Alexanderplatz
These are a few belated photos, although I only took them this past weekend. I don't always have my camera with me when I'm walking around. Especially not when I go out on the Spaziergangs offered by the Kulturprogamm at the Goethe-Institute... These are great ways to explore the city and get a bit of cultural context and history thrown in, but it takes all of my attention to successfully follow the guide (since the tours are all auf Deutsch).
One of our first tours was through the historic Mitte, the central part of Berlin and its oldest neighborhood. This was where the medieval town was founded, originally two merchant trading posts placed on either side of the Spree river (one named Berlin, the other Coelln - a forgotten city that got swallowed up by its twin). I say medieval, but Berlin isn't all that old; it began only in the 13th century. Its location also helped to define the city in more recent history, since the division between East and West Berlin made a semi-circular loop around it, including Mitte on the Eastern side of the Berlin wall.
Alexanderplatz was the main commercial hub of East Berlin, and is marked by the distinctive Fernsehturm (built by the DDR in 1969). I can see the tower from my apartment in Kreuzberg. Actually, you can see it from pretty much anywhere in Berlin! The photo above is an interesting juxtaposition of the tower, meant to celebrate the technological prowess of a secular East Germany, and the Marienkirche, Berlin's oldest standing church. It usually comes in second in the guidebooks to the Nicholaikirche, which had to be mostly rebuilt after WWII.
I thought after my discussion of the fountains in Leipzig, these photos would be more than appropriate. I was really pleased with the closeups I got of the rearing centaurs supporting the figure of Neptune. The sun was behind the fountain, so the light was really interesting. Because I watched the 5th Harry Potter movie in the Cinema on Alexanderplatz, the fountain is also fitting in comparison with the showdown between Dumbledore and Voldemort and the climactic scenes in the Ministry of Magic.
Not the Ministry of Magic, but rather the Rotes Rathaus, Berlin's town hall and seat of city government. The Senate meets here. We've just done a whole chapter on German politics in my language course, but I will spare you the details... I find the terracotta frieze running around the sides of the Rathaus much more interesting =) The panels show events from the city's history up through the 1870s, when the building was completed.
Another view of the Rathaus
Frieze depicting the city's history
One of our first tours was through the historic Mitte, the central part of Berlin and its oldest neighborhood. This was where the medieval town was founded, originally two merchant trading posts placed on either side of the Spree river (one named Berlin, the other Coelln - a forgotten city that got swallowed up by its twin). I say medieval, but Berlin isn't all that old; it began only in the 13th century. Its location also helped to define the city in more recent history, since the division between East and West Berlin made a semi-circular loop around it, including Mitte on the Eastern side of the Berlin wall.
Alexanderplatz was the main commercial hub of East Berlin, and is marked by the distinctive Fernsehturm (built by the DDR in 1969). I can see the tower from my apartment in Kreuzberg. Actually, you can see it from pretty much anywhere in Berlin! The photo above is an interesting juxtaposition of the tower, meant to celebrate the technological prowess of a secular East Germany, and the Marienkirche, Berlin's oldest standing church. It usually comes in second in the guidebooks to the Nicholaikirche, which had to be mostly rebuilt after WWII.
I thought after my discussion of the fountains in Leipzig, these photos would be more than appropriate. I was really pleased with the closeups I got of the rearing centaurs supporting the figure of Neptune. The sun was behind the fountain, so the light was really interesting. Because I watched the 5th Harry Potter movie in the Cinema on Alexanderplatz, the fountain is also fitting in comparison with the showdown between Dumbledore and Voldemort and the climactic scenes in the Ministry of Magic.
Not the Ministry of Magic, but rather the Rotes Rathaus, Berlin's town hall and seat of city government. The Senate meets here. We've just done a whole chapter on German politics in my language course, but I will spare you the details... I find the terracotta frieze running around the sides of the Rathaus much more interesting =) The panels show events from the city's history up through the 1870s, when the building was completed.
Another view of the Rathaus
Frieze depicting the city's history
posted by Kristine at 10:27 PM
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