why is potsdamer platz famous

As if to emphasise their presence, they used the building to advertise their own weekly publication: a huge neon sign on its roof proclaimed DIE BRAUNE POST N.S. On the western side things did improve with the development of the Cultural Forum, whose site roughly equates with the former Millionaires' Quarter. The primary materials used for the buildings' facades are brick, terra cotta and sandstone, creating hues of beige, soft brown and ocher. If Berlin needed to re-establish itself on the world stage, then Potsdamer Platz was one of the key areas where the city had an opportunity to express itself. (It was demolished on 29 January 1953. Its station caters to regional and international travel. [citation needed], The Theater am Potsdamer Platz is a theatre for musicals seating over 1600 people. In addition, the city's colossal pace of change (compared by some to that of Chicago[7]), had caused its chief planner, Martin Wagner (18851957), to foresee the entire centre being made over totally as often as every 25 years. The Berlin Senate (city government) organised a design competition for the redevelopment of Potsdamer Platz and much of the surrounding area. It is a particularly popular attraction for visitors: the "Arkaden" shopping mall is 180m (590ft) in length. The traffic lights were delivered by Siemens & Halske and mounted on top of the tower cabin. Potsdamer Platz, meanwhile, was more or less left to rot, as one by one the ruined buildings were cleared away, neither side having the will to repair or replace them. WebIn the 1920s Potsdamer Platz was one of the most prominent business districts in Berlin with its department stores, government offices and hotels such as the luxury Grand Hotel Esplanade. These included: Rheinterrasse, Lwenbru (Bavarian beer restaurant), Grinzing (Viennese caf and wine bar), Bodega (Spanish winery), Csarda (Hungarian), Wild West Bar (aka the Arizona Bar) (American), Osteria (Italian), Kombse (Bremen drinking den literally "galley"), Rbchen (Teltow, named after the well-known turnip dish Teltower Rbchen, made with turnips grown locally in the small town of Teltow just outside Berlin), plus a Turkish caf and Japanese tearoom; additionally there was a large ballroom. Potsdamer Platz SONNTAGSZEITUNG (The Brown Post N.S. For the most choice in the smallest area, Mall of Berlin's food court offers something for every palate. Caf Josty was one of two rival cafs (the other being the Astoria, later Caf Eins A), occupying the broad corner between Potsdamer Strasse and Bellevuestrasse. The office and shopping complex also houses the five-star Ritz Carlton and Marriott hotels.[21]. The luxurious Ritz-Carlton within Potsdamer Platz is undoubtedly the nicest accommodation in the area, but certainly not the cheapest. Why is Potsdamer Platz By the second half of the 19th century, Berlin had been growing at a tremendous rate for some time, but its growth accelerated even faster after the city became the capital of the new German Empire on 18 January 1871. After 1990, the square became the focus of attention again, as a large (some 60 hectares), attractive location which had suddenly become available in the centre of a major European city. Lets take a closer look at some fun and interesting facts about Potsdamer Platz, one of Berlins amazing attractions! The concert took place at Potsdamer Platz specifically an area of the former no man's land just to the north of the Reich Chancellery site, and featured many guest superstars. [24] It has been the main Berlinale screening cinema since 2000, two years after its opening in 1998. 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. BVG, Berlin's public transport company, offers an invaluableroute plannerto help you navigate routes and transport times. What was not apparent from the western side however, was that East Berlin's construction boasted its own illuminated display board facing east, whose messages comprised the version of the news that the Communist authorities in the east wanted their citizens to believe. In the 1920s and 30s, Potsdamer Platz was the busiest and one of the liveliest squares in Europe. WebSkyline of Berlin. 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]. As Cold War tensions rose still further during the 1950s, restrictions were placed on travel between the Soviet sector (East Berlin) and the western sectors (West Berlin). Undaunted, the architect, Erich Mendelsohn (18871953), erected vast advertising boards around the perimeter of the site, and the revenue generated by these enabled him to proceed with the development anyway. These were: As well as the stations and other facilities and attractions already mentioned, in the immediate area was one of the world's biggest and most luxurious department stores: Wertheim. 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. Potsdamer Platz and neighbouring Leipziger Platz came into their own afterward. Prussian architect Friedrich David Gilly proposed a unified redesign of the two squares in 1797, but it was never built. 