Economy

Companies
Tourism and conventions
Creative industries
Media
Quality of life
Infrastructure
Transport
Roads
Rail
Water transport
Intercity buses
Public transport
Airports Location within Germany
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Energy
Coordinates: 52°31′12″N 13°24′18″E
Health
Telecommunication Country Germany
State Berlin
Education
Government
Higher education
 • Body Abgeordnetenhaus of
Research Berlin
Culture  • Governing Franziska Giffey (SPD)
Galleries and museums Mayor

Nightlife and festivals Area[1]

Performing arts  • City/State 891.7 km2
(344.3 sq mi)
Cuisine
Recreation Elevation 34 m (112 ft)
Population (31 December 2020)[2]
Sports
 • City/State 3,769,495
See also  • Urban[3] 4,473,101
Notes  • Metro[4] 6,144,600
References Demonyms Berliner(s) (English)

Citations Berliner (m), Berlinerin

(f) (German)
Sources
Time zone UTC+01:00 (CET)
External links  • Summer (DST) UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Area code(s) 030
History Geocode
ISO 3166 code
NUTS Region: DE3
DE-BE
Vehicle B[note 1]
registration
Etymology
GRP (nominal) €155 billion (2020)[5]
Berlin lies in northeastern Germany, east of the River Elbe, that once constituted, together with the River (Saxon GRP per capita €41,000 (2020)
or Thuringian) Saale (from their confluence at Barby onwards), the eastern border of the Frankish Realm. While GeoTLD .berlin
the Frankish Realm was primarily inhabited by Germanic tribes like the Franks and the Saxons, the regions east HDI (2018) 0.950[6]

of the border rivers were inhabited by Slavic tribes. This is why most of the cities and villages in northeastern very high · 2nd of 16
Germany bear Slavic-derived names (Germania Slavica). Typical Germanized place name suffixes of Slavic Website www.berlin.de/en/ (htt
origin are -ow, -itz, -vitz, -witz, -itzsch and -in, prefixes are Windisch and Wendisch. The name Berlin has its roots p://www.berlin.de/en/)
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").[26] 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 an example of canting arms.

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

The earliest evidence of settlements in the area of today's Berlin are remnants of a house foundation dated to 1174, found
in excavations in Berlin Mitte,[27] and a wooden beam dated from approximately 1192.[28] The first written records of
towns in the area of present-day Berlin date from the late 12th century. Spandau is first mentioned in 1197 and Köpenick
in 1209, although these areas did not join Berlin until 1920.[29] The central part of Berlin can be traced back to two towns.
Cölln on the Fischerinsel is first mentioned in a 1237 document, and Berlin, across the Spree in what is now called the
Nikolaiviertel, is referenced in a document from 1244.[28] 1237 is considered the founding date of the city.[30] The two
towns over time formed close economic and social ties, and profited from the staple right on the two important trade
routes Via Imperii and from Bruges to Novgorod.[12] In 1307, they formed an alliance with a common external policy, Map of Berlin in 1688
their internal administrations still being separated.[31][32]