Berlin – Around Town : Tiergarten & Federal District (part 1)

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In 1999, Berlin’s green
centre became the government district. Around Tiergarten, Berlin’s
largest and most popular park, stand the Reichstag, the Bundeskanzleramt
and Schloss Bellevue, seat of the President of the Federal Republic of
Germany. Tiergarten itself is a great place for strolling and cycling,
and it also boasts the Neuer See, the Spree River and Berlin’s Zoo. In
summer, its lawns are used for soccer games and barbecue parties.

Peter Joseph Lenné

Lenné
(1789–1866), regarded as Germany’s most important landscape architect,
was born into a family of gardeners in Bonn. He studied in Paris and
joined the Royal Gardens in Potsdam as an apprentice in 1816. There he
met Schinkel and, together, these two men set out to design the parks of
Berlin and Potsdam in the harmonious style of the time.



Top 10 Sights

  1. Reichstag

    More than any other Berlin landmark, the Reichstag – seat of the German parliament – has come to symbolize German history.




    The renovated Reichstag

  2. Kulturforum

    This unique complex of buildings features the best museums and concert halls in western Berlin .

  3. Großer Tiergarten

    The
    Großer Tiergarten is Berlin’s largest park, straddling an area of 200
    hectares (494 acres) between the eastern and western halves of the town.
    Formerly the Elector’s hunting grounds, it was redesigned in the 1830s
    as a park by Peter Joseph Lenné. At the end of the 19th century, the
    Siegesallee was established in the east of the park, more than 500 m
    (1640 ft) in length, lined by the statues of monarchs and politicians.
    After World War II, the starving and freezing population chopped down
    nearly all the trees for firewood and dug up the lawns to grow food.
    Thanks to reforestation work since the 1950s, Tiergarten today has
    become Berlin’s favourite green space and the lungs of the city.

    • Tiergarten




    In Tiergarten

  4. Siegessäule

    In
    the middle of Tiergarten stands the 62-m (203-ft) high Victory Column,
    erected to commemorate Prussian victory against Denmark in the war of
    1864. After victory over Austria in 1866 and France 1871, the structure
    was crowned by a 35-ton gilded statue of the goddess Victoria. There are
    excellent views from the viewing platform .

    • Großer Stern

    • Closed for renovation until 2011

    • Admission charge




    Statue on Siegessäule

  5. Diplomatenviertel

    In
    the late 19th century, an embassy district sprang up. Its extent is
    still marked today by two pompous Fascist buildings (Italian and
    Japanese embassies of 1938 and 1943 respectively). Most structures were
    destroyed during World War II, and until the reunification of Germany
    the diplomatic buildings were left to decay. Since 1999, new life has
    been breathed into the diplomats’ quarter and, thanks to its adventurous
    architecture, it has been transformed into one of the most interesting
    parts of Berlin. Especially worth seeing are the Austrian and Indian
    embassies on Tiergartenstraße as well as, on Klingelhöferstraße, the
    embassies of the Nordic countries and of Mexico.

    • Between Stauffenbergstr. and Lichtensteinallee as well as along Tiergartenstr




    Roof of the Japanese Embassy



    The Austrian Embassy

  6. Hamburger Bahnhof

    The
    former Hamburg railway station, now the “Museum of the Present Day”,
    holds a cross-section of contemporary paintings and the latest
    multi-media works of art and installations. One of the highlights is the
    private collection of Erich Marx, including works by Beuys and others.
    Apart from well-known artists such as Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons and Robert
    Rauschenberg, it also shows works by Anselm Kiefer and Sandro Chiao.

    • Invalidenstr. 50–51

    • 10am–6pm Tue–Fri, 11am–8pm Sat, 11am–6pm Sun

    • Admission charge

  7. Sowjetisches Ehrenmal

    The
    giant Soviet Memorial near Brandenburg Gate was officially opened on 7
    November 1945, the anniversary of the Russian October Revolution. It is
    flanked by two tanks, supposedly the first ones to reach Berlin. The
    memorial commemorates 300,000 Red Army soldiers who died during World
    War II in the struggle to liberate Berlin. The large column was
    constructed from marble blocks from Hitler’s Reich Chancellery, which
    had just been torn down. The column itself, designed by Nicolai
    Sergijevski, is crowned by the huge bronze statue by Lev Kerbel. Behind
    the memorial, 2,500 Russian soldiers are buried.

    • Straße des 17. Juni




    Sowjetisches Ehrenmal

  8. Gedenkstätte Deutscher Widerstand

    The
    1930s complex, which is today known as Bendlerblock, lies behind the
    former Prussian Ministry of War. During World War II it served as army
    headquarters. It was here that a group of officers planned the
    assassination of Adolf Hitler. When the attempt failed on 20 July 1944,
    Claus Schenk Count von Stauffenberg and the others involved were
    arrested in the Bendlerblock, and many of them were shot in the
    courtyard during the night. A memorial, created by Richard Scheibe in
    1953, commemorates these events. On the upper floor is a small
    exhibition documenting the German resistance against the Nazi regime.
    Today, the Bendlerblock has been incorporated into the Berlin branch of
    the Federal Ministry of Defence.

    • Stauffenbergstr. 13–14

    • 9am–6pm Mon–Wed, Fri, 9am–8pm Thu, 10am–6pm Sat, Sun

    • 030 26 99 50 00




    Main entrance Bendlerblock

  9. Hansa-Viertel

    The
    Hansa estate west of Schloss Bellveue was built for the “Interbau”
    trade fair in 1957. World War II bombs had flattened Tiergarten, and 36
    residential complexes were erected in the park, designed by
    distinguished architects from around the world, including Walter Gropius
    (Händelallee 3–9), Alvar Aalto (Klopstockstr. 30–32) and Oscar Niemeyer
    (Altonaer Str. 4–14).

    • Tiergarten, Hanseatenweg

  10. Villa von der Heydt

    The
    late-Neo-Classical Villa von der Heydt is one of the few surviving
    examples of the architectural villa style typical of Tiergarten. It was
    built in 1860–61, according to plans by Hermann Ende and G.A. Linke, for
    one of the most elegant residential areas in Berlin at the time. Since
    1980, the Prussian Heritage Foundation has had its headquarters here.

    • Von-der-Heydt-Str. 18




    Villa von der Heydt