Brandenburger Tor / Gate

The Brandenburg Gate (German: Brandenburger Tor) is a former city gate and one of the main symbols of Berlin and Germany. Today, it is considered one of Europe's most famous landmarks.

Französischer Dom

Französischer Dom (German for: French Cathedral) is the colloquial naming for the French Church of Friedrichstadt. Französischer Dom was heavily damaged in World War II, then re-built from 1977 to 1981.

Berlin Cathedral - Berliner Dom

Berlin Cathedral (German: Berliner Dom) is the colloquial name for the Evangelical Oberpfarr- und Domkirche in Berlin.

Berlin Zoological Garden

The Berlin Zoological Garden is the oldest and best known zoo in Germany. Opened in 1844 it comprises an area of 35 hectares and is located in Berlin's. With almost 1,500 different species and around 15,000 animals the zoo presents the most comprehensive collection of species in the world.

Berlin Cathedral - Berliner Dom

On May 24, 1944, a bomb of combustible liquids entered the dome. The fire could not be extinguished at that unreachable section of the dome. So the dome burnt out, part of its construction collapsed into the prayer hall. Between 1949 and 1953 the dome was closed again by a temporary roof. In 1975 reconstruction started, simplifying the building's original design and tearing down the northern wing (the memorial hall).

Berlin Cathedral - Berliner Dom

In 1980 the baptistery and wedding church was reopened for services. The restoration of the main prayer hall was begun in 1984. On 6 June 1993 the big prayer hall was reinaugurated in an event attended by Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl and televised nationwide in Germany.

Berlin Cathedral

The pipe organ, built by Wilhelm Sauer, was fully restored during reconstruction. It has 113 stops, including three ranks of 32' pipes on the pedal division, played by a 4-manual console.

Berlin Cathedral

Berlin Cathedral - Berliner Dom

Berlin Cathedral

Berlin Cathedral seen from the Spree.

The Rotes Rathaus

The Rotes Rathaus is the town hall of Berlin. It is the home to the governing mayor and the government of the Federal state of Berlin. The name of the landmark building dates from the facade design with red clinker bricks. The Rathaus was built between 1861 and 1869. The building was heavily damaged by Allied bombing in World War II and rebuilt to the original plans between 1951 and 1956.

St. Nicholas' Church

The St. Nikolai-Kirche, (St. Nicholas' Church) is the oldest church in Berlin. The church was built between 1220 and 1230 and located in the eastern part of central Berlin known as the Nikolaiviertel 'Nicholas quarter'.

Nikolaiviertel

Nikolaiviertel

Founded about 1200, the Nikolaiviertel, together with the neighbouring settlement of Cölln, is the reconstructed historical heart of the German capital. The Nikolai Church, originally a late Romanesque basilica, was erected about 1230. The area around the church with its medieval alleys in the main had been preserved throughout the centuries, until it was destroyed by the air raids and the Battle of Berlin during World War II.

Nikolaiviertel

At Berlin's 750th anniversary in 1987 the house-building was restored in a peculiar mixture of reconstructed historic houses and concrete slab Plattenbau blocks, giving the area an unmistakable appearance. Today the small area is famous for its traditional German restaurants and bars.

The Sony Center

The Sony Center is a Sony-sponsored building complex located at the Potsdamer Platz.

The Sony Center

Amtsgericht Mitte

Checkpoint Charli

Checkpoint Charlie was the name given by the Western Allies to the best-known Berlin Wall crossing point between East Germany and West Germany during the Cold War. The Soviet Union prompted the erection of the Berlin Wall in 1961 to stem the flow of Eastern Bloc emigration westward. Checkpoint Charlie became a symbol of the Cold War, representing the separation of east and west, and—for some East Germans—a gateway to freedom.

The East Side Gallery

The East Side Gallery is an international memorial for freedom. It is a 1.3 km long section of the Berlin Wall.

The East Side Gallery

The Gallery consists of 105 paintings by artists from all over the world, painted in 1990 on the east side of the Berlin Wall.

The East Side Gallery

The Gallery is possibly the largest and longest-lasting open air gallery in the world.

The East Side Gallery

The paintings at the East Side Gallery document the time of change and express the euphoria and great hopes for a better and free future for all people of the world.

The East Side Gallery

Kaiser William Ch.

The original church on the site was built in the 1890s. It was badly damaged in a bombing raid in 1943. The damaged spire of the old church has been retained and its ground floor has been made into a memorial hall.

Kaiser William Memorial Church

The New Church was designed by Egon Eiermann and consists of four buildings grouped around the remaining ruins of the old church. The walls of the church are made of a concrete honeycomb containing 21,292 stained glass inlays. The predominant colour is blue, with small areas of ruby red, emerald green and yellow. The church is 35 metres in diameter and 20.5 metres high with a capacity of over 1,000.

