Berlin-Mitte

Understand

Administrative division Before the reunification of Germany, Mitte was a district of East Berlin and the place where the Berlin Wall was most prominent, running right through the historic fabric of the city. Following reunification, the old administrative division was kept for a decade, and the Mitte's borders were unchanged, but it merged with neighbouring districts of former West Berlin, Tiergarten and Wedding. In 2001, Mitte, Tiergarten and Wedding were merged into a new district, called Bezirk Mitte. The former districts became localities (Ortsteile) of the Bezirk Mitte. This may lead to confusion, as both the Ortsteil and Bezirk are referred to as "Mitte" in the common parlance. Most Berliners would refer to "Mitte" as the Ortsteil and former district, which is smaller and more cohesive. Location touting hotels and restaurants may however advertise their location within "Berlin-Mitte" instead of the Ortsteil. This guide oversteps the boundaries of the Ortsteil Mitte and includes Ortsteil Tiergarten as well.

Areas of Mitte The old district Mitte as covered in this guide can be divided into several neighborhoods:

Unter den Linden — the main boulevard, from Museum Island to Brandenburg Gate, crossing the main shopping street, Friedrichstraße, half-way along. Museumsinsel (Museum Island) and Lustgarten (the square in front of the Altes Museum and adjacent to the Berlin Cathedral). Nikolaiviertel — a quarter near Alexanderplatz which comes close to old town style, but built by the East German government. Spandauer Vorstadt with Scheunenviertel — The Spandauer Vorstadt is located north of the River Spree and the Hackescher Markt. It is bordered on the north by the east-west course of the Torstraße, on the east by Karl-Liebknecht-Straße and by the northern part of Friedrichstraße to the west. The eastern part of the area takes its name Scheunenviertel (the "Barn Quarter") from the move in 1672 by the Great Elector of all the hay barns out of the fire-prone city

Getting there

Mitte regained its position as the main point of entry to Berlin in June 2006 with the opening of the new central station (1 Hauptbahnhof), a giant palace of glass and steel, which is at the border of Mitte and Moabit. Almost all short- and long-haul trains arrive and depart from this station. Hauptbahnhof is also served by a Straßenbahn (tram) line and by the S-Bahn as well as the subway line U5. Other main public transport stations are Friedrichstraße and Alexanderplatz.

By S- and U-Bahn

Mitte is served by many S- and U-Bahn lines. The S1 , S2 , S25 and S26 go from north (Oranienburg and Gesundbrunnen) to south (Potsdamer Platz and Schöneberg), the Stadtbahn (city S-Bahn, lines S3, S5, S7, S75 and S9) goes from west (Charlottenburg) to east (Friedrichshain). They cross at Friedrichstraße. U-Bahn line U2 connects Mitte with Charlottenburg (west) and Prenzlauer Berg (northeast), the U-Bahn lines U6 and U8 go north to Wedding and south to Kreuzberg and Neukölln. U5 connects Hauptbahnhof to Friedrichshain in the east, and stops at several points of interest between Hauptbahnhof and Alexanderplatz. The most important stations are:

2 S+U Alexanderplatz. The main connecting station; old centre of East Berlin, now about to experience a major revival. 3 S+U Friedrichstraße. For Friedrichstraße, Unter den Linden and as a connecting station. 4 S+U Brandenburger Tor U5 . For Unter den Linden, Brandenburger Tor and Reichstag. 5 S Hackescher Markt. For the lively area at the end of Oranienburgerstraße. Do not miss the Hackesche Höfe which is about 20 connected backyards 6 U Rosenthaler Platz. This station is a main gateway for accessing the northern Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg districts. 7 Stadtmitte U2 . For Gendarmenmarkt and Friedrichstraße. 8 Klosterstraße. Served by U2 For Nikolaiviertel and Klosterviertel. 9 S+U Potsdamer Platz. For Potsdamer Platz and Kulturforum (the philharmonic, some museums). 10 S Tiergarten. For the Tiergarten park, the

See

Dorotheenstadt/Unter den Linden

1 Brandenburg Gate (Brandenburger Tor), Pariser Platz. 24/7. The only surviving Berlin city gate and a potent symbol of the city. This is the point where Straße des 17. Juni becomes Unter den Linden. The gate was designed by Carl Gotthard Langhans in 1791 and was intended to resemble the Acropolis in Athens. The Brandenburg Gate now symbolizes reunification, after dividing East and West Berlin for decades. This is the site of Reagan's "Mr. Gorbachev open this gate, Mr. Gorbachev tear down this wall" speech. Free. (updated Aug 2018) 2 Pariser Platz. 24/7. The large square in front of the Brandenburg Gate contains the French and American embassies, the rebuilt Hotel Adlon, and the new building of the Academy of Arts. Free. (updated Aug 2018) 3 Russische Botschaft (Russian Embassy), Unter den Linden 55-65. A vast wedding cake of a building, built between 1949-1951 in the best Stalinist style and meant to symbolize the dominance of the Soviet Union in East German affairs before 1989. 4 KunstHalle (Former Deutsche Guggenheim), Unter den Linden 13-15 (U-Bahn: U6 to Französische Straße), ☏ +49 30 20 20 930, fax: +49 30 20 20 9320, [email protected]. 10:00–20:00. This former German Guggenheim branch is run entirely by Deutsche Bank since 2013. Compared to the Guggenheims in New York, Bilbao and Venice, it is a relatively small exhibition place. It usually hosts a temporary exhibition and is free on Monday, with a free guided tour starting at 16:00. Since the place is small and the name "Guggenheim" a very famous one, the place is often very crowded. €4, free on Mondays. 5 Neue Wache (New Guardhouse), Unter den Linden 4. Erected in 1818 to a classically-inspired design by Karl Friedrich Schinkel as a guardhouse for the imperial palace, since 1993 this compact building has housed a small, but extremely powerful war cenotaph, the Central Memorial of the Federal Republic of Germany, continuing its use under East German rule as the primary

Do

Theater Germany is one of the countries in the world where there is strong political consensus that "high culture" ought to be available even to those of little means, so publicly subsidized theaters abound. Naturally those are especially plentiful in the capital and the most famous ones are almost all in Mitte. During the Weimar Republic Berlin was among the most innovative places in theater and many names still known to the average German in the 21st century were active in this theater scene. Some of their old stomping grounds survived the war or were rebuilt afterwards, so why not enjoy a Brecht piece the way Brecht wanted it staged at a theater Brecht worked at?

1 Admiralspalast (Admiral Palace), Friedrichstraße 101 (Train station Friedrichstraße), ☏ +49 30-2250 7000, +49 30 4799 7499. 2 Berliner Ensemble (Theater am Schiffbauer Damm), Bertolt-Brecht-Platz 1 (Train station Friedrichstraße), ☏ +49 30 284-08-155, [email protected]. Contemporary theatre. The theat