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By 1938, 37 out of 52 embassies and legations in Berlin, and 28 out of 29 consulates, were situated here. This road, which had developed into part of a trading route running across Europe from Paris to St. Petersburg via Aachen, Berlin and Knigsberg, became Elector Frederick William's route of choice to Potsdam, the location of his palace, in 1660. The one on the north side served as the customs house and excise collection point, while its southern counterpart was a military guardhouse, set up to prevent desertions of Prussian soldiers, which had become a major problem. Famous for its fine claret, numerous members of European society were made welcome there as guests. Although examples of "over-provision" like this can be found all over Berlin, it is Potsdamer Platz that, rightly or wrongly, has been used to highlight the problem. Potsdamer Platz With the city's fantastic transport system, it is better to stay where the people actually live and visit these tourist hot spots during the day. A railway line once ran through Potsdamer Platz: a connecting line opened in October 1851 and running around the city just inside the customs wall, crossing numerous streets and squares at street level, and whose purpose was to allow goods to be transported between the various Berlin stations, thus creating a hated traffic obstruction that lasted for twenty years. Continue slightly downhill past Europe's first stoplight created in 1924 and remnants of the Berlin Wall, sadly now covered in gum. It should be pointed out here though that not all of these attractions existed simultaneously, owing to changes in those countries that Germany was or was not allied to, in the volatile years leading up to and during World War II, a good example being the closure of the Wild West Bar following America's entry into the war as an enemy of Germany. Next door, the Herrenhaus, or Prussian House of Lords (the Upper House of the Prussian State Parliament), occupied a former porcelain factory for a while, before moving to an impressive new building erected on the site of the former Mendelssohn family home in 18991904 by Friedrich Schulze Colditz (18431912). The Mandala Hotel and Grand Hyatt are similarly fancy options. [citation needed]. This road, both north and south of the platz, was named Kniggrtzer Strae after the Prussian victory over Austria at the Battle of Kniggrtz on 3 July 1866, in the Austro-Prussian War. The new U-Bahn station was being built at the same time as the hotel and actually ran through the hotel's basement, cutting it in half, thus making the construction of both into something of a technical challenge, but unlike the Wertheim department store (and contrary to several sources), the hotel did not enjoy a separate entrance directly from the station. After that, only two buildings in the immediate vicinity of Potsdamer Platz still stood one complete, the other in a half-ruined fragmented form: the Weinhaus Huth's steel skeleton had enabled the building to withstand the pounding of World War II virtually undamaged, and it stood out starkly amid a great levelled wasteland, although now occupied only by groups of squatters. You can take the fastest elevator in Europe up to the Panoramapunkt in the Kollhof Tower, where you can enjoy a fantastic view of the Berlin skyline. The history of Potsdamer Platz can be traced to 29 October 1685, when the Tolerance Edict of Potsdam was signed, whereby Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg-Prussia from 1640 to 1688, allowed large numbers of religious refugees, including Jews from Austria and Huguenots expelled from France, to settle on his territory to repopulate it following the Thirty Years' War (161848). This was all destroyed during WWII when the square was almost totally obliterated. It also contained a summer garden, winter garden and roof garden, an enormous restaurant and several smaller eating areas, its own laundry, a theater and concert booking office, its own bank, whose strongrooms were underground at the eastern end of the building, and a large fleet of private delivery vehicles. Both termini began life modestly, but to cope with increasing demand, both went on to much bigger and better things, a new Potsdamer Bahnhof, destined to be Berlin's busiest station, opening on 30 August 1872 and a new Anhalter Bahnhof, destined to be the city's biggest and finest, on 15 June 1880. 1. An observation platform had been erected, primarily for military personnel and police but used increasingly by members of the public, so that they could gaze over the Wall at the wilderness beyond. This was quickly followed by massive construction throughout the 1990s. On the western side things did improve with the development of the Cultural Forum, whose site roughly equates with the former Millionaires' Quarter. For the most choice in the smallest area, Mall of Berlin's food court offers something for every palate. No doubt, Potsdamer Platz is one of the most iconic places in Berlin. [27], .