The Berlin Philharmonic

The Berlin Philharmonic (German: Berliner Philharmoniker)is an orchestra based in Berlin. In 2006, a group of ten European media outlets voted the Berlin Philharmonic number three on a list of "top ten European Orchestras". Its primary concert venue is the Philharmonie (shown on this photo), located in the Kulturforum area of the city.

Charlottenburg Palace

Charlottenburg Palace (German: Schloss Charlottenburg) is the largest palace in Berlin. The palace was built at the end of the 17th century and was greatly expanded during the 18th century. It includes much exotic internal decoration in baroque and rococo styles. The palace with its gardens are a major tourist attraction.

KaDeWe

The Kaufhaus des Westens, usually abbreviated to KaDeWe, is a department store in Berlin. With over 60,000 square metres of selling space and more than 380,000 articles available, it is the second largest department store in Europe; trumped only by Harrods in London. It attracts 40,000 to 50,000 visitors every day. KaDeWe has seven floors, each one focussed on a different type of merchandise.

KaDeWe

The sixth and seventh floor are entirely devoted to food, and advertisements tout the place as having two football fields of food. More than 30 gourmet stalls and an oyster bar make it a mecca for gourmets. Here connoisseurs can choose between around 34,000 different items including around 3,400 wines from all continents and more than 1,300 types of cheese. A further highlight is the fish & seafood department.

Lafayette

The Deutsches Historisches Museum

The Deutsches Historisches Museum was founded in 1987 by the chancellor of Germany, Helmut Kohl and the mayor of Berlin, Eberhard Diepgen on the occasion of the 750th anniversary of the founding of Berlin.

Deutscher Dom

Deutscher Dom is the colloquial naming for the New Church located in Berlin on the Gendarmenmarkt across from Französischer Dom.

Deutscher Dom

The Konzerthaus Berlin

The Konzerthaus Berlin is a concert hall situated on the Gendarmenmarkt square. Since 1994 it has been the seat of the German orchestra Konzerthausorchester Berlin.

Französischer Dom

The domed tower, which is a viewing platform open to visitors, provides a panoramic view of Berlin. A restaurant is located in the basement underneath the prayer hall. The tower also contains the Huguenot museum of Berlin.

The Fernsehturm

The Fernsehturm is a television tower in the city centre of Berlin. The tower was constructed between 1965 and 1969. The total height of the tower is 368 m and the fourth tallest freestanding structure in Europe. There is a visitor platform and a rotating restaurant (210m) in the middle of the sphere.

The Bode Museum

The Bode Museum was designed by architect Ernst von Ihne and completed in 1904. It is now the home for a collection of sculptures, Byzantine art, and coins and medals.

The Reichstag building

The Reichstag building is a historical edifice in Berlin, constructed to house the Reichstag, parliament of the German Empire.

The Humboldt University of Berlin

The Humboldt University of Berlin is Berlin's oldest university, founded in 1810.

The Altes Museum

The Altes Museum (German for Old Museum), is one of several internationally renowned museums on Berlin's Museum Island. Since restoration work in 1966, it houses the antique collection of the Berlin State Museums. The museum was built between 1823 and 1830.

The Altes Museum

Hotel Adlon

The first Hotel Adlon was built in 1907 by Lorenz Adlon, a successful Berlin wine merchant and restaurateur. The Adlon was one of the most famous hotels in Europe between the two World Wars and hosted celebrities. Michael Jackson infamously dangled his son, "Blanket," out one of the hotel's windows during a visit to Berlin in November 2002.

Fernsehturm and Berliner Dom

Neue Promenade

Friedrichswerder Ch

The Friedrichswerder Church was the first Neo-Gothic church built in Berlin (1824-1831). The building is currently holding the Alte Nationalgalerie's collection of nineteenth-century German sculpture.

Bridge over Spreekanal

Hippopotamus in Berlin Zoo

The zoo and its aquarium had almost 3 million visitors in 2008. It is considered to be the most visited zoo in Europe and one of the most popular worldwide. Regular animal feedings are among its most famous attractions.

Lion in Berlin Zoo

Polar bears in Berlin Zoo

Panda in Berlin Zoo

The zoo is closely collaborating on scientific fields with a large number of universities, research institutes, and other zoos around the world. It maintains and promotes numerous European breeding programmes and safeguards several endangered species.

Elephant in Berlin Zoo

A number of species kept at the zoo are regularly returned to the wild after years in intensive human care.

Flamingos in Berlin Zoo

Birds in Berlin Zoo

Rhinoceros in Berlin Zoo