1.
Plattenbau
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Plattenbau is a building constructed of large, prefabricated concrete slabs. The word is a compound of Platte and Bau, although Plattenbauten are often considered to be typical of East Germany, the prefabricated construction method was used extensively in West Germany and elsewhere, particularly in public housing. In English the building method is also called large-panel system building or LPS, prefabrication was pioneered in the Netherlands following World War I, based on construction methods developed in the United States. The first German use of construction is what is now known as the Splanemann-Siedlung in Berlins Lichtenberg district. These two- and three-story apartment houses were assembled of locally cast slabs, inspired by the Dutch Betondorp in Watergraafsmeer, in East Germany, Plattenbau areas have been designated as Neubaugebiet. There were several common plattenbau designs, the most common series was the P2, followed by the WBS70, the WHH GT18, and Q3A. The designs were flexible and could be built as towers or rows of apartments of various heights, there have been projects with low rise plattenbauten such as the town of Bernau just north of Berlin. This town had an almost complete historic center of wooden framed buildings within its preserved city walls. Most of these were torn down after 1975 and during the eighties to be replaced by 2–4 story buildings constructed of prefabricated concrete slabs, a similar project was the Nikolaiviertel around the historic Nikolai church in Berlins old center. In the case of the Nikolaiviertel the buildings were made to more historic. Many plattenbau apartments were built in giant settlements, often on the edge of cities and their inconvenient locations were likely also a factor in their rapid deterioration. Eastern Berlin has many Plattenbauten, reminders of Eastern Bloc planned residential areas, with shops, the building method is also associated with problems with bad fire insulation, as well as bad sound insulation between units, which is a direct result of their method of construction
2.
Socialist realism
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Socialist realism is a style of realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and became a dominant style in that country as well as in other socialist countries. Socialist realism is characterized by the depiction of communist values, such as the emancipation of the proletariat. Although related, it should not be confused with social realism, Socialist realism was the predominant form of approved art in the Soviet Union from its development in the early 1920s to its eventual fall from popularity in the late 1960s. While other countries have employed a prescribed canon of art, socialist realism in Soviet Union persisted longer and was more restricted than elsewhere in Europe, Socialist realism was developed by many thousands of artists, across a diverse society, over several decades. Early examples of realism in Russian art include the work of the Peredvizhnikis, while these works do not have the same political connotation, they exhibit the techniques exercised by their successors. After the Bolsheviks took control of Russia on October 25,1917, there had been a short period of artistic exploration in the time between the fall of the Tsar and the rise of the Bolsheviks. In 1917, Russian artists began to return to traditional forms of art. Shortly after the Bolsheviks took control, Anatoly Lunacharsky was appointed as head of Narkompros and this put Lunacharsky in the position of deciding the direction of art in the newly created Soviet state. Lunacharsky created a system of aesthetics based on the body that would become the main component of socialist realism for decades to come. He believed that the sight of a body, intelligent face or friendly smile was essentially life-enhancing. He concluded that art had an effect on the human organism. By depicting the perfect person, Lunacharsky believed art could educate citizens on how to be the perfect Soviets, there were two main groups debating the fate of Soviet art, futurists and traditionalists. Russian Futurists, many of whom had been creating abstract or leftist art before the Bolsheviks, believed communism required a complete rupture from the past and, therefore, traditionalists believed in the importance of realistic representations of everyday life. By 1928, the Soviet government had enough strength and authority to end private enterprises, at this point, although the term socialist realism was not being used, its defining characteristics became the norm. The first time the term socialist realism was officially used was in 1932, the term was settled upon in meetings that included politicians of the highest level, including Stalin himself. Maxim Gorky, a proponent of literary socialist realism, published an article titled Socialist Realism in 1933. During the Congress of 1934 four guidelines were laid out for socialist realism, the work must be, Proletarian, art relevant to the workers and understandable to them. Typical, scenes of life of the people
3.
