This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Berlin Wall coming down, One of the aspects of this city that makes a lasting impression is the paving signifying where the wall was, as well sections of walls that have been preserved, or used by artists such as the Eastside Gallery. This relatively recent event has obviously marked this city however Berlin has had a long and interesting history. Below is a shirt overview of it.

The official date for the founding of Berlin is 1237 however recent archeological excavations indicate the city may have begun a little earlier. Anyway, Berlin emerged from two merchant communities located on either side of the Spree River with Berlin on the East bank and Colln on the west side.

In 1307, Berlin and Colln formed a union combining their strengths and to protect their rights whilst they presented a united front they maintained their financial independence. By the end of the 14th century Berlin and Colln we’re home to around 8,500 people.

In 1432 Berlin and Colln merged to form a single municipality however this did not last long as ten years later the elector Friedrich II disbanded it in order to strengthen his own powers.

The 16th century was a tumultuous time for Germany’s religious communities and in 1539 the effects of the Reformation were finally felt in the city with its churches adopting the new Lutheran rites and from then on the Reformation was binding in the city.

The Thirty Years War has a devastating effect on Berlin. In fact it’s population fell to under 6,000. When the war ended in 1648 the town had grown in status to become a fortress city with numerous bastions constructed and the remains of them can still be seen. A standing army was based here and the administration of the city fell to a representative of the army.

Towards the end of the 17th century with the easing of immigration laws in Berlin, by its Great Elector Friedrich Wilhelm, led to a population explosion. The city’s Jewish community was founded in 1671 and shortly afterwards a large Huguenot community had settled here. In 1701, the city become the royal residence for the newly crowned King of Prussia, Friedrich I.

The city also developed as a centre of the enlightenment with many large buildings built during this period, including the Armory, the Prince Heinrich Palace and also the St Hedwigs Cathedral. The first German language play was staged in 1764, prior to that plays were performed in French or other foreign languages.

Perhaps the city’s most famous building, the Brandenburg Gate was completed in 1791 followed by the first road to be paved, the Berlin to Potsdam Road.

In 1806, Prussia declared war in France. During the war Berlin was occupied by the French Emperor Napoleon army and they reputedly stripped the city of many of its treasure and the city had to pay heavy penalties.

The first half of the 19th century was a tumultuous time with strikes and revolutions in the city, a cholera epidemic occurred in 1831 followed by food riots. Despite this, the city continued to grow and its first university, the Humboldt University was founded in 1810. By the end of the 19th century the city’s economy had grown from strength to strength.

In 1871, Berlin became the capital of the German Reich which brought with it great political status and economic growth. Following an ambitious public building program many new business commenced and by 1920 the city now had a population of 4 million. It become one of the major industrial cities in Europe and a main cultural centre. The city hosted the 1936 Olympic Games which was an opportunity to showcase Nazi Germany.

During 1938 the Jewish community was devastated as the Nazis rose and many lives and buildings were lost during WWII. The battle for Berlin fought by the Soviets resulted in even greater devastation.

In 1948, the Soviet Union launched a blockade of West Berlin leading to the city’s famous airlift whereby tonnes of food and coal was brought into the city. A new crisis arose in 1958 resulting in the construction of the Berlin Wall separating East Berlin from West Berlin.

The wall was finally pulled down in 1989 reuniting the city again and Berlin has been the official capital of Germany since 1991. The 1990’s saw massive reconstruction projects transforming the city centre.

here are some interesting tit bits I have learned about Berlin:

– in 1848 Berlin was way ahead of its time before banning smoking in streets however now it is one of the few cities that smoking in bars and some 2.9 billion cigarette butts litter the streets every year.

– Berliners love their dogs and we met quite a few on our travels, in 2013 there were 110,000 dogs in the city.

– Graffiti costs the city €35 million a year cleaning graffiti however the city is still covered by it. Seems a loosing battle.

– Berlin is renowned for its clubbing scene and electronic music scene, it’s not our thing but it’s estimated that 40-50,000 hit the dance floors in Berlin clubs every weekend.

– one third of prisoners in Berlin are fare dodgers, the cit6 does take fare dodging quite seriously. We did encounter one of their gruff ‘Berliner Schnauze’ controllers who wasn’t friendly at all, good thing we had valid tickets.

– Berlin is a massive city and is 9 times the size of Paris but only 1/5 the density of population giving the city an airy and spacious feel. Also means you have to rely on the public transport as everything is well spaced output across the city.

– The public transport system is excellent and apparently the entire BVG actually travels the equivalent distance of 8.7 times around the world each day taking people across the city. Also, if you want to work out if you are in East or West Berlin just look out for tram tracks. If you see the, you are in East Berlin, if not you are likely in West Berlin as trams we’re abolished in West Berlin after reunification and underground transport was heavily invested in.

– Berlin has over 180 kilometres of waterways connected by some 1700 bridges meaning Berlin has more canals and waterways than any other city in the world.

– We lived the currywurst and Berliners consume over 70 million curried sausages a year, the currywurst has been described as the city’s culinary emblem and you shouldn’t visit here without trying it at least once.