Berlin

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This article is about the capital of Germany. For other uses, see Berlin (disambiguation).

Berlin
Capital city and state
 From top: view over the historic city center (Nicholas'
Quarter with St. Nicholas' Church), Brandenburg Gate,
Berlin Cathedral, Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin Victory
Column, "Berlin" Sculpture on Tauentzienstraße, Potsdam
Square, Gendarmenmarkt

Flag

Coat of arms
 Berlin

Location within Germany

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Coordinates: 52°31′12″N 13°24′18″ECoordinates:

52°31′12″N 13°24′18″E

Country  Germany

State Berlin

Government

 • Body Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin

 • Governing Mayor Michael Müller (SPD)

Area
[1]

 • City/State 891.1 km2 (344.1 sq mi)

Elevation 34 m (112 ft)

Population

 (2019-12-31)[2]

 • City/State 3,769,495
  • Metro
6,144,600
[3]

Berliner(s) (English)
Demonyms
Berliner (m), Berlinerin (f) (German)

Time zone UTC+01:00 (CET)

 • Summer (DST) UTC+02:00 (CEST)

Area code(s) 030

Geocode NUTS Region: DE3

ISO 3166 code DE-BE

Vehicle registration B [note 1]

GDP (nominal) €147 billion (2018)[4]

GDP per capita €40,600 (2018)

GeoTLD .berlin

Website www.berlin.de/en/

Berlin (/bɜːrˈlɪn/; German: [bɛʁˈliːn] ( listen)) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both
area and population.[5][6] Its 3,769,495 (2019)[2] inhabitants make it the most populous city proper
of the European Union.[7] The city is one of Germany's 16 federal states. It is surrounded by the
state of Brandenburg, and contiguous with Potsdam, Brandenburg's capital. The two cities are at
the center of the Berlin-Brandenburg capital region, which is, with about six million inhabitants
and an area of more than 30,000 km²,[8] Germany's third-largest metropolitan region after the
Rhine-Ruhr and Rhine-Main regions.
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap

Berlin straddles the banks of the River Spree, which flows into the River Havel (a tributary of the
River Elbe) in the western borough of Spandau. Among the city's main topographical features
are the many lakes in the western and southeastern boroughs formed by the Spree, Havel, and
Dahme rivers (the largest of which is Lake Müggelsee). Due to its location in the European
Plain, Berlin is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. About one-third of the city's area is
composed of forests, parks, gardens, rivers, canals and lakes.[9] The city lies in the Central
German dialect area, the Berlin dialect being a variant of the Lusatian-New Marchian dialects.

First documented in the 13th century and situated at the crossing of two important historic trade
routes,[10] Berlin became the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1417–1701), the
Kingdom of Prussia (1701–1918), the German Empire (1871–1918), the Weimar Republic
(1919–1933), and the Third Reich (1933–1945).[11] Berlin in the 1920s was the third largest
municipality in the world.[12] After World War II and its subsequent occupation by the victorious
countries, the city was divided; West Berlin became a de facto West German exclave,
surrounded by the Berlin Wall (1961–1989) and East German territory.[13] East Berlin was
declared capital of East Germany, while Bonn became the West German capital. Following
German reunification in 1990, Berlin once again became the capital of all of Germany.

Berlin is a world city of culture, politics, media and science.[14][15][16][17] Its economy is based on
high-tech firms and the service sector, encompassing a diverse range of creative industries,
research facilities, media corporations and convention venues.[18][19] Berlin serves as a continental
hub for air and rail traffic and has a highly complex public transportation network. The
metropolis is a popular tourist destination.[20] Significant industries also include IT,
pharmaceuticals, biomedical engineering, clean tech, biotechnology, construction and
electronics.

Berlin is home to world-renowned universities such as the Humboldt Universität zu Berlin (HU
Berlin), the Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin), the Freie Universität Berlin (Free
University of Berlin), the Universität der Künste (University of the Arts, UdK) and the Berlin
School of Economics and Law. The city has numerous orchestras, museums, and entertainment
venues, and is host to many sporting events.[21] Its Zoological Garden is the most visited zoo in
Europe and one of the most popular worldwide. With the world's oldest large-scale movie studio
complex, Berlin is an increasingly popular location for international film productions.[22] The city
is well known for its festivals, diverse architecture, nightlife, contemporary arts and a very high
quality of living.[23] Since the 2000s Berlin has seen the emergence of a cosmopolitan
entrepreneurial scene.[24]

Contents
 1 History
o 1.1 Etymology
o 1.2 12th to 16th centuries
o 1.3 17th to 19th centuries
o 1.4 20th to 21st centuries
 2 Geography
o 2.1 Topography
o 2.2 Climate
o 2.3 Cityscape
o 2.4 Architecture
 3 Demographics
o 3.1 Nationalities
o 3.2 Languages
o 3.3 Religion
 4 Government
o 4.1 City state
o 4.2 Boroughs
o 4.3 Twin towns – sister cities
o 4.4 Capital city
 5 Economy
o 5.1 Companies
o 5.2 Tourism and conventions
o 5.3 Creative industries
o 5.4 Media
 6 Quality of life
 7 Infrastructure
o 7.1 Transport
  7.1.1 Road
 7.1.2 Rail
 7.1.3 Intercity buses
 7.1.4 Public transport
 7.1.5 Airports
 7.1.6 Cycling
 7.1.7 Rohrpost (pneumatic postal network)
o 7.2 Energy
o 7.3 Health
o 7.4 Telecommunication
 8 Education
o 8.1 Higher education
o 8.2 Research
 9 Culture
o 9.1 Galleries and museums
o 9.2 Nightlife and festivals
o 9.3 Performing arts
o 9.4 Cuisine
o 9.5 Recreation
 10 Sport
 11 See also
 12 Notes
 13 References
o 13.1 Citations
o 13.2 Sources
 14 External links

History
Main article: History of Berlin

Further information: Timeline of Berlin

Etymology

Berlin lies in northeastern Germany, east of the River Elbe, that once constituted, together with
the River (Saxon or Thuringian) Saale (from their confluence at Barby onwards), the eastern
border of the Frankish Realm. While the Frankish Realm was primarily inhabited by Germanic
tribes like the Franks and the Saxons, the regions east of the border rivers were inhabited by
Slavic tribes. This is why most of the cities and villages in northeastern Germany bear Slavic-
derived names (Germania Slavica). Typical Germanised place name suffixes of Slavic origin are
-ow, -itz, -vitz, -witz, -itzsch and -in, prefixes are Windisch and Wendisch. The name Berlin has
its roots in the language of West Slavic inhabitants of the area of today's Berlin, and may be
related to the Old Polabian stem berl-/birl- ("swamp").[25] Since the Ber- at the beginning sounds
like the German word Bär (bear), a bear appears in the coat of arms of the city. It is therefore a
canting arm.
Of Berlin's twelve boroughs, five bear a (partly) Slavic-derived name: Pankow (the most
populous), Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Marzahn-Hellersdorf, Treptow-Köpenick and Spandau (named
Spandow until 1878). Of its ninety-six neighborhoods, twenty-two bear a (partly) Slavic-derived
name: Altglienicke, Alt-Treptow, Britz, Buch, Buckow, Gatow, Karow, Kladow, Köpenick,
Lankwitz, Lübars, Malchow, Marzahn, Pankow, Prenzlauer Berg, Rudow, Schmöckwitz,
Spandau, Stadtrandsiedlung Malchow, Steglitz, Tegel and Zehlendorf. The neighborhood of
Moabit bears a French-derived name, and Französisch Buchholz is named after the Huguenots.

12th to 16th centuries