Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Neues Kranzler-Eck
One of Berlin's most ambitious new
constructions, this glass and steel sky-
scraper was built in 2000 by the architect
Helmut Jahn. The legendary Café
Kranzler was retained as a bar in front of
the office block
(see pp86-7).
Fasanenstraße
A small street off Ku'damm, Fasanenstraße with
its galleries, expensive shops and restaurants is one
of Charlottenburg's most elegant areas
(see pp80-1).
Ku'damm-Eck
This hotel and busi-
ness complex (2001) has
endowed the boulevard
with new splendour
(right)
.
Lehniner Platz
The square is home
to the Schaubühne, built
as Universum cinema in
1928 by Erich Mendel-
sohn, converted in 1978.
The Story
of Berlin
This interesting
multi-media show
takes visitors on a
tour of 800 years of
Berlin's history - from
the Great Elector to the
capital of Prussia, from
Willy Brandt to the Fall of
the Wall. Underneath the
museum a nuclear bunker
can be visited.
When Ku'damm
was no more
than a log road
In 1542, today's magnifi-
cent boulevard was just
a humble “Knüppel-
damm , or log road. It
served the Electors as a
bridle path, linking the
town residence (Stadt-
schloss) and their hunt-
ing lodge (Jagdschloss).
It was not until 1871
that the area around the
Ku'damm developed
into a fashionable “new
west end . Chancellor
Otto von Bismarck had
the boulevard modelled
on the Champs Elysées
in Paris, and requested
that his statue be erect-
ed in the street as a
thank you. So far, how-
ever, the Berliners have
failed to oblige him.
Galerie Brusberg
This Neo-Classical
building
(right)
provides a
glimpse of Ku'damm's
erstwhile splendour.
Iduna-Haus
The remarkable turreted
house at this street corner
(left)
is one of few bourgeois
houses preserved from the
late 19th century. The richly
ornamented, gleaming white
Art Nouveau façade has been
lavishly restored.
For more on the Kurfürstendamm area
see pp78-83
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