Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Friedrich Schinkel, whose many projects - from the Neue Wache (New Guardhouse) to the
Altes Museum (Old Museum) - still beautify Berlin.
One of the definitive histories on Prussia, Christopher Clark's Iron Kingdom: The Rise and
Downfall of Prussiacovers the period from 1600 to 1947 and shows the central role this
powerhouse played in shaping modern Europe.
Revolution(s)
The Industrial Revolution snuck up on Berliners in the second quarter of the 19th century,
with companies like Siemens and Borsig vastly spurring the city's growth. In 1838 trains
began chuffing between Berlin and Potsdam, giving birth to the Prussian railway system and
spurring the founding of more than 1000 factories, including electrical giants AEG and
Siemens. In 1841 August Borsig built the world's fastest locomotive, besting even the Brit-
ish in a race.
Tens of thousands of people now streamed into Berlin to work in the factories, swelling
the population to more than 400,000 by 1847 and bringing the city's infrastructure close to
collapse. A year later, due to social volatility and restricted freedoms, Berlin joined other
German cities in a bourgeois democratic revolution. On 18 March two shots rang out during
a demonstration, which then escalated into a full-fledged revolution. Barricades went up and
a bloody fight ensued, leaving 183 revolutionaries and 18 soldiers dead by the time King
Friedrich Wilhelm IV (r 1840-61) ordered his troops back. The dead revolutionaries are
commemorated on Platz des 18 März immediately west of the Brandenburg Gate. In a com-
plete turnabout, the king put himself at the head of the movement and ostensibly professed
support for liberalism and nationalism. On 21 March, while riding to the funeral of the re-
volutionaries in the Volkspark Friedrichshain, he donned the red, black and gold tricolour of
German unity. An elected Prussian national assembly met on 5 May.
However, disagreements between delegates from the different factions kept parliament
weak and ineffective, making restoration of the monarchy child's play for General von
Wrangel, who led 13,000 Prussian soldiers who had remained faithful to the king into the
city in November 1848. Ever the opportunist, the king quickly switched sides again, dis-
solved the parliament and proposed his own constitution while insisting on maintaining su-
preme power. The revolution was dead. Many of its participants fled into exile.
