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Cutting-edge Berlin is a feast of history, theatre and music.
Berlin had modest beginnings as a trading centre in the 13th century, growing into a European powerhouse that hogged the 20th century stage. Since reunification in 1990, it has evolved into a dynamic, sexy and creative city where a surprising lightheartedness lurks beneath an austere exterior.
'An etching by Churchill after an idea by Hitler.' - Bertolt Brecht
Berlin is the heart of modern Germany, with a stoic beat that echoes through grand public buildings, glorious museums and theatres, urbane restaurants, bustling pubs and raucous nightclubs. It's a city that thrives on change and that has made a virtue out of reinventing itself.
Berlin sits in the middle of the region known from medieval times as the Mark of Brandenburg, now the Bundesland (federal state) of Brandenburg. The city spills north and south of the Spree River, which winds through some of the magnificent parkland that comprises a third of the municipal area. In 2001, Berlin's previous 23 administrative districts were reduced to 12 in an effort to curb bureaucracy. There is little impact on visitors, however, as the old district names continue to be used.
Berlin is divided into 12 administrative districts but you're likely to spend most of your time in the central ones. The historic heart is the Mitte district, which is where most of the must-see sights are located. Among them is the majestic Fernsehturm (TV Tower), a useful orientation point visible from most of central Berlin. It's right on Alexanderplatz, once the heart of socialist East Germany. West of here, Unter der Linden, the fashionable avenue of aristocratic old Berlin, extends all the way to the Brandenburg Gate. It passes by the Museumsinsel, an island in the Spree River, where you'll find most of Berlin's finest museums. The city's birthplace is just south of here, near the Nikolaiviertel, a rebuilt historical quarter. West of the Brandenburg Gate, the boulevard continues as Strasse des 17 Juni through the Tiergarten, a huge landscaped park. You may remember the Victory Column at its centre from the Wim Wender's film Wings of Desire.
North of the Brandenburg Gate is the newly built federal government quarter anchored by the Reichstag, while south of the gate is Potsdamer Platz, Berlin's newest quarter and entertainment hub. There's good shopping here and also along the Kurfürstendamm (Ku'damm, for short) in the district of Charlottenburg, west of the Tiergarten.
The most sizzling nightlife zones are in neighbourhoods just outside the centre, most importantly bohemian Prenzlauer Berg, grungy Kreuzberg and student-oriented Friedichshain.
