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BERLIN
For most of the latter part of the 20th century, Berlin
has stood as a symbol of the division between East and
West, split by the infamous fortified wall erected to
separate the socialist sector from the democratic
district. When the Berlin Wall was pulled down in 1990
the city discovered that it suddenly had two of
everything, most notably two very distinct societies
separated both socially and economically. The past
decade has seen Berlin embracing unification and
rebuilding itself as a modern European capital.
More than 100 streets have been reconnected, and signs
of the Wall's existence have all but disappeared. Yet
years of division are still reflected in the new city's
architecture, with a modern city of skyscrapers, retail
centres and urban developments in the West, while most
of the pre-War city still remains in the East.
For nearly 30 years the Wall sealed off the imposing
Brandenburg Gate from the West, but now traffic passes
through it freely. Similarly Alexanderplatz, which was
one of the main centres of 20's Berlin, and later post-war
East Germany, has once again become one of the city's
focal centres. The site of the infamous Check Point
Charlie with its threatening monitoring tower erected to
ensure no one crossed over from East to West, is now a
museum, and while the tower no longer stands, visitors
can see the East Side Gallery, a surviving chunk of the
real Wall, now decorated by local artists.
Berlin is once again a vibrant centre for the arts, with
many museums, galleries and theatres. At the Kulturforum
visitors will find a number of impressive museums and
concert venues from the spectacular Berliner
Philharmonie concert hall to the complex's Picture
Gallery, which houses a vast collection of European
paintings from the 13th to 18th centuries.
Berlin still boasts a fantastic nightlife, and while
tastes have changed since the height of the cabaret
halls of the 1920s and 30s, there is a vast array of
venues catering to all tastes. Berlin's calendar is also
packed with festivals and parties from the Christopher
Street Day gay and lesbian parade in June to the massive
Love Parade dance party in July and the Jazz Fest Berlin
in November. |
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