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. Via numerous bus lines, the course can also be reached. No doubt, Potsdamer Platz is one of the most iconic places in Berlin. Another building by the same architect but which still stands the "Rosengarten" in Mannheim, has a remarkably similar main facade. Potsdamer Platz No. The former district of quiet villas was by now anything but quiet: Potsdamer Platz had taken on an existence all its own whose sheer pace of life rivalled anything within the city. Pink Floyd performed The Wall right here. Discover what brings people to this destination within Berlin. 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. The other was the Hotel Excelsior, also 600 rooms but superior provision of other facilities made it the largest hotel in Continental Europe, located in Stresemannstrasse opposite the Anhalter Bahnhof and connected to it by a 100-metre-long subterranean passageway complete with a parade of underground shops. 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. Meanwhile, the Nazi influence was no less evident at Potsdamer Platz than anywhere else in Berlin. The Berlin Senate then chose to divide the area into four parts, each to be sold to a commercial investor, who then planned new construction according to Hilmer & Sattler's masterplan. The Berlin Wall as a 1 also houses the "Panoramapunkt" viewing platform, located 100 m above ground level, which is accessed by riding Europe's fastest elevator (8.65 metres per second). In 1920 the Vox-group had taken over the building and the following year commissioned its remodelling by Swiss architect Rudolf Otto Salvisberg (18821940), and then erected two transmitting antennae. Lying on this invisible frontier, Potsdamer Platz was no longer an important destination for Berliners. There are criticisms that the development does not sit easily with or connect with its surroundings, and as a result Berliners have had difficulty accepting it as theirs (despite the fact that the choice of Hilmer & Sattler's masterplan was partly because it was the only one to address the way the development juxtaposed with the Cultural Forum immediately to the west, although the Cultural Forum has itself faced similar criticisms of its own). In Berlin: The city layout. Some scenes of the 1987 Wim Wenders movie Der Himmel ber Berlin (English title: Wings of Desire) were filmed on the old, almost entirely void Potsdamer Platz before the Berlin Wall fell. Not to be outdone, East Berlin had meanwhile erected a sign of its own. However, despite a Woolworths store on its ground floor, a major travel company housed on the floor above, and a restaurant offering fine views over the city from the top floor, the economic situation of the time meant that it would not be followed by more buildings in that vein: no further redevelopment in the immediate vicinity of Potsdamer Platz occurred prior to World War II, and so Columbushaus would always seem out of place in that location. 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. 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. Three years later a second railway terminus opened. By this time it had developed into the busiest traffic center in all of Europe,[1] and the heart of Berlin's nightlife. Potsdamer Platz is well connected to all points within the city. Steps away visitors can find the world-class Gemldegalerie, Music Instrument Museum, Philharmonic, or fan favorites like the German Spy Museum. The eastern half of the former Millionaires' Quarter, including Stler's Matthiaskirche, would have been totally eradicated. However, in Germany this depression was virtually a continuation of an economic morass that had blighted the country since the end of World War I, partly the result of the war reparations the country had been made to pay, and this morass had brought about the closure and demolition of the Grand Hotel Belle Vue, on the corner of Bellevuestrasse and Kniggrtzer Strasse, thus enabling one revolutionary new building to struggle through to reality despite considerable financial odds. There are 55 known victims,[12] but other estimates state at least 125. There is a sledding hill, ice rink, and tons of little stands selling gifts and treats. This, like the Kaisersaal, had to be relocated, but here the room was dismantled into some 500 pieces to be reassembled where it stands now. There are also four major hotels, and Europe's largest casino (Spielbank Berlin). This list of tallest buildings in Berlin ranks skyscrapers, free standing structures and high-rises in the German capital of Berlin by height. Founded by German merchant Georg Wertheim (18571939), designed by architect Alfred Messel (18531909), opened in 1897 and extended several times over the following 40 years, it ultimately possessed a floor area double that of the Reichstag, a 330-metre-long granite and plate glass facade along Leipziger Strasse, 83 elevators, three escalators, 1,000 telephones, 10,000 lamps, five kilometers of pneumatic tubing for moving items from the various departments to the packing area, and a separate entrance directly from the nearby U-Bahn station. Shortly after the Wall fell on November 9th, 1989, the area between Potsdamer Platz and Pariser Platz hosted one of the largest rock concerts in history. Daimler had recently come through a painful separation from their former American subsidiary Chrysler and needed a quick injection of cash