
19.
Frederick the Great
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Frederick II was King of Prussia from 1740 until 1786, the longest reign of any Hohenzollern king. Frederick was the last titled King in Prussia and declared himself King of Prussia after achieving full sovereignty for all historical Prussian lands, Prussia had greatly increased its territories and became a leading military power in Europe under his rule. He became known as Frederick the Great and was affectionately nicknamed Der Alte Fritz by the Prussian, in his youth, Frederick was more interested in music and philosophy than the art of war. Upon ascending to the Prussian throne, he attacked Austria and claimed Silesia during the Silesian Wars, winning acclaim for himself. Near the end of his life, Frederick physically connected most of his realm by conquering Polish territories in the First Partition of Poland and he was an influential military theorist whose analysis emerged from his extensive personal battlefield experience and covered issues of strategy, tactics, mobility and logistics. Considering himself the first servant of the state, Frederick was a proponent of enlightened absolutism and he modernized the Prussian bureaucracy and civil service and pursued religious policies throughout his realm that ranged from tolerance to segregation. He reformed the system and made it possible for men not of noble stock to become judges. Frederick also encouraged immigrants of various nationalities and faiths to come to Prussia, some critics, however, point out his oppressive measures against conquered Polish subjects during the First Partition. Frederick supported arts and philosophers he favored, as well as allowing complete freedom of the press, Frederick is buried at his favorite residence, Sanssouci in Potsdam. Because he died childless, Frederick was succeeded by his nephew, Frederick William II, son of his brother, historian Leopold von Ranke was unstinting in his praise of Fredericks Heroic life, inspired by great ideas, filled with feats of arms. Immortalized by the raising of the Prussian state to the rank of a power, Johann Gustav Droysen was even more extolling. However, by the 21st century, a re-evaluation of his legacy as a great warrior, Frederick, the son of Frederick William I and his wife, Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, was born in Berlin on 24 January 1712. The birth of Frederick was welcomed by his grandfather, Frederick I, with more than usual pleasure, with the death of his father in 1713, Frederick William became King of Prussia, thus making young Frederick the crown prince. The new king wished for his sons and daughters to be educated not as royalty and he had been educated by a Frenchwoman, Madame de Montbail, who later became Madame de Rocoulle, and he wished that she educate his children. However, he possessed a violent temper and ruled Brandenburg-Prussia with absolute authority. As Frederick grew, his preference for music, literature and French culture clashed with his fathers militarism, in contrast, Fredericks mother Sophia was polite, charismatic and learned. Her father, George Louis of Brunswick-Lüneburg, succeeded to the British throne as King George I in 1714, Frederick was brought up by Huguenot governesses and tutors and learned French and German simultaneously. Although Frederick William I was raised a Calvinist, he feared he was not of the elect, to avoid the possibility of Frederick being motivated by the same concerns, the king ordered that his heir not be taught about predestination
20.
Industrialisation
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As industrial workers incomes rise, markets for consumer goods and services of all kinds tend to expand and provide a further stimulus to industrial investment and economic growth. Later commentators have called this the First Industrial Revolution, the invention of the assembly line gave this phase a boost. Coal mines, steelworks, and textile factories replaced homes as the place of work, by the end of the 20th century, East Asia had become one of the most recently industrialised regions of the world. The BRICS states are undergoing the process of industrialisation, there is considerable literature on the factors facilitating industrial modernisation and enterprise development. The concentration of labour into factories has increased urbanisation and the size of settlements, to serve, workers have to either leave their families or bring them along in order to work in the towns and cities where these industries are found. The family structure changes with industrialisation, the sociologist Talcott Parsons noted that in pre-industrial societies there is an extended family structure spanning many generations who probably remained in the same location for generations. In industrialised societies the nuclear family, consisting of parents and their growing children. Families and children reaching adulthood are more mobile and tend to relocate to where jobs exist, extended family bonds become more tenuous. Currently the international development community endorses development policies like water purification or primary education and Co-Operation amongst third world communities, the relationships among economic growth, employment, and poverty reduction are complex. Higher productivity is argued to be leading to lower employment, division of labour Newly industrialised country Idea of Progress Chandler Jr. Alfred D. The Visible Hand, The Management Revolution in American Business, belknap Press of Harvard University Press. Hewitt, T. Johnson, H. and Wield, D. industrialisation and Development, Oxford University Press, hobsbawm, Eric, The Age of Revolution. Kemp, Tom Historical Patterns of Industrialisation, Longman, London, ISBN 0-582-09547-6 Kiely, R industrialisation and Development, A comparative analysis, UCL Press, London. The Unbound Prometheus, Technological Change and Industrial Development in Western Europe from 1750 to the Present, Cambridge, New York, Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge. Pomeranz, Ken The Great Divergence, China, Europe and the Making of the Modern World Economy by Tilly, industrialization as an Historical Process, European History Online, Mainz, Institute of European History,2010, retrieved,29 February 2011
21.
