After checking out the bang up to date street art of the Mitte district we head out to see a whistle stop tour of some of the older sights of Berlin.
First up is Berlin Cathedral AKA Berliner Dom AKA the Evangelical Supreme Parish and Collegiate Church which is located on Museum Island in the Mitte borough.
The current building was finished in 1905 but suffered heavy damage during the Second World War.
Another iconic sight on the Berlin skyline is the TV Tower, the Berliner Fernsehturm.
The tower was built by the government of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was intended to be both a symbol of Communist power and of Berlin and sat close to the wall.
It is 368 metres high and is the tallest structure in Germany, and the second-tallest structure in the European Union. More of this later as naturally we will be heading up!
Next up our Berlin by night tour takes us by the iconic Brandenburg Gate. This impressive 18th-century neoclassical monument was built on the orders of Prussian king Frederick William II.
Vehicles and pedestrians could travel freely through the gate, located in East Berlin, until the Berlin Wall was built and the border crossing was closed on 14 August 1961.
More heavyweight history can be found at the imposing Reichstag building just around the corner from the gate.
The Reichstag was opened in 1894 and housed the Imperial Diet (the highest representative assembly in an empire) until 1933.
It was then severely damaged after being set on fire – an act that was used by the Nazi party as an excuse to crack down on communism. This event is seen as being pivotal in the establishment of Nazi Germany.
After this brief foray into the wealth of Berlin’s history we head onwards to do a bit more street art spotting. We’ll dig deeper into the chequered past of the city during a walking tour later on.
We finish off the evening with a HUGE burger from the tasty Krauts Burger joint in Mitte.
We’ve got a packed itinerary to get through so stick with us! We’ll head back to see the sights in the daylight tomorrow!