Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
immediate postwar years and on April 22 and 23, 1946, it was the venue for the forced
union of the social democratic SPD with the prewar Communist party, the KPD. his
resulted in the birth of the SED (Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands), the GDR
Communist Party that controlled the country until March 1990. he building houses
Die Distel theatre (see p.222), a satirical cabaret whose performances sometimes
daringly highlighted the paradoxes and frustrations of the pre-
Wende
GDR.
Bahnhof Friedrichstrasse
Opposite the Admiralspalast lies the grubby edifice of
Bahnhof Friedrichstrasse
with its
mediocre shopping arcade and budget restaurants. Before the
Wende,
however, the train
station was of real consequence as the main border crossing point for western visitors to
East Berlin, and probably the most heavily guarded train station in Europe. here was
a regular flow of mainline and S-Bahn tra
c between Friedrichstrasse and West Berlin
- except during the Berlin Blockade of 1948-49 (see p.124) - but until late 1989 the
East German government did all it could to keep its own citizens from joining it. A
tangle of checkpoints, guard posts and customs controls and, more discreetly, armed
guards separated westbound platforms from the rest of the station.
Tränenpalast
Reichstagufer 17 • Tues-Fri 9am-7pm, Sat & Sun 10am-6pm • Free •
T
030 46 77 77 90,
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hdg.de/berlin • S-Oranienburger Strasse
One structure that really stood out in the Friedrichstrasse border complex was its
entrance
hall, a glass-and-concrete construction between the Bahnhof and the River Spree. Grimly
nicknamed the
Tränenpalast
or “Palace of Tears” by Berliners, this was the scene of many
a poignant farewell as people took leave of relatives, friends and lovers here. Until 1990
an estimated eight million westbound travellers - visitors and tourists and occasionally
East German citizens with exit visas - annually queued inside to get through passport
and customs controls before travelling by U- or S-Bahn to West Berlin.
A glut of reminders from the era survive in an engaging
museum
, opened by
Chancellor Merkel in 2011, which explores the consequences and daily restrictions
of the German division right up to reunification. here are plenty of original artefacts,
documents, photographs and old newsreels and many exhibits devoted to personal
stories. Taking all this in, it's easy to overlook the loveless character of the building and
imagine for a moment the contrastingly deep and varied emotions it's witnessed.
4
Chausseestrasse
Chausseestrasse
was, during the nineteenth century, the location of one of Berlin's
densest concentrations of heavy industry. Development began here during the 1820s
with the establishment of a steam-engine factory and iron foundry and in 1837 August
Borsig built his first factory - by the 1870s his successors were churning out hundreds
of steam engines and railway locomotives each year.
Other industrial concerns were also drawn to the area, earning it the nickname
Feuerland
- “Fireland”. However, by the end of the century most had outgrown their
roots and relocated en masse to the edges of the rapidly expanding city. A reminder of
the past, and of Borsig's local influence, is the
Borsighaus
at Chausseestrasse 9. Once
the central administration block of the Borsig factories, this sandstone building, its
facade richly decorated with bronze figures, looks like a displaced country residence.
Dorotheenstädtische Friedhof
Daily: Jan & Dec 8am-4pm; Feb & Nov 8am-5pm; March & Oct 8am-6pm; April & Sept 8am-7pm; May-Aug 8am-8pm • Free •
U-Oranienburger Tor
At the
Dorotheenstädtische Friedhof
, eastern Berlin's VIP cemetery, you'll find the
graves of Bertolt Brecht and Helene Weigel; architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel, his
