As the German art critic and author Karl Scheffler once put it – “Berlin is damned always to become and never to be” – and even 110 years later this statement couldn’t ring truer. No matter where you go in Berlin, if you just lightly scratch the historical surface of […]
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In June 1939, a group of Kriegsmarine technicians set out into countryside outside of Bernau – a good 20 kilometers north of Berlin – armed with a mobile radio truck. The Navy Technicians were carrying out a series of radio tests in the area, which […]
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Germany had always been at the forefront of Nuclear Research with Otto Hahn and his assistant Fritz Straßmann being the first to discover Nuclear Fission on the 17th of December 1938. After the second world war, many of Germanys nuclear scientists were “drafted” into the […]
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“Germania” – the mythical capital of the Third Reich. Looking back at the plans that Albert Speer came up with for Adolf Hitler in 1935, one can only wonder how the Nazis thought they could ever realize their supersized construction plans. From the monstrous Volkshalle […]
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Just a few kilometers outside of the city limits of Berlin, in the city of Rüdersdorf lie the ruins of the Chemiewerk Rüdersdorf – a former cement turned phosphate chemical factory – with a history dating back over a hundred years. Since its closure in […]
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It’s been 29 years since the cold war ended. The Soviet Union and its satellite states no longer exist (at least not in their communist form). Decades of frustration and anger were taken out on the physical manifestations of the regimes – mainly on the […]
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Just a few kilometers outside of Oranienburg – in the middle of the forest lie the ruins of what used to be one of Germanys most modern Lung clinics, the Lungenheilstätte Grabowsee, most commonly referred to as the Heilstätte Grabowsee. Having survived both the first […]
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Bernau, just a few kilometers outside of Berlin was a city once known for its extensive Beer and Cloth Production skills. Today its known for being conveniently located on the S-Bahn line to Berlin and its UNESCO World Heritage site. But between 1941 and 1994 […]
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The Battle of Berlin all but marked the end of the Second World War in Europe. To get to this point, the Soviet Army advanced on Berlin with a troop strength of 2,5 Million soldiers to crush the remnants of the Third Reich. Roughly a million Wehrmacht, SS, […]
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The Sowjetisches Ehrenmal Schöneiche is one of the farthest and most difficult Soviet War memorial in Berlin to get to. Schöneiche bei Berlin as its name suggests is not actually in Berlin, but next to it. Sort of. The grounds that the Soviet War Memorial […]
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The Sowjetisches Ehrenmal Treptower Park is both the largest Soviet War Memorial in Germany, as well as quite possibly being the most recognisable. It’s not without reason that this memorial is regarded as the central Soviet War Memorial in all of Germany. Planning the Sowjetisches […]
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Arguably the most important Soviet War Memorial in Berlin (and Germany) is the Sowjetisches Ehrenmal Tiergarten. Its size and central location – in the heart of Berlin – were a deliberate choice by the Soviets to make the grandest statement possible. Whilst its not the […]
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The Sowjetisches Ehrenmal Güterfelde – also sometimes referenced to as the Sowjetisches Ehrenmal Wilmersdorf is arguably the most difficult to reach of Berlins Soviet War Memorials. As you can take from the name, this War Memorial is located in Güterfelde, which is lies in Brandenburg […]
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The Sowjetisches Ehrenmal Marzahn, which sits on the northwestern end of the Parkfriedhof Marzahn – a large cemetery park in Marzahn – was officially unveiled on the 7th of November 1958. The Ehrenmal was designed by the landscape architect Johannes Mielenz and the sculptor Erwin […]
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The Sowjetisches Ehrenmal Herzbergstraße can be found on the grounds of the Evangelisches Krankenhaus Königin Elisabeth Herzberge in Lichtenberg (Queen Elisabeth Herzberge Protestant Hospital). When Nazi Germany capitulated on the 8th of May, 1945, the Soviet Army partially took over the Hospital to take care of […]
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Not much aside from the basic facts are known about the Sowjetisches Ehrenmal Kaulsdorf. When the Soviets marched into Kaulsdorf (back then a district of Lichtenberg), they buried their war dead in the local cemetery in the Bordauer Straße. The Soviets built a memorial in […]
