Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
5
Dotted around the Siegessäule are
statues
of other German notables, the most
imposing being that of Bismarck, the “Iron Chancellor”, under whom the country
was united in the late nineteenth century. He's surrounded by figures symbolizing
his achievements.
Strasse des 17 Juni
East and west of the Siegessäule, the broad, straight
Strasse des 17 Juni
cuts
through the Tiergarten to form the continuation of Unter den Linden beyond
the Brandenburg Gate (see p.35). Originally named Charlottenburger Chaussee,
it was also once known as the East-West Axis and was a favourite strip for Nazi
processions. Indeed, Hitler had the stretch from the Brandenburg Gate to heodor-
Heuss-Platz - formerly Adolf-Hitler-Platz (see p.157) - widened in order to
accommodate these mass displays of military might and Nazi power; on his birthday
in 1938, forty thousand men and six hundred tanks took four hours to parade past
the Führer. Later, in the final days of the war, Charlottenburger Chaussee became a
makeshift runway for aeroplanes ferrying Nazi notables to and from the besieged
capital. Its current name commemorates the day in 1953 when workers in the East
rose in revolt against the occupying Soviet powers (see p.120), though it later became
better known as the main venue for the hedonistic Love Parade. Nowadays, though
it's an ordinarily busy thoroughfare by day, by night prostitutes line its western end
and the Siegessäule becomes a prime gay cruising spot. Come any big sporting event,
however, like a football World Cup - which prompts the construction of a “fan-mile”
- or an annual festivity such as the Berlin Gay Pride Parade (see p.236), and this
stretch of road really comes alive.
Schloss Bellevue
From the Siegessäule it's a long hike to the Brandenburg Gate and Reichstag, so
it's worth hopping on the #100 bus. En route, look out for
Schloss Bellevue
, an
eighteenth-century building that was once a guesthouse for the hird Reich and is
today the Berlin home of the Federal President. You might also catch a glimpse of the
Bundespräsidialamt
- a polished granite oval of presidential administrative o
ces that
plays with the reflections of surrounding trees.
Haus der Kulturen der Welt
John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10 • Exhibitions Mon & Wed-Sun 11am-7pm •
T
030 39 78 70,
W
hkw.de • U-Bundestag
he eye-catching oyster-shaped building squatting amid the greenery of John-Foster-
Dulles-Allee is the
Haus der Kulturen der Welt
(House of Cultures of the World), an
exhibition centre whose ambition couldn't be matched by the technology of the era:
its roof collapsed in 1980. It has since been rebuilt to provide a venue for a colourful
variety of non-European theatre, music, performances and exhibitions (see p.215).
Soviet War Memorial
North side of Str. des 17 Juni • U- & S-Brandenburger Tor
Built symbolically close to the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag, the
Soviet
War Memorial
(Sowjetisches Ehrenmal) commemorates the Red Army troops who
died in the Battle of Berlin. Crafted from the marble of Hitler's destroyed Berlin
headquarters, the Reich Chancellery, it's flanked by two tanks that were supposedly
the first to reach the city.
Spreebogen
he sharpest bend in central Berlin's River Spree, known as the
Spreebogen
, runs
through one of Berlin's newest and quietest city quarters just northwest of the
Reichstag (see p.37). Here the German government has built a
Regierungsviertel
,