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct,.mw-parser-output .geo-inline-hidden{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}523034N 132235E / 52.5094N 13.3765E / 52.5094; 13.3765. The eastern half of the former Millionaires' Quarter, including Stler's Matthiaskirche, would have been totally eradicated. The new gate was dedicated on 23 August 1824. Another annual tradition that began in West Berlin (in 1952) and was re-routed into the east via Potsdamer Platz following German reunification is the Weihnachtszug (Christmas train). The Berlin Wall as a Under these plans the immediate vicinity of Potsdamer Platz would have got off fairly lightly, although the Potsdamer Bahnhof (and the Anhalter Bahnhof a short distance away) would have lost their function. All the new suburbs were absorbed into Berlin around 170910. Further demolitions occurred up until 1976 when the Haus Vaterland finally disappeared. (It was demolished on 29 January 1953. Out on the streets, even the flower-sellers, for whom the area had once been renowned, were doing brisk business again. Here much of the planning of the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympic Games took place. Why is Potsdamer Platz Now firmly in the centre of a metropolis whose population eventually reached 4.4million, making it the third largest city in the world after London and New York,[2] the area was ready to take on its most celebrated role. East German officer monitors traffic returning to East Berlin, November 1989. These became the homes of civil servants, officers, bankers, artists and politicians among others, and earned the area the nickname "Millionaires' Quarter" although its official designation was Friedrichvorstadt (Friedrich's Suburb), or the Tiergartenviertel (Tiergarten Quarter). Potsdamer Platz (German: [ptsdam plats] (listen), Potsdam Square) is a public square and traffic intersection in the center of Berlin, Germany, lying about 1km (1,100yd) south of the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag (German Parliament Building), and close to the southeast corner of the Tiergarten park. Berlin's Alexanderplatz: The Complete Guide, Berlin's Public Transportation: The Complete Guide, Berlin's Mitte Neighborhood: The Complete Guide, The 10 Best Works of Street Art in Berlin, Get our travel tips Delivered to your inbox. The heyday of Potsdamer Platz was in the 1920s and 1930s. Up to eight orchestras and dance bands regularly performed in different parts of the building, plus a host of singers, dancers and other entertainers. In the run-up to Christmas Wertheim was transformed into a fairytale kingdom, and was well known to children from all over Germany and far beyond. He redesigned the Tiergarten, a large wooded park formerly the Royal Hunting Grounds, gave his name to Lennstrae, a thoroughfare forming part of the southern boundary of the park very close to Potsdamer Platz, and transformed a muddy ditch to the south into one of Berlin's busiest waterways, the Landwehrkanal. Many of the properties in the neighborhood were the work of architect Georg Friedrich Heinrich Hitzig (181181), a pupil of Schinkel who also built the original "English Embassy" in Leipziger Platz, where the vast Wertheim department store would stand, although Friedrichvorstadt's focal point and most notable building was the work of another architectand another pupil of Schinkel. Both overground and underground, the square was rapidly developing into a hub. The decision by the Berlin Senate to divide the land between just four investors while numerous others had submitted bids provoked scepticism. There is minimal parking available, but there are many roads that lead to Potsdamer Platz with a few parking garage options. The trams added greatly to this. Probably Potsdamer Platz's most prominent landmark in the mid-1930s, the sign first appears in photographs dated 1935 but was gone again by 1938. Despite the prestige associated with its name, Caf Josty closed in 1930. A temporary road, lined with barriers, was created across this zone and checkpoints were set up just inside East German territory. This church, one of fewer than half a dozen surviving pre-World War II buildings in the entire area, forms the centrepiece of today's Kulturforum (Cultural Forum). Eventually attracting 17 entrants, a winning design was announced in October 1991, that from the Munich-based architectural firm of Hilmer & Sattler. It now does a regular two-hour round trip at weekends in the run-up to Christmas for