Hallo aus Berlin! (Part 3)
Just some fun facts about Berlin collected along the way!
Museums
Over 175 museums in Berlin… more than the number of days of rain in the city!
Currywurst is a regional dish and has its own museum… the Deutsches Currywurst Museum Berlin!
Architecture
More bridges in Berlin than in Venice, Italy
Three active opera houses – one seats 4000 people!
Culture
Berlin is home to 180 different nationalities.
More students live in Berlin than in any other city in the world.
Point of pride of the city is the KaDeWe Department Store - 60,000 sq. meters of retail space and gourmet floor attracts visitors from all over the world.
History
The earliest evidence of settlements in the area of Berlin is a wooden rod dated from roughly 1192.
Berlin was officially founded in 1237.
Br’l = swamp. The name of Berlin is derived from the word for swamp in the Polabian language. This is an extinct West Slavic language that was spoken by the Polabian Slavs in present-day NE Germany around the Elbe river.
The 1760-1820 Industrial Revolution expanded the population and economic center of Germany
Capital of modern-day Germany.
First traffic light ever was in Germany.
During WWII, Churches and Cathedrals were preserved because they were used a directional guidance for bombing.
The Wall built in the 1960s.
During the Cold War 2,500 guards stood along The Wall (day and night).
Templehof Airport, whose doors closed in 2008, was a key staging site for The Berlin Airlift. This is credited as the greatest airlift in history due to the 11-month Soviet blockade. Ultimately, Berlin was kept free!
Art
German Expressionism Movement began in the 1910s and reached its peak in the 1920s. It consisted of a number of related creative movements – painting, architecture, music, and film.
Language
Berlin dialect of German was influenced by the Huguenots.
Fast Facts
38 million trees in the State of Berlin. This means each individual tree cleans the air for every 10 citizens.
The East Side Gallery is the longest open-air gallery in the world at 1,316 meters. It formed part of the border between East and West Berlin. Today, 118 artists from 21 countries have painted former Berlin Wall panels.
White rabbit graffiti was used as a symbol of freedom on the western side of the Berlin Wall.
I hope you have enjoyed this three-part series on Berlin. Please stay tuned for more exciting adventures!
Until next time,
Your Polite Adventuress