Boulevard
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A boulevard, often abbreviated Blvd, is a type of large road, usually running through a city. It is a misconception that every boulevard has a median. Phnom Penh has numerous boulevards scattered throughout the city, norodom Boulevard, Sisowath Boulevard, Monivong Boulevard, and Sothearos Boulevard are the most famous. Indira Gandhi Sarani, formerly Red Road, is a road in Kolkata that runs from Raj Bhavan to Fort William, the road, a wide boulevard, was built in 1820 which bisects the historic Kolkata Maidan. The British authorities during colonial era intended for the road to be able to host large parades, the name Red Road was given due to its surfacing. During the Second World War, the road, in the heart of Kolkata, the annual Kolkata Marathon starts from outside the Rangers Club on Red Road. The name Indira Gandhi Sarani was adopted in 1985, mumbais Marine Drive is a 4.3 km long C shaped coastal road located in South Mumbai along the Arabian Sea. It is also called the Queens Necklace because if the stretch is viewed from an elevated point, a promenade lies parallel to the road. It is one of the major tourist attractions in Mumbai, the Gateway of India is located just 1.7 km away from Marine Drive. Though rarely used, Marine Drives official name is Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Marg, local residents use it for morning exercises as well. It is also popular among youths who come here to enjoy the splash of water during high tide, New Delhis premier boulevard is the Rajpath, which is also a thoroughfare. New Delhi being the capital, many such thoroughfares were built widely to sustain the exploding traffic growth that New Delhi. Rajpath, a tree lined road with ponds and fountains, was designed, along with Janpath, various national events such as Independence Day parades and Republic Day parades among many others take place over here annually. Hyderabads Necklace Road is a boulevard adjoining the Hussain Sagar lake, in Chennai, the major road is the Mount Road. Another boulevard is Radakrishnan Salai, also called Cathedral Road, which is in Chennai in Tamil Nadu State in Southern India along the Bay of Bengal. In Iran, Boulevard is generally defined as a road surrounded by trees in sides and divided by a green space line including grass. There are many boulevards in Iran, one of the most famous one is Keshavarz Boulevard in Tehran which is usually referred to as The Boulevard. Isfahan has also a historical boulevard which is called Chaharbagh Boulevard, Tel Aviv, was originally designed along the guidelines set out by architect Sir Patrick Geddes
4.
East Germany
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East Germany, formally the German Democratic Republic, was an Eastern Bloc state during the Cold War period. The Soviet zone surrounded West Berlin, but did not include it, as a result, the German Democratic Republic was established in the Soviet Zone, while the Federal Republic was established in the three western zones. East Germany, which lies culturally in Central Germany, was a state of the Soviet Union. Soviet occupation authorities began transferring administrative responsibility to German communist leaders in 1948, Soviet forces, however, remained in the country throughout the Cold War. Until 1989, the GDR was governed by the Socialist Unity Party, though other parties participated in its alliance organisation. The economy was centrally planned, and increasingly state-owned, prices of basic goods and services were set by central government planners, rather than rising and falling through supply and demand. Although the GDR had to pay war reparations to the USSR. Nonetheless it did not match the growth of West Germany. Emigration to the West was a significant problem—as many of the emigrants were well-educated young people, the government fortified its western borders and, in 1961, built the Berlin Wall. Many people attempting to flee were killed by guards or booby traps. In 1989, numerous social and political forces in the GDR and abroad led to the fall of the Berlin Wall, the following year open elections were held, and international negotiations led to the signing of the Final Settlement treaty on the status and borders of Germany. The GDR was dissolved and Germany was unified on 3 October 1990, internally, the GDR also bordered the Soviet sector of Allied-occupied Berlin known as East Berlin which was also administered as the states de facto capital. It also bordered the three sectors occupied by the United States, United Kingdom and France known collectively as West Berlin. The three sectors occupied by the Western nations were sealed off from the rest of the GDR by the Berlin Wall from its construction in 1961 until it was brought down in 1989, the official name was Deutsche Demokratische Republik, usually abbreviated to DDR. West Germans, the media and statesmen purposely avoided the official name and its abbreviation, instead using terms like Ostzone, Sowjetische Besatzungszone. The centre of power in East Berlin was referred to as Pankow. Over time, however, the abbreviation DDR was also used colloquially by West Germans. However, this use was not always consistent, for example, before World War II, Ostdeutschland was used to describe all the territories east of the Elbe, as reflected in the works of sociologist Max Weber and political theorist Carl Schmitt
5.
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
6.