families with children, starting and finishing at the Potsdamer Platz S-Bahn station. It reopened on 31 August 1928 as the Haus Vaterland, offering "The World in One House," and could now hold up to 8,000 guests at a time. The luxurious Ritz-Carlton within Potsdamer Platz is undoubtedly the nicest accommodation in the area, but certainly not the cheapest. Unlike, for example, Friedrichstrasse station, Potsdamer Platz is not a really important intersection point for the U and S-Bahn system. Lets take a closer look at some fun and interesting facts about Potsdamer Platz, one of Berlins amazing attractions! [11] No one really knows how many people died during the uprising itself, or by the subsequent death sentences. Its street layout followed the Baroque-style grid pattern much favoured at the time, and was based on two main axes: Friedrichstrae running northsouth, and Leipziger Strasse running eastwest. A keen lover of classical music, he had helped to choose the site because of its close proximity to the orchestra's home in the Cultural Forum. Public square and traffic intersection in Berlin, Germany, Toggle Europe's largest building site subsection, Toggle Facilities and attractions subsection, The free Berlin press versus the wise Berliner, Routes through Potsdamer Platz after reunification, Taylor, Chapter "Thunderclap and Yalta", page 216, Learn how and when to remove these template messages, Learn how and when to remove this template message, effective use of propaganda in the leadup to the second World War, H.M. Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, "Topographies of Class: Modern Architecture and Mass Society in Weimar Berlin (Social History, Popular Culture, and Politics in Germany)", "Embassies / Senate Department for Urban Development and the Environment in Berlin / Diplomatic quarter in Tiergarten", "Leuchtschriftanlange "Die Freie Berliner Presse Meldet" (in German, click on the link)", "17juni53.de: Tote des 17. In addition, the East Berlin sign was carefully placed so that, when viewed from further away down Leipziger Strasse, its display board obscured the West Berlin sign standing beyond it. Among its many attractions, Potsdamer Platz stands out as a must-see destination for visitors to the city. Potsdamer Platz is well connected to all points within the city. For the second time in its history, the Potsdam Gate (or what remained of it), was like a dividing line between two different worlds. At 8.00 p.m. on 29 October 1923, Germany's first radio broadcast was made [4] from a building (Vox-Haus) close by in Potsdamer Strasse. The U-Bahn arrived first, from the south; begun on 10 September 1896, it opened on 18 February 1902, with a new and better sited station being provided on 29 September 1907, and the line itself being extended north and east on 1 October 1908. The arrival of the Berlin Wall in 1961 formalized the division and the square became the widest point in the death strip. During Berlin's era of excess in the 1920s, Potsdamer Platz was the place to be for the creative set. The gate itself was redesignated Leipziger Tor (Leipzig Gate) around the same time, but reverted to its old name a few years later. Remembering the effective use of propaganda in the leadup to the second World War, the opposing camps later began berating one another with enormous signs displaying loud political slogans, facing each other across the border zone. Potsdamer Platz Part of the Haus Vaterland reopened in 1948 in a much simplified form. Another building by the same architect but which still stands the "Rosengarten" in Mannheim, has a remarkably similar main facade. The Daimler complex also contains the former Weinhaus Huth, now restored to its former glory and occupied by a restaurant, caf, and an exhibition space for Daimler AG's art collection ("Daimler Contemporary"). There are also four major hotels, and Europe's largest casino (Spielbank Berlin). Over the next two years, West Berlin would regularly raise or lower its sign to make it more easily visible from the East again and then East Berlin would raise or lower its own construction to obscure it once more. The Weinhaus Huth, with its distinctive corner cupola, was a wedge-shaped structure located in the angle between Potsdamer Strasse and Linkstrasse (literally "Left Street"), and with entrances in both streets. It was hoped that this would encourage development of all the country lanes into proper roads; in turn it was hoped that these would emulate Parisian boulevardsbroad, straight and magnificent, but the main intention was to enable troops to be moved quickly. This time, they were not rehabilitated. New U-Bahn and S-Bahn lines were planned to run directly beneath almost the whole length of the axis, and the city's entire underground