Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Modest Beginnings
Very few buildings from the Middle Ages until the 1700s have survived time, war and mod-
ernist town planning. Only two Gothic churches - the red-brick Nikolaikirche (1230) and
Marienkirche (1294) - bear silent witness to the days when today's metropolis was just a
small trading town. Nikolaikirche anchors the Nikolaiviertel, a mock-medieval quarter built
on the site of the city's original settlement as East Germany's contribution to Berlin's 750th
anniversary celebrations in 1987. It's a hodgepodge of genuine historic buildings like the
Knoblochhaus and replicas of historic buildings such as the Gaststätte Zum Nussbaum.
A hint of residential medieval architecture also survives in the outer district of Spandau,
both in the Gotisches Haus and the half-timbered houses of the Kolk quarter.
Traces of the Renaissance, which reached Berlin in the early 16th century, are rarer still,
but notable survivors include the Jagdschloss Grunewald and the Zitadelle Spandau.
Built as a summer palace for King Friedrich I's wife Sophie-Charlotte, Schloss Charlotten-
burg was originally called Schloss Lietzenburg but was renamed after the popular
queen's sudden death in 1705.
BERLIN & ITS WALLS
1250
1250 The first defensive wall is built of boulders and stands 2m high.
1300s
300s The wall is fortified with bricks and raised to a height of 5m.
166488-17334 The medieval wall is replaced by elaborate fortifications.
1734-
34-1866
1866 A customs wall with 18 city gates replaces the bastion.
1961
961-19989 The Berlin Wall divides the city.
Going for Baroque
As the city grew, so did the representational needs of its rulers, especially in the 17th and
18th centuries. In Berlin, this role fell to Great Elector Friedrich Wilhelm, who systematic-
ally expanded the city by adding three residential quarters, a fortified town wall and a tree-
lined boulevard known as Unter den Linden.
This was the age of baroque, a style merging architecture, sculpture, ornamentation and
painting into a single
Gesamtkunstwerk
(complete work of art). In Berlin and northern Ger-
