If the world history of the 20th century evokes the name of a European city, this is undoubtedly Berlin. Both the First and Second World War and the period known as the Cold War had it as a protagonist, but nowadays its mood has changed completely and it has become a wonderful city full of life, culture and surprises that is visited annually by millions of people. Join us to discover 35 Curiosities of Berlin that will surprise you.
To begin, a few brief notes about the city that will surely interest you. The capital of Germany is the largest city in the country and has 3.8 million inhabitants. Its metropolitan area has more than 6 million. At present it is known, in addition to being one of the main axes of European politics, for its high quality of life, its architecture and its intense cultural life.
35 Curiosities of Berlin
1. The history of Berlin began in 1307. At that time, the towns of Berlin and Cölln were united, forming a single one of 7,000 inhabitants and which took the name of the second: Berlin.
2. The name Berlin seems to come from the word berl which in the Slavic language of the place, the polabo, meant swamp plus the suffix -in that indicated place and would mean "land or swampy place".
3. However, one of the curiosities of Berlin is that popular tradition says that the name comes from Bär which is pronounced "ber" which means "bear". Due to this fact, in the coat of arms of the city there is a bear and we will see the image of this animal throughout the city.
4. If you are an opera lover in Berlin you will be in luck. It has three opera houses in operation: the Berliner Staatsoper, the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Komische Oper.
5. In addition, there are more than 150 theaters in the city.
6. Another of the curiosities of Berlin is that in the city there are 9 castles. The most important are the Schloss Charlottenburg and the Köpenicker Schloss.
7. Berlin premiered in 2006 the largest train station in Europe, is the Berlin Hauptbahnhof.
8. If you want to have an interesting perspective of the city you can navigate the more than 180 km. of navigable waterways in Berlin.
9. With so many kilometers of navigable waterways, it is not surprising that it has more bridges than Venice. Total 1,700 bridges and the most famous is the Oberbaumbrücke between Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain.
10. The most famous shopping street in Berlin is the Kurfürstendamm and one of the curiosities of Berlin is missing the numbers from 1 to 10. It starts at No. 11. This fact is because in 1925 the first section of the street changed its name to Budapester Straße.
11. In 1989 took place one of the most important events of the twentieth century and the protagonist was this city. We refer to the fall of Berlin Wall that led to the unification of the two Germanies in 1990.
12. The Berlin Wall survives a stretch of 1.3 km. which has become the "East Side Gallery" and is the longest outdoor art gallery in the world. The Wall was painted by 118 artists from 21 countries who painted more than 100 murals.
13. The most famous of these works is "The fraternal kiss". A kiss between Brezhnev (left) and Honecker (right) that Vrúbel captured in the East Side Gallery in Berlin. It measures three meters high and five meters wide.
14. In Berlin there are more Döner Kebab stores than in Istanbul. There are more than 1,600.
15. A surprising fact is that this popular food did not come from Turkey, but was invented in Berlin! The fatherhood of Döner Kebab was disputed between Kadir Nurman and Mehmet Aygün, both of Turkish origin settled in the capital.
16. Following with food, one of the curiosities of Berlin is that he has his own beer: the Berliner Weiße. It is apparently made of wheat and has a slightly bitter and sour taste.
17. The city subway combines SBahn and UBahn and has a total length of 473 km. It is one of the most impressive public transport systems in the world.
18. The Alexanderplatz television tower is the tallest structure in Germany. It measures 368 meters. At the top there is a revolving restaurant.
19. The Berlin Zoo is the most visited zoo in Europe and has more than 18,000 animals from almost 1,400 different species.
20. Berlin is one of the greenest cities in Germany with 44% of its territory consisting of forests, rivers, parks, green areas and waterways.
21. In Berlin there are 180 museums and some of them are among the best in Europe as the Pergamon Museum where you can see the Altar of Pergamum, the Miletus Market Gate or the Ishtar Gate among other wonders or the New Museum in the Island of the Museums that hides among its treasures the bust of Nefertiti .
22. Around 500,000 foreigners live in Berlin and come from 185 different countries.
23. One of the curiosities of Berlin that you can see for free is the largest cylindrical aquarium in the world. It is located in the lobby of the Radisson Blu Hotel in the center of Berlin. It contains more than 1,500 fish of 97 different species. It has an elevator that goes up to the middle of the cylinder that measures 25 meters high and has more than one million liters of water.
24. From May to September you can bathe in the Badeschiff. It is a barge converted into a heated pool on the River Spree from which you have spectacular views of the city.
25. The first traffic light in Europe was placed in Potsdam Square in 1924. There is a copy of that traffic light in the place.
26. Another of the curiosities of Berlin they are the little figures of their traffic lights. They are called Ampelmännchen which means "little man of the traffic light". They were in all the traffic lights of the German Democratic Republic and after the reunification the Berliners protested to obtain that they did not disappear and nowadays they are a badge of the city.
27. The typical snack in Berlin is "currywurst". It is a fried sausage, cut into pieces, dipped in curry sauce and sprinkled with curry powder. More than 70 million are sold every year.
28. Berliners are dog lovers. In the city almost 100,000 dogs are registered.
29. The Largest lake Berlin is the Müggelsee, is 7.5 km2 in length and is one of the places to cool off in the city.
30. Walking around Berlin you will see small shops or kiosks in the corners. There are more than 1,000 in the city and 70% belong to owners from Turkey. They sell magazines, sweets, drinks, etc. and they are open until very late.
31. The Berlin International Beer Festival receives the title of "the longest open-air brewery in the world". It extends along 2'2 km. and more than 2,400 brands representing 87 countries are present.
32. The Brandenburg Gate is one of the most iconic icons of Berlin. It was commissioned by Friedrich Wilhelm II and inaugurated on August 6, 1791. Its function was to serve as auction to the famous boulevard Unter den Linden, the best known and most traditional of the city.
33. The Brandenburg Gate served as the setting for one of the most famous scenes in Germany's recent history. Thousands of people celebrated before the Door the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989. Today it has great symbolic value as it represents the unity and freedom of Germany.
And if you love to travel and know the secrets of the different countries and their urban centers, you can discover with us curiosities of Europe , from the most surprising data from other wonderful cities that you will surely be interested in such as:
- Curiosities of Barcelona
- Curiosities of Seville
- Curiosities of Madrid
- Curiosities of Bilbao
- Curiosities of London
- Curiosities of Paris
- Curiosities of Prague
- Curiosities of Venice
- Curiosities of Florence
- Curiosities of Amsterdam
As you can see, the capital of Germany hides many interesting places to discover. What do you think about our selection of curiosities of Berlin ? Do you know any that we have not taken into account? Tell us and we can expand this list of curiosities.