Friedrichshain
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Friedrichshain is a district of Berlin, Germany. From its creation in 1920 until 2001, it was a city borough. Formerly part of East Berlin, it is adjacent to Mitte, Friedrichshain is named after the Volkspark Friedrichshain, a vast green park at the northern border with Prenzlauer Berg. In the Nazi era, the borough was called Horst-Wessel-Stadt, Friedrichshain is one of the trendy districts of Berlin and has experienced gentrification. The largely working-class district was created in 1920 when Greater Berlin was established by referendum, Friedrichshain united the Frankfurter Vorstadt, already part of Berlin, and the villages of Boxhagen and Stralau. It took its name from the Volkspark, which was planned in 1840 to commemorate the centenary of Frederick the Great’s coronation, much of the district was settled in the rapid industrialization of the 19th and early 20th centuries, led by growth in manufacturing and crafts. It owed much to the opening of the line between Berlin and Frankfurt in 1846, and the opening of the first waterworks in 1865 at Stralauer Tor. In 1874 the Krankenhaus im Friedrichshain was opened, Berlins first hospital beside the university clinic Charité, in the early 1900s, the districts largest employer was the Knorr-Bremse brake factory, the Knorrpromenade, one of Friedrichshains most attractive streets, was built to house the management. The street network of Friedrichhain was originally specified in the Hobrecht-Plan, during World War II Friedrichshain was one of the most badly damaged parts of Berlin, as Allied strategic bombers specifically targeted its industries. As late as the nineties, some buildings still displayed bullet holes from the house to house fighting during the Battle of Berlin. After the war ended, the boundary between the US and Soviet occupation sectors ran between Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg, with Friedrichshain in the east and Kreuzberg in the west and this became a sealed border between East and West Berlin when the Berlin Wall was built in 1961. In the period of De-Stalinization following the Soviet leaders death, the boulevard was renamed Karl-Marx-Allee at one end, neither of these buildings serve their original function today. It is known for its bars, clubs, pubs. There were numerous squats in Friedrichshain, with many in and around Rigaer Straße, Mainzer Straße, following German reunification, the availability of comparatively cheap rented accommodation attracted students and artists. Nowadays numerous restoration works are under way and Friedrichshain is developing at a fast pace becoming more and more gentrified itself, at the opposite end of the district, the Volkspark Friedrichshain is a large park serving the densely populated area of Prenzlauer Berg on the other side. Its distinctive features include the Märchenbrunnen and two green and pleasant mountains consisting purely of rubble and the ruins of two World War II Flak towers, peaceful green oases like the Volkspark Friedrichshain offer opportunities for sports and recreation in leafy nature. The Spreeufer is lovely for walks along the riverside, concerning its culinary offerings, this area also boasts a great choice of restaurants in all price ranges as well as many charming cafés. Culture lovers enjoy this neighborhood because of various small exhibition spaces, venues, cinemas, Frankfurter Allee features various shopping facilities as well as the Ring-Center shopping mall
7.
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
8.
Karl Marx
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Karl Marx was a Prussian-born philosopher, economist, sociologist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. Born in Trier to a family, he later studied political economy. His work has influenced subsequent intellectual, economic, and political history. These economic critiques were set out in works such as the three volumes, published between 1867 and 1894, that comprise Das Kapital. According to Marx, states are run in the interests of the class but are nonetheless represented as being in favor of the common interest of all. He predicted that, like previous socioeconomic systems, capitalism produced internal tensions which would lead to its self-destruction and replacement by a new system, socialism. Marx actively fought for its implementation, arguing that the class should carry out organised revolutionary action to topple capitalism. Marx has been described as one of the most influential figures in human history and his work in economics laid the basis for much of the current understanding of labour and its relation to capital, and subsequent economic thought. Many intellectuals, labour unions, artists and political parties worldwide have been influenced by Marxs work, Marx is typically cited as one of the principal architects of modern sociology and social science. Karl Marx was born on 5 May 1818 to Heinrich Marx and he was born at Brückengasse 664 in Trier, a town then part of the Kingdom of Prussias Province of the Lower Rhine. Marx was ancestrally Jewish, his grandfather was a Dutch rabbi, while his paternal line had supplied Triers rabbis since 1723. Marx was also a cousin once removed of German Romantic poet Heinrich Heine, also born to a German Jewish family in the Rhineland. Largely non-religious, Heinrich was a man of the Enlightenment, interested in the ideas of the philosophers Immanuel Kant, a classical liberal, he took part in agitation for a constitution and reforms in Prussia, then governed by an absolute monarchy. In 1815 Heinrich Marx began work as an attorney, in 1819 moving his family to a property near the Porta Nigra. Her sister Sophie Pressburg, was Marxs aunt and was married to Lion Philips Marxs uncle through this marriage, Lion Philips was a wealthy Dutch tobacco manufacturer and industrialist, upon whom Karl and Jenny Marx would later often come to rely for loans while they were exiled in London. Little is known of Karl Marxs childhood, the third of nine children, he became the oldest son when his brother Moritz died in 1819. Young Karl was baptised into the Lutheran Church in August 1824 along with his siblings, Sophie, Hermann, Henriette, Louise, Emilie. Young Karl was privately educated, by Heinrich Marx, until 1830, by employing many liberal humanists as teachers, Wyttenbach incurred the anger of the local conservative government
9.
Hermann Henselmann
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Hermann Henselmann was a German architect most famous for his buildings constructed in East Germany during the 1950s and 1960s. Henselmann studied at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Berlin from 1922 to 1925, after the war he was appointed head architect in the city of Gotha and later in Weimar in the Soviet Zone of Germany, although his projects were subjected to harsh criticism for their Modernism. Henselmann was appointed architect for the city of Berlin in 1953. Plans for a Signal Tower drafted in 1958 became early drafts for the vast Fernsehturm, other late projects in a modernist and high rise style included the cylindrical Jen-Tower in Jena and a tower for the Leipzig University in the shape of an open book. Henselmanns later projects gave a modern, technocratic face to the German Democratic Republic and he dismissed the brief period of Socialist Realism as a childhood illness, though his buildings on Karl-Marx-Allee are now protected monuments. Henselmann retired as an architect in 1972
10.