in order to refocus on automotive production. By the early 1930s there were so many diplomats living and working in the area that it came to be redesignated the "Diplomatic Quarter". Sony meanwhile, put their decision down to a need to review their global strategy in the face of a fast-changing worldwide economic climate. Many of the total of 14 banquet and beer halls had a Wagnerian theme indeed, the very name of the complex was taken from the Wagner opera Das Rheingold, the first of the four parts of the cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen, although this name did hark back to the building's planned former role as a concert venue. As was the case in most of central Berlin,[8] almost all of the buildings around Potsdamer Platz were turned to rubble by air raids and heavy artillery bombardment during the last years of World War II. WebPotsdamer Platz, which had been a busy commercial center during the Weimar years but was left barren and desolate after heavy bombing in World War II, was one of the largest open areas next to the Berlin Wall. Up to eight orchestras and dance bands regularly performed in different parts of the building, plus a host of singers, dancers and other entertainers. Despite all the devastation, commercial life reappeared in the ruins around Potsdamer Platz within just a few weeks of war's end. Since there was not, as yet, a fixed marker, the borders were prone to abuse, which eventually resulted (in August 1948), in white lines in luminous paint appearing across roads and even through ruined buildings to try to deter the Soviets from making unauthorised incursions into the American and British zones. 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. One design submitted by Wagner himself comprised an array of gleaming new buildings arranged around a vast multi-level system of fly-overs and underpasses, with a huge glass-roofed circular car-park in the middle. 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. Berlin's Potsdamer Platz: The Complete Guide For the benefit of the former, the row of post-war single-storey shops in Potsdamer Strae now sold a wide variety of souvenir goods, many of which were purchased by coach-loads of curious visitors brought specially to this sad location. At the Potsdamer Platz up to 11 policemen at a time had tried to control all this traffic but with varying success. 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. Whilst the amounts involved have not been publicly disclosed, it is believed that neither Daimler nor Sony recouped all of their original investments (what Daimler managed to get was reportedly well short). The decision by the Berlin Senate to divide the land between just four investors while numerous others had submitted bids provoked scepticism. This was quickly followed by massive construction throughout the 1990s. In addition, many bus routes pass through the platz, while for people with their own cars there are some 5,000 parking spaces, 3,500 of which are underground. 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. Larger and more purpose-built establishments began to take their place, and they in turn were superseded by bigger and grander ones. The Soviets even took to marking out their border by stationing armed soldiers along it at intervals of a few metres, day and night, in all weathers. On 16 August 1914, less than three weeks after the start of World War I, the Caf Piccadilly was given a new name the more patriotic-sounding Caf Vaterland. The Mandala Hotel and Grand Hyatt are similarly fancy options. Thus Potsdamer Platz was off and running. Also, a very large government presence, with many German imperial departments, Prussian state authorities and their various sub-departments, came into the area, taking over 26 former palaces and aristocratic mansions in Leipziger Platz, Leipziger Strasse and Wilhelmstrae. Famous for its fine claret, numerous members of European society were made welcome there as guests. Smaller streets within the individual quarters provide for the connection of the underground parking garages. [17] The area was widely seen as one of the hottest, most exciting building sites in Europe, and the subject of much debate amongst architects and planners. Things were not helped by the very close proximity of Hitler's Reich Chancellery, just one block away in Vostrae, and many other Nazi government edifices nearby as well, and so Potsdamer Platz was right in a major target area. Meanwhile, a row of new single-storey shops was erected along Potsdamer Strae. The tallest structure in Berlin is the Fernsehturm [13] West German estimates were much higher: in 1966 the West German Ministry for Inter-German Affairs claimed that 383 people died in the uprising, including 116 "functionaries of the SED regime", with an additional 106 executed under martial law or condemned to death, while 1,838 were injured and 5,100 arrested, 1,200 of these sentenced to a total of six thousand years in penal camps. DW Meanwhile, the North-South Axis would have cut a giant swathe passing just to the west of Potsdamer Platz, some 5km long and up to 100 m wide, and lined with Nazi government edifices on a gargantuan scale.

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