t A woodcut of the Stadtschloss palace.
t A woodcut of the Stadtschloss palace.
Over the course of seven centuries Berlin grew from fishing village to successful trading city and capital of Prussia. Having survived two world wars and over four decades of internal division, it is now the capital of one of the world’s leading nations.
Berlin’s written history began in the early 13th century, when the twin settlements of Berlin and Cölln grew up on opposite banks of the Spree river, around what is now the Nikolaiviertel. Trading in fish, rye and timber, the towns formed an alliance in 1307, becoming Berlin-Cölln, a deal celebrated by the construction of a joint town hall.
In 1411, Friedrich von Hohenzollern became the town’s special protector, inaugurating what would become a 500-year rule for the House of Hohenzollern. By 1443 Elector Friedrich II had begun construction of the town’s first castle, the future Stadtschloss, which became the Elector’s official residence in 1451. The city grew and thrived during the 15th and 16th centuries, but was also decimated by successive epidemics of the bubonic plague and the Thirty Years’ War (1618–48), which turned the whole of the Holy Roman Empire into a bloody battlefield. Friedrich Wilhelm von Hohenzollern (later known as the Great Elector; p215) ascended the Brandenburg throne in 1640, ushering in a period of unprecedented growth.
Despite Napoleon’s defeat of Prussia in 1806 and a subsequent two-year occupation of the city, Berlin grew exponentially throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. A slew of significant rulers, including the “Soldier-King” Friedrich Wilhelm I (1713–40) and Friedrich II (Frederick the Great, 1740–86), oversaw the city’s transformation into a sophisticated cultural centre. By the early 19th century Prussia was industrialising rapidly, with August Borsig opening his locomotive factory in Berlin in 1837.
Otto von Bismarck was appointed Chancellor under Wilhelm I, with a foreign policy to install Prussia in Austria’s place at the head of all German-speaking states. Over the next six years, Prussia declared war on Denmark, Austria and France, acquiring and annexing various new territories. Bismarck’s next move was the proclamation of a German Empire on 18 January 1871, with Berlin as its capital and King Wilhelm I as Kaiser (Emperor). Abolition of trade barriers and massive reparations paid by France after her defeat in the Franco-Prussian war (1870–71) led Berlin to enter another period of rapid industrial growth, accompanied by a population explosion (from 300,000 inhabitants in 1850 to 1.9 million by 1900).
The late 19th century saw an explosion of scientific invention in Berlin, including the completion of a new sewage system in 1876 which dramatically improved public health. By 1879 electric lamps lit the streets and in 1881 the first telephones were installed. A year later the first urban train line, the S-Bahn, was opened. Berlin’s booming cultural life was headed by such outstanding figures as writer Theodor Fontane and artists Max Liebermann and Käthe Kollwitz. As the city prospered, however, political developments throughout Europe were moving towards the stalemate of 1914. Initially, the outbreak of World War I had little effect on life in Berlin, but the subsequent famine, strikes and total German defeat led to the November Revolution in 1918, and the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II.
A new constitution was signed in the town of Weimar in 1919, and throughout the subsequent “Weimar years” (1919–33) Germany struggled with political and economic instability. In Berlin, urban reform dramatically increased the size of the city, and the population swelled to 3.8 million. The city fell on hard times due to rising unemployment and hyperinflation, but despite this Berlin became the centre of a lively cultural scene. Leading figures included Max Reinhardt and Bertolt Brecht, and institutions like the Berlin Philharmonic and UFA film studio gained worldwide fame.
The world stock-market crash of 1929 and the ensuing Depression put the German government under great pressure, paving the way for extremist politicians and the appointment of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor in 1933. The Reichstag fire in February of that year was used as a pretext to arrest Communist and liberal opponents, and, by March 1933, Hitler’s Nazi (National Socialist German Workers) Party was in control. Hitler’s invasion of Poland in 1939 signalled the start of World War II and in January 1942, the systematic extermination of all European Jews began. Finally, after years of bitter warfare, the tide began to turn against the Germans. In April 1945 more than 1.5 million Soviet soldiers invaded Berlin, where they found the populace starving and the city lying in ruins. Hitler committed suicide shortly after and Germany conceded defeat.
At the Potsdam Conference of 1945, Berlin was divided into four sectors, occupied by Soviet, US, British and French troops. This put the city at the centre of the Cold War (1947–91), between the Soviet Union and the US and NATO. Tensions increased in 1949 with the birth of two German states: the Federal Republic of Germany in the west, and the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in the east. East Berlin became the capital of the GDR, and the isolated West Berlin remained a separate enclave of western Germany in the heart of the Communist eastern state. It was eventually enclosed by the Berlin Wall for 28 years, and GDR authorities shot at any refugees attempting to cross the border. The political changes that swept across Eastern Europe in 1989 led to the fall of the Wall, and on 3 October 1990 Germany was officially reunified.
Berlin’s cutting-edge cultural scene attracts visitors from all over the world. People are also drawn to the city’s relatively affordable rents and burgeoning opportunities in the creative and start-up business sectors. With several LGBT+ districts and a large population of immigrants, the city’s tolerant and inclusive atmosphere continues to make Berlin a model city for communities around the globe.
After four years of negotiations, the German states, France and Sweden signed the Peace of Westphalia treaties. This resulted in major losses of territory for Germany, and a new political system emerged, with German princes enjoying complete political independence, under a weakened emperor and pope.
The Berlin Wall was about 155 km (96 miles) long and 3.6 m (11.8 ft) high.
Discover A Brief History
Timeline of events |
1244First written reference to the settlement of Berlin. |
1307Signing of the treaty between Cölln and Berlin. |
1415Friedrich von Hohenzollern appointed Elector of Brandenburg. |
1432Unification of Cölln and Berlin. |
1618–48Thirty Years’ War between Habsburg states and other European countries. |
1685Edict of Potsdam allows large numbers of French Huguenot refugees to settle in Berlin. |
1701Coronation of Friedrich III as the first king of Prussia. |
1791Brandenburger Tor completed. |
1806Beginning of the two-year French occupation of Berlin. |
1806–14Quadriga chariot atop the Brandenburger Tor is on display in Paris. |
1844Opening of the Berlin Zoo (Zoologischer Garten). |
1870–1Franco-Prussian War. Annexation of French territories. |
1871Unification of Germany; Berlin becomes the capital of the German Empire. |
1882Opening of the S-Bahn, the first urban train line. |
1907Completion of the Kaufhaus des Westens (KaDeWe), the second-largest department store in Europe. |
1914–18World War I devastates Europe; Allied victory leads to the fall of the German Empire. |
1918November Revolution and the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II. |
1920The Greater Berlin Act expands the size of the city. |
1933Hitler accedes to power. |
1939–45World War II; much of Berlin damaged or destroyed during air raids and the Battle of Berlin. |
1961Construction of the Berlin Wall begins, with the installation of barbed-wire fencing. |
1963US President John F Kennedy proclaims “Ich bin ein Berliner” (“I am a Berliner”) in a speech in Schöneberg. |
1989New border crossing regulations lead to the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November. |
1990Official reunification of Germany on 3 October, with the merging of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic. |
1991Berlin becomes the capital of reunified Germany on 20 June. |
2014Germany wins the World Cup; celebration of the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. |