Kino International
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The Kino International is a film theater in Berlin. It is located on Karl-Marx-Allee in former East Berlin and hosted premieres until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, after the completion of Karl-Marx-Allee from Strausberger Platz to Proskauer Straße, it was planned to extend to Alexanderplatz. After the plans of Hermann Henselmann were rejected, a competition was initiated in which seven architectural firms participated and these included the Café Moskau, the Mokka-Milch-Eisbar and the Kino International. The theater was designed by Josef Kaiser and Heinz Aust as a reinforced concrete frame construction with light sandstone façades. Kaiser had already designed the Kino Kosmos and Café Moskau, due to the predefined boundaries of the bar area, the floor plans of each story vary, the ground floor is 38x35 m and the second floor is 47x35 m. A characteristic open space with glass surfaces faces the street, while the side façades are closed, the side surfaces show reliefs from Waldemar Grzimek, Hubert Schiefelbein, and Karl-Heinz Schamal. After its two-year construction, the theater was opened on November 15,1963 with a grand opening premiere. In addition to the theater itself, other included a library, an office of the Oktoberklub. Today, these rooms host regular parties of Kino Internationals gay, the 1950s and 1960s saw many new buildings built in a special new kind of cinema architecture, including the Zoo-Palast and the Royal Palast. This new style was meant to give the viewer optimal viewing and this was also considered during the planning of Kino International. The cinema, which holds almost 600 viewers, is inclined, the acoustic technology was developed especially for the theater and is similar to that of a recording studio. Walls are covered with acoustic dampening panels and the wall coverings, the waved ceiling also optimally reflects sounds to the seating area. In the 1980s, Kino International was one of the first cinemas in the GDR equipped with Dolby Stereo, until 1989, Kino International was the main theater for premieres in the GDR. Multiple films produced by the DEFA held their premieres here, especially important for the party and national leadership were the eight rows with optimal views and extra legroom. Before and after premieres, state visitors sojourned in the Representation Room, in the basement, a small bunker and elevator were later added for the state leadership. The Kinos last premiere in the GDR was Heiner Carows Coming Out on November 9,1989, today, the International is used by many filmmakers for premieres due to the theaters ambience and is one of the venues of the Berlinale. Visitors from Berlin are fond of the history and special atmosphere. The large film posters on the outside of the show the film of the week and are still painted by hand
11.
Soviet Union
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The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a socialist state in Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991. It was nominally a union of national republics, but its government. The Soviet Union had its roots in the October Revolution of 1917 and this established the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and started the Russian Civil War between the revolutionary Reds and the counter-revolutionary Whites. In 1922, the communists were victorious, forming the Soviet Union with the unification of the Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian, following Lenins death in 1924, a collective leadership and a brief power struggle, Joseph Stalin came to power in the mid-1920s. Stalin suppressed all opposition to his rule, committed the state ideology to Marxism–Leninism. As a result, the country underwent a period of rapid industrialization and collectivization which laid the foundation for its victory in World War II and postwar dominance of Eastern Europe. Shortly before World War II, Stalin signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact agreeing to non-aggression with Nazi Germany, in June 1941, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, opening the largest and bloodiest theater of war in history. Soviet war casualties accounted for the highest proportion of the conflict in the effort of acquiring the upper hand over Axis forces at battles such as Stalingrad. Soviet forces eventually captured Berlin in 1945, the territory overtaken by the Red Army became satellite states of the Eastern Bloc. The Cold War emerged by 1947 as the Soviet bloc confronted the Western states that united in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. Following Stalins death in 1953, a period of political and economic liberalization, known as de-Stalinization and Khrushchevs Thaw, the country developed rapidly, as millions of peasants were moved into industrialized cities. The USSR took a lead in the Space Race with Sputnik 1, the first ever satellite, and Vostok 1. In the 1970s, there was a brief détente of relations with the United States, the war drained economic resources and was matched by an escalation of American military aid to Mujahideen fighters. In the mid-1980s, the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, sought to reform and liberalize the economy through his policies of glasnost. The goal was to preserve the Communist Party while reversing the economic stagnation, the Cold War ended during his tenure, and in 1989 Soviet satellite countries in Eastern Europe overthrew their respective communist regimes. This led to the rise of strong nationalist and separatist movements inside the USSR as well, in August 1991, a coup détat was attempted by Communist Party hardliners. It failed, with Russian President Boris Yeltsin playing a role in facing down the coup. On 25 December 1991, Gorbachev resigned and the twelve constituent republics emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union as independent post-Soviet states
Media related to Karl-Marx-Allee (Berlin) at Wikimedia Commons