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Spandau must have one of the highest densities of memorials in all of Berlin. Wherever you go, you’ll spot a plaque, statue or memorial dedicated to something or someone. So, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that you’ll find one of Berlins 12 […]
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The Sowjetisches Ehrenmal Rummelsburg – or as it is also alternatively known Sowjetisches Ehrenmal Nöldnerstraße or Sowjetisches Ehrenmal Lichtenberg is somewhat shrouded in mystery. It seems like there is very little publicly available information available for this monument. It doesn’t seem to be listed in […]
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The Sowjetisches Ehrenmal Alt-Hohenschönhausen, also known as the Sowjetisches Ehrenmal Küstriner Straße or Sowjetisches Ehrenmal Hohenschönhausen is the youngest of Berlins Soviet War Memorials. As with all Sowjetische Ehrenmale in Berlin, its origins date back to the Soviet Invasion of Berlin. The Soviet Troops marched […]
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Trafalgar square might be one of the busiest and well known squares in London. With its giant Nelson Column, the fourth plinth, dirty pigeons and its central location, the square has been a popular meeting spot for decades. Though Trafalgar Square holds many little interesting […]
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Few buildings in Berlin define the “skyline” and the city as much as the Berlin Cathedral. The imposing Neo-renaisance Cathedral is a tourist magnet, only dwarfed in visitor numbers by the Cathedral in Cologne. While many simply enjoy the building from the outside – few […]
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Berlin hasn’t always been a very “hygienic city”. Some say it still isn’t, but considering it boasts over 67 public baths today (83 if you count the members only / non-communal ones) then I’d think you’d be safe to say a lot has changed over […]
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Berlin is a city of change. It always has been, and it most likely always will be. Berlin evolved from a small village in a swamp to the capital of the Prussian empire, to the largest industrial city in Europe – and at one point […]
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While most can and will consider German reunification a “success story”, the merger of the two German states also meant the loss of identity, purpose, and direction for many. There are plenty of articles, books and documentaries out there which deal with the subject of […]
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An hour south of Berlin lay the ruins of the Adolf Hitler Lager – a sprawling military complex known more commonly as Forst Zinna. Between the 1930s and the early 1990s, thousands of Nazis, East Germans and Soviets absolved their military and political training in-between […]
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The quaint Oranienburg, just an hours drive north of Berlin has a long history dating back to the 13th century when it was still known as Bötzow. Sadly the period between the early 1930s and late 1940s has tainted its history for time to come. […]
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Just a few kilometers outside of Berlin stands what’s left of the Rangierbahnhof Wustermark – once one of Germanys largest and most modern train shunting yards. Allied bombing in World War II, and the division of Germany into east and west sectors afterwards took their […]
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The name Elstal might ring a bell for some – mainly due to it being the home of the (not so) abandoned 1936 Olympic Village. But the small village actually has a deeper, specifically military, history due to its proximity to the Truppenübungsplatz Dallgow-Döberitz. The […]
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The vast forest and fields around Berlin have had a long military history. The Döberitzer Heide (also known as Dallgow Döberitz), just on the border to the West of Berlin saw its first large scale military maneuvers in 1753. This development continued through the first […]
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When venturing out into the forest surrounding Berlin you can never be quite sure what lost and abandoned places you’ll stumble upon, especially when you head just a few kilometers west of Berlin to Dallgow-Döberitz. The first large-scale maneuver – with over 44,000 soldiers – […]
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The year 2019 marks 58 years since the construction, and 30 years since the fall of the Berlin wall. The 160km long wall ploughed its way through and around the capital – giving residents of the western sector only 14 bordering crossings to leave into […]
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Have you ever strolled through a German supermarket and spotted those weird colored eggs? Do Germans sell easter eggs all year around? I’ve been living here long enough and have asked myself that question plenty of times. I’ve never been quite brave enough to actually […]