network reoriented to gravitate towards this new hub (at least one tunnel section, around 220 metres in length, was actually constructed and still exists today, buried some 20 metres beneath the Tiergarten, despite having never seen a train). Unfortunately the worldwide Great Depression of the time, triggered by the Wall Street Crash of 1929, meant that most of the plans remained on the drawing board. Among the many beer palaces around Potsdamer Platz were two in particular which contained an extensive range of rooms and halls covering a large area. A $2 billion development[18] bordering the west side of the former Potsdamer Bahnhof site, some of its 19 individual buildings were then erected by other architects, who submitted their own designs while maintaining Piano's key elements. A major player on the Berlin caf scene, Josty attracted writers, artists, politicians and international society: it was one of the places to be seen. Finally in 1929 all communal traffic companies (Underground, Tram and Buses) were unified into the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (Berlin Transport Services) company. Other developments, more piecemeal in nature, have recreated the octagonal layout of neighbouring Leipziger Platz immediately to the east. Expect to pay slightly higher prices for convenience. Smaller streets within the individual quarters provide for the connection of the underground parking garages. On 17 December 2007, Daimler announced that they were selling their entire complex of 19 buildings at Potsdamer Platz to SEB Asset Management, a Frankfurt-based subsidiary of the Swedish banking group SEB. It is named after the city of Potsdam, some 25km (16mi) to the south west, and marks the point where the old road from Potsdam passed through the city wall of Berlin at the Potsdam Gate. Before World War II, Potsdamer Platz was the heart of Berlin and one of the busiest squares in Europe. However, Schinkel did get to rebuild the gate in 18231824, replacing what was little more than a gap in the customs wall with a much grander affair consisting of two matching Doric-style stone gate-houses, like little temples, facing each other across Leipziger Strasse. This is also one of the firstChristmas Markets to open in Berlin. It was not called that until 8 July 1831, but the area outside the Potsdam Gate began to develop in the early 19th century as a district of quiet villas, for as Berlin became even more congested, many of its richer citizens moved outside the customs wall and built spacious new homes around the trading post, along the newly developing boulevards, and around the southern edge of the Tiergarten. of Hitlers bunker and the Potsdamer Platz, once the citys busiest traffic hub. December 1924 in an attempt to control the sheer volume of traffic passing through.[6]. In 1939 the S-Bahn followed, its North-South Link between Unter den Linden and Yorckstrae opening in stages during the year, the Potsdamer Platz S-Bahn station itself opening on 15 April. During construction, the contractors erected a bright red three-story building called the Info Box, where computer graphics help convey the scope of one of the most complex building projects ever attempted; it quickly became a highly popular attraction with thousands of visitors each week.[20]. Intended to be a concert venue until concerns were raised about increased traffic problems in the already congested streets, it was ruled that it should serve a gastronomic purpose only. This square was originally known as Platz vor dem Potsdamer Tor and stood before Potsdamer Tor (Potsdam Gate), one of 14 city gates of Berlin. This deal was finalised in late 2009. Whilst neither intended to move out, both felt it preferable to rent the space from new owners rather than continue to be the owners themselves (and so be responsible for the buildings' upkeep and maintenance). With the clearance of most of the remaining bomb-damaged buildings on both sides (on the eastern side, this was done chiefly to give border guards a clear view of would-be escapees and an uninterrupted line of fire), little was left in an area of dozens of hectares. [22] It is known as the Berlinale Palast during the Berlin International Film Festival, serving as the venue for the premieres of competition films and several special gala films, as well as the opening and awards ceremonies. The movie thus gives a good impression of the surroundings at the time, which are completely unlike what can be seen today. Half a dozen or more times a day, Potsdamer Platz ground to a halt while a train of 60 to 100 wagons trundled through at walking pace preceded by a railway official ringing a bell. The area around Potsdamer Platz had also become a focus for black market trading. The numbers of shoppers visiting