This gorgeous Renaissance fortress was constructed in the 16th century but incorporates the much older Juliusturm, from an earlier medieval castle on the same site, into its design. The Italian architect Francesco Chiaramella de Gandino began planning the fortress but was replaced by another Italian architect Rochus Graf zu Lynar. The fortress is a [...]
If you thought that the Jews in Germany were persecuted only under Hitler, you will be surprised to learn that there have always been "Jewish Canards" which are rumours and/or allegations against the Jews that were unfounded and/or false. Ideas such as 'the Jews killed Christians', or even that 'they caused natural calamities' had been [...]
Gail Halvorsen served in the US Military for more than 30 years but is most known for his role in the Berlin Airlift in 1948-49. During one of his flights to deliver supplies to West Berlin, Halvorsen met a group of about 30 children watching the planes being unloaded at Tempelhof airport. Halvorsen shared [...]
Thierry Noir was born in Lyon, France but moved to Berlin, Germany in his 20s in 1982. This was a time when the Berlin wall was still up and movement between East and West Berlin was severely restricted. Noir started painting the wall in 1984 with considerable personal risk. The part of the wall [...]
Hans and Sophie Scholl, like others their age (teenage), believed that Hitler would lead Germany into a bright future and therefore, they joined the Hitler Youth. However, as the war progressed, they were soon disillusioned. Their father, who had always told them that Hitler was leading Germany to destruction, was arrested because of his [...]
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of listening to one of my close friends narrating her experience of her first visit to East Berlin from the West of Germany. As she recounted fascinating little details of her experience, I could not help but be transported back in time, seeing East Berlin through her teenage eyes. [...]
This gorgeous double decker bridge for pedestrian, automobile and train traffic connects 2 districts of Berlin that used to be separated by the wall that ran along the water. The earliest mention of the bridge is fro the 1700s when it used to be a wooden drawbridge connecting the fortified city of Berlin [...]
A city like Berlin that has changed more than its fair share over the last 250 years has to learn to repurpose its spaces. The RAW Gelände is just such a case of successful repurposing. When it opened in the 1860s, it was the Service Yard of the Royal Railways. After 2 name [...]
The story of Solomon Perel is inspiring, scary and funny all at the same time. Solomon was born into a Jewish family in Peine. He was one of 4 children. The family owned a shoe store. In the early 1930s, as atrocities against the Jews reached a peak, the Perel family shoe store was [...]
The little unassuming white Cross of Atonement or Cross of Reconciliation outside the Marienskirche in Berlin has a long and surprising story to tell. In the early 1300s, the Ascanian ruler of Brandenburg died without an hier. The Holy Roman Emperor appointed a Wittelsbach ruler who the Berliners supported. The Pope, however, was in [...]