Frankfurt (Oder)
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Frankfurt is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, located on the Oder River, on the German-Polish border directly opposite the town of Słubice, which was part of Frankfurt until 1945. At the end of the 1980s, it reached a peak with more than 87,000 inhabitants. The number dropped below 70,000 in 2002 and was just above 60,000 in 2010, the official name Frankfurt and the older Frankfurt an der Oder are used to distinguish it from the larger city of Frankfurt am Main. The town of Frankfurt received its charter in 1253 at the Brandendamm, the early settlers lived on the western banks of the Oder, later the town was extended to the eastern bank. In the late Middle Ages, the town dominated the trade between Breslau and Stettin. In 1430, Frankfurt joined the Hanseatic League, but was a member for only a short time, in April 1631, during the Thirty Years War, Frankfurt was the site of the Battle of Frankfurt an der Oder between the Swedish Empire and the Holy Roman Empire. After a two-day siege, Swedish forces, supported by Scottish auxiliaries, the result was a Swedish victory. The city was occupied by the Russian Imperial Army during the Seven Years War, in August 1759. With the dissolution of the Margraviate of Brandenburg during the Napoleonic Wars, in the 19th century, Frankfurt played an important role in trade. There was no fighting for the town in 1945 during World War II even though the town was declared a fortress in an attempt to block the Red Armys route to Berlin, the nearly empty town was burned down. The postwar German-Polish border ran along the Oder, separating the Dammvorstadt on the eastern bank - which became the Polish town of Słubice - from the rest of Frankfurt, while part of communist East Germany, Frankfurt was administered within Bezirk Frankfurt. It became part of the state of Brandenburg with German reunification in 1990. Today, Frankfurt and Słubice have friendly relations and run several common projects, Poland joined the European Union on 1 May 2004, and implemented the Schengen Agreement on December 21,2007 leading to the removal of permanent border controls. In the post-communist era, Frankfurt has suffered high unemployment. Its population has fallen significantly from around 87,000 at the time of German reunification in 1990, FC Viktoria Frankfurt is the towns local football team. In March 2008, the Jewish community of Frankfurt celebrated its first Torah dedication since the Holocaust, the procession of the new Torah scroll began from the spot where the towns Frankfurter Synagogue stood prior to World War II,500 meters from Germanys current border with Poland. Celebrants marched with the scroll into the towns Chabad-Lubavitch centre, where they danced with the Torah, the Margraviate of Brandenburgs first university was Frankfurts Alma Mater Viadrina, founded in 1506 by Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg. An early chancellor, Bishop Georg von Blumenthal, was an opponent of the Protestant Reformation
.svg)
German pronunciation (help·info)) is a district of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough in Berlin, Germany. From its creation in 1920 until 2001, it was a freestanding city borough. Formerly part of East Berlin, it is adjacent to Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg, Kreuzberg and Lichtenberg.
Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf
Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg
Lichtenberg
Marzahn-Hellersdorf
Mitte
Neukölln
Pankow
Reinickendorf
Spandau
Steglitz-Zehlendorf
Tempelhof-Schöneberg
Treptow-Köpenick
