Centre of the East has become the Centre of it All and other Berlin, Germany Things to Do Tips

This was the place where we met up with relatives from the East when we visited Berlin during the times of German separation, mostly at the Weltuhr (World Time Clock) – sorry, forgot to take a picture of that on our last visit LOL

On and around the Square that everybody calls Alex you find an array of important buildings, as the Fernsehturm (TV Tower), Brunnen der Völkerfreundschaft (Peoples Friendship Fountain), Marienkirche (St. Mary’s Church), Neptunbrunnen (Neptune Fountain), Rotes Rathaus (Red Town Hall), today known and used as the Berliner Rathaus (Berlin Town Hall) and the historic Berolinahaus – today transformed into a huge department store (C&A).

The Alex was the centre of East Berlin, and thanks to the dominant 368 metres high Fernsehturm we never forgot about our Ossi brothers LOL

Alex is named after the Russian Tsar Alexander I who visited in 1805. Then it was a suburb and had conserved its rural character. Cattle fairs were held here, and the surrounding barracks used the area as a site for parades. Only when the S-Bahn was finished in 1882 and a central market hall built in 1886, the Alex started to become the most important traffic and shopping area for Berlin’s eastern suburbs. A big department store (1904 to 1911) was added, and also the U-Bahn got a stop there (in 1913). Due to traffic jams and chaos, a roundabout was built around the square in 1928.

During World War II the area was terribly destroyed, so the square was redesigned, firstly by expanding its size, so it lost its enclosed character. You nearly got lost in the huuuuuuuuuuuge pedestrian area, surrounded by multi-lane roads for the through-traffic.

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Address: Alexanderplatz, Berlin-Mitte
Directions: S-Bahn S3, S5, S7, S75, S9, station Alexanderplatz
U-Bahn U2, U5, U8, station Alexanderplatz

When we visited in August 2007 the square was a huge building site, with fences, cranes, diggers and ditches everywhere. You could already imagine that some day also this monumental square will get new life.

Quite good examples of reviving Alexanderplatz are the huge renovated department stores Kaufhof and C&A, the latter now being in the former Berolinahaus.

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Address: Alexanderplatz, Berlin-Mitte
Directions: S-Bahn S3, S5, S7, S75, S9
U-Bahn U2, U5, U8, station Alexanderplatz

Although the name of this fountain on Alexanderplatz is Friendship Fountain of Nations (or: Peoples) we had the impression is was a place for gay guys to find and reinforce their friendships LOL We nearly felt like outsiders, being straight LOL

Well, this might have been a coincidence on this particular day. But it is clear that this fountain is a very popular meeting place. The wide rims are perfect for sitting down, chatting and watching people.

Nothing special about this fountain from GDR times. The main materials are copper sheets, coloured tiles, enamelled plates and glass crystals, reflecting the sunlight in the water.

The major feature are 17 water-crowned rhombae-shaped bowls on sturdy legs, placed in spiral order in a round two-storey basin. The water fountains spiral their way down from one bowl to the next until it reaches the big upper basin. The outside of this basin has a very colourful enamal design, matching the colours of the nearby World Time Clock, so mainly from yellow over orange to red, and featuring butterflies, flowers and trees. From this basin the water flows into the exterior basin through several openings.

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Address: Alexanderplatz, Berlin-Mitte
Directions: S-Bahn S3, S5, S7, S75, S9
U-Bahn U2, U5, U8, station Alexanderplatz

A lot of buildings have been demolished around Alex after the reunification but you can still see the character of the 1960s architecture. Ugly concrete skyscrapers adorned by even interesting facades with colourful painted scenes of socialist life. A very propaganda-like look.

But I must admit, I liked it on my revisit, as it reminded me of the time long gone by, and the days when we succeeded to smuggle pocket calculators and Led Zeppelin LP’s into the East, and queued in front of the bookshops on Alex to spend our East-Marks we were forced to exchange on entering GDR, and everything was so cheap that spending the money was really a problem if you did not want to have lunch three times within an hour ;-)

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Address: Alexanderplatz, Berlin-Mitte
Directions: S-Bahn S3, S5, S7, S75, S9
U-Bahn U2, U5, U8, station Alexanderplatz

Some other buildings around Alexanderplatz are so ugly that they will be demolished sooner or later. Those high-rise Plattenbau (prefabricated concrete slabs) buildings look like depressing rat cages and do not offer a lot of quality of life.

The plan of an architect who won a competition for redesigning Alex includes building 13 new skyscrapers. If they look like the futuristic ones at Potsdamer Platz this could become spectacular, and integrate the TV Tower a bit more into the square.

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The TV Tower is a spectacular construction, and with a height of 368 metres Germany’s tallest structure. However, although it is Berlin’s most visible landmark, it is surely not the most beautiful one. To me it is important as a symbol of the reunification, having been the most striking feature of East Berlin’s cityscape. And it is a great place for looking over Berlin, and/or have a drink or dinner in the silver ball which sits at an altitude of 203 metres above Alexanderplatz.

The fact that is was built at all was simply the GDR regime needing a transmitter with enough potential to reach the remotest regions of the East. Construction time was from 1964 to 1968, and in 1969 it went into service.