the Arkaden, guests passing through the doors of the many bars, cafes and restaurants, theatres and cinemas, hotels and casino (not to mention passengers thronging the platforms of the stations), all point to a thriving focal point right at the very heart of Berlin. The replica was moved again on 29 September 2000, to the place where it stands today. Thus Potsdamer Platz was off and running. On 21 July 1990, ex-Pink Floyd member Roger Waters staged a gigantic charity concert of his former band's rock extravaganza The Wall to commemorate the end of the division between East and West Germany. Potsdamer Platz was served by both of Berlin's two local rail systems. standing for Nationalsozialist (National Socialist), i.e. Altogether it could accommodate 4,000 guests at a time, 1,100 of these in its main hall alone. Meanwhile, country peasantry were generally not welcome in the city, and so the gates also served to restrict access. Lying on this invisible frontier, Potsdamer Platz was no longer an important destination for Berliners. List of tallest buildings in Berlin Heres everything you need to know about it in just one Meanwhile, a row of new single-storey shops was erected along Potsdamer Strae. There are also plans to reintroduce trams to Potsdamer Platz. The delays in tram traffic increased and the job was very dangerous for the policemen. Today this section is called. West Berlin inevitably chose the Kurfrstendamm and the area around the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, while East Berlin built up Alexanderplatz and turned Frankfurter Allee (which they renamed Stalinallee in 1949, Karl-Marx-Allee in 1961), into their own showpiece boulevard. The finished complex was officially opened by the Federal President of Germany, Roman Herzog, on 2 October 1998, in a glittering ceremony featuring large-scale celebrations and musical performances. The 19 buildings[19] include the offices of Daimler-Benz themselves (through their former subsidiary debis, whose 21-storey main tower rises to 106 metres and is the tallest building in the new Potsdamer Platz development), also offices of British professional services company PricewaterhouseCoopers; Berliner Volksbank (Germany's largest cooperative bank) by Arata Isozaki; a five-star hotel designed by Rafael Moneo and managed by Hyatt, with 342 rooms and suites;[19] and the 25-storey, 103-metre-high Potsdamer Platz No. With the construction of the Berlin Wall on 13 August 1961, along the intracity frontier, Potsdamer Platz now found itself physically divided in two. Among the major hotels at or near Potsdamer Platz were two designed by the same architect, Otto Rehnig (18641925), and opened in the same year, 1908. Columbushaus was completed and opened in January 1933, the same month that the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler (18891945) came to power. Events: Berlinale, Berlin's premier film festival, is a star-studded affair and Potsdamer Platz rolls out the red carpet for the big nights in February. In particular, due to its location straddling the erstwhile border between east and west, it was widely perceived as a "linking element," reconnecting the two-halves of the city in a way that was symbolic as well as physical, helping to heal the historical wounds by providing an exciting new mecca attracting Berliners from both sides of the former divide. [citation needed], The Theater am Potsdamer Platz is a theatre for musicals seating over 1600 people. On an even darker note, those Nazi concerns included the Gestapo, who set up a secret prison in an upper part of the building, complete with interrogation and torture rooms. Located in the heart of Berlin, Potsdamer Platz has a fascinating history, having been a bustling square in the early 20th century before being destroyed during World War II. Consequently, Potsdamer Platz S-Bahn station became the most infamous of several Geisterbahnhofe (ghost stations), through which trains ran without stopping, its previously bustling platforms now decrepit, sealed off from the outside world, and patrolled by armed guards. Additionally, the southern edge of the Tiergarten was to be redefined, with a new road planned to slice through the built-up area immediately to the north of Columbushaus (although Columbushaus itself would remain unscathed); this road would line up with Vostrae, one block to the north of Leipziger Platz. One of the busiest squares in Berlin, thus all of Germany, Potsdamer Platz is Berlin's attempt at a commercial center. Below ground, the U-Bahn section through Potsdamer Platz had closed entirely; although the S-Bahn line itself remained open, it suffered from a quirk of geography in that it briefly passed through East German territory en route from one part of West Berlin to another.