Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Mon-Fri, to 7pm Sat & Sun Apr-Oct, 10am-5pm Mon-Fri, to 5:30pm Sat & Sun Nov-Mar; 100, 200)
Like arms of a starfish, five roads merge into the Grosser Stern roundabout at the heart of
the Tiergarten. The Victory Column at its centre was built to celebrate 19th-century Prussian
military triumphs and is now a symbol of Berlin's gay community. Climb 285 steps to get
below her skirt for sweeping views of Tiergarten park.
The column originally stood in front of the Reichstag until the Nazis moved it here in
1938 to make room for their Germania urban planning project. The pedestal was added at
the time, bringing the column height to 67m. Film buffs might remember the Goddess of
Victory on top from a key scene in Wim Wenders' 1985 flick
Wings of Desire
.
HISTORIC BUILDING
SCHLOSS BELLEVUE
The home of the German president is snowy white Schloss Bellevue. The neoclassical
palace was built in 1785 by Philipp Daniel Boumann for the youngest brother of Frederick
the Great, then became a school under Kaiser Wilhelm II and a museum of ethnology under
the Nazis.
The president is supported by the Bundespräsidialamt (Office of the Federal President)
based in the oval modern building south of the palace.
GALLERY
AKADEMIE DER KÜNSTE
varies by exhibit, free 3-7pm Tue; exhibits 11am-7pm Tue-Sun; Hansaplatz, Bellevue)
The Academy of Arts has a pedigree going back to 1696 but its programming is solidly
rooted in the here and now. It covers all forms of artistic expression, from architecture to lit-
erature to music, theatre and digital media, and also stages high-profile exhibits.
A sculpture by Henry Moore fronts the late-1950s building by Werner Düttmann, a stu-
dent of Hans Scharoun.
NEIGHBOURHOOD
DIPLOMATENVIERTEL
The Brothers Grimm were among the 19th-century intellectuals living in the quiet villa-
studded colony south of the Tiergarten, which evolved into the capital's embassy quarter in
the 1920s. After WWII the obliterated area remained in a state of quiet decay while the em-
bassies all set up in the West German capital of Bonn. After reunification, many countries