When the weather is fine you can see as far as 40 kilometres from the observation deck at 203 metres. One storey above this is the Telecafé which makes a 360 degree turn within 30 minutes. If you want to experience that, come and check the queues. One million visitors head up to the tower every year. Anyway, no queue is as bad as the one in front of Reichstag. I was at the TV Tower several times (most times passing, of course) in mid August and never would have got aware of extreme waiting times.

A little amusing story: The SED party wanted the East Berliners to call the TV Tower “Tele-Spargel” (Tele-Asparagus) but they ignored the wish. Instead they called it “St. Walter” (after the party leader Walter Ulbricht, you know, the one who kissed Breshnev on the mouth…) – but most commonly I heard “Imponierkeule” and “Protzstengel” which means show-off club or swank stem. I think “show-off club” describes the shape of the tower very well ;-)

Similar was the nickname of the Palast der Republik (Palace of the Republic): “Palazzo Protzi” (show-off palace). But those were names I heard in the past. Today the TV Tower is just called Fernsehturm. After the reunification the people seem to be a lot more relaxed.

Open Mar – Oct: 9am – midnight; Nov – Feb: 10am – midnight
Entry fee 8,50 Euro

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Phone: (030) 24 23 333
Address: Alexanderplatz, Berlin-Mitte
Directions: S-Bahn S3, S5, S7, S75, S9
U-Bahn U2, U5, U8, stations Alexanderplatz and Hackescher Markt
Website: http://www.berlinerfernsehturm.de

This is one of my favourite buildings in Berlin. Berlin’s Town Hall makes every photo colourful, and it is visible from afar, thanks to its distinctive clock tower and the red brick façade – reason why it is called Rotes Rathaus (Red Town Hall). The name does NOT come from its socialist past.

In times of the Cold War it was East Berlin’s Magistrate (after 1958), whereas West Berlin’s political centre – the Senate – was in Schöneberger Rathaus, the Town Hall in the suburb of Schöneberg. After the reunification it became the Town Hall of all Berlin on 1 October 1991. The official title of Berlin’s mayor is Regierender Bürgermeister (Reigning Mayor). Note: As Berlin is a one of the three German so-called City States (Stadtstaat) the mayor also is the head of the Berlin state government, and that is why this is called Senate. The same applies to the cities of Hamburg and Bremen.

Across the street (Spandauer Straße) you find Nikolaiviertel, Berlin’s oldest part including Berlin’s oldest church – and absolutely magnificent!

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Address: Rathausstraße, 10178 Berlin-Mitte
Directions: S-Bahn S3, S5, S7, S75, S9
U-Bahn U2, U5, U8, stations Alexanderplatz and Hackescher Markt

The style of the Town Hall is north Italian high renaissance, the 74 metres high rectangular clock tower resembles the French cathedral of Laon. It was designed by architect Hermann Friedrich Waesemann, and built from 1861 to 1869. However, like so many buildings in Berlin it was destroyed in World War II. The façade was reconstructed from 1951 to 1958 true to original, whereas the interior was altered.

On the outside walls you find panels (first floor) which tell stories from Berlin’s history.

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Address: Rathausstraße, 10178 Berlin-Mitte
Directions: S-Bahn S3, S5, S7, S75, S9
U-Bahn U2, U5, U8, stations Alexanderplatz and Hackescher Markt

The sculpture in front of the Red Town Hall is from 1958 and was created by the artist Fritz Kremer. It shows the people of Berlin rebuilding their city. You can also see socialist workers, a flower girl, a shoemaker, and other typical Berlin figures.

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Address: Rathausstraße, 10178 Berlin-Mitte
Directions: S-Bahn S3, S5, S7, S75, S9
U-Bahn U2, U5, U8, stations Alexanderplatz and Hackescher Markt

This church, just a couple of hundred metres from Fernsehturm, near Neptunbrunnen and the Berlin’s Red Town Hall, is the only medieval church of historic Berlin still in use. It was first mentioned in 1292. The oldest part of the building you see now, mainly made of red bricks, is from 1390. The light-ochre tower was added in the 15th century, and the helmet-shaped dome, designed by Carl Gotthard Langhans, in 1789/90. It has baroque and neo-gothic elements.

A special feature is its strange placement, diagonal to the street (Liebknechtstraße). This is due to the medieval custom that the church choir had to face to the east. And BTW – its official name is St. Marien.

The interior is very interesting. The hall is early gothic. Probably the most famous piece of art is the fresco named “Totentanz” (Danse Macabre or: Death Dance). It is from the 15th century and was covered by several coats of paint. It was rediscovered in 1860, exposed and restored to its former beauty. It shows people of all classes who walk towards their deaths.

The Baptismal Font is also of outstanding beauty. It dates from 1437, and is decorated with the figures of Jesus, Mary and the Apostles. It is supported by three Gothic dragons – really the unique quality of the font.

The pulpit (1703) is one of Andreas Schlüter’s masterpieces, carved in alabaster. It is decorated with bas-reliefs of St. John the Baptist and the Virtues. The main altar (1763) was designed by Andreas Krüger in Baroque style.

Open daily 10am – 6pm, guided tours daily at 2pm, Sunday mass at 10.30am and 6.30pm, entry free.

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Address: Karl-Liebknecht-Straße, Berlin-Mitte
Directions: U-Bahn U2, U5, U8
S-Bahn S3, S5, S7, S75, S9, station Alexanderplatz
Website: http://www.marienkirche-berlin.de