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I’ve never really been a fan of Circuses. I’ve been to a fair share, including some in Russia, and I’ve always felt slightly uncomfortable with the often-dubious animal shows. Historically, Berlin had always been known to be a “Circus” City – with dozens of traveling […]
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The seemingly sleepy town of Eberswalde, and hour north of Berlin has a lot more history than one could expect. Eberswalde saw a rapid industrialization in the middle of the 19th century with factories and industries ranging from Ironworks, a Paper Factory (now abandoned) to Silk […]
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Oranienburg, 35 kilometers to the north of Berlin is a city with a heavy heritage. Not only was it home to two concentration camps – the KZ Oranienburg (one of the first in Germany) and the KZ Sachsenhausen, but it also housed a varied assortment […]
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Nothing could be dug up about this little abandoned railroad switch house. We stumbled across this lost place by chance looking for another abandoned structure a while back. While there might not be any information online, we can make a few assumptions based on its […]
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When the KZ Sachsenhausen was constructed in 1936, it was intended to be used as a blueprint for other concentration camps, both in its design and management. Just outside of its triangular walls, an SS-Truppenlager was established (along with the SS communications bunker Karo-Ass and a SS Dog […]
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Theres not much information to be found about the Heating Plant, but theres enough information about the surrounding area that one can speculate about its history. Judging from its architecture, the building was most likely constructed sometime after the late 1940s, early 1950s. The land […]
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A solitary frog prince sits patiently on a porcelain ball, high above the masses waiting for their U-Bahn to arrive. What might seem like a quirky detail of an otherwise almost unremarkable U-Bahn station in Berlin, is actually one of the last original remnants of the […]
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When the KZ Sachsenhausen was constructed in 1936, it was intended to be used as a blueprint for other concentration camps, both in its design and management. Just outside of its triangular walls, an SS-Truppenlager was established (along with the SS communications bunker Karo-Ass and […]
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The year 2018 marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Karl Marx, as well as the 170th anniversary of the Communist Manifesto. Few people have had such a lasting – and controversial – effect on world history. While many can debate about the pros […]
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Over 7 decades have passed since the Battle of Berlin and at first glance one wouldn’t notice. Division, reunification, the building boom of the 90’s and the gentrification and modernisation of the 00’s have sanitised the city. But only at first glance. The battle to […]
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The Nikolaiviertel. A charming little haven in the center of Berlin. So quiet and yet seemingly out of place – surrounded by the iconic TV Tower, the socialist high rises on the Leipziger Straße and the drabness of Alexanderplatz. Despite its relatively small size, the […]
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Berlin is a city of change. Some for the better, some for the worse. Few time periods have left their mark on city as much as the years immediately after the German reunification. Investors, banks and the opportunistic saw a golden era of profit upon […]
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Hohenschönhausen is one of those areas in Berlin that one rarely traverses these days. Wedged above Lichtenberg and Marzahn, one struggles to come up with a reason to visit this district – aside from the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial, a former State Security Political Prison. But there is […]
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After receiving a patent in 1901 for a machine which was capable of drying yarn, the Industrialist Georg Lensch built himself a large representative factory in 1912. The factory was designed by the Austrian Architect Karl Josef Benirschke (who studied in Vienna with Josef Hoffmann). […]
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Not much can be dug up about the abandoned Gasthof zum Schwarzen Adler (Black Eagle Inn). The abandoned hotel and restaurant must have been quite the popular hangout seeing as it was located directly next to the entrance of a (now defunct) Phosphate Factory – […]
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The abandoned textile factory was designed and built by the architects Naumann & Kalitzki in the year 1923 for two jewish brothers. The brothers had built up their business in 1908, but needed a larger building by the early 1920’s. The building was renowned for […]
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In the heart of (one of) central Europe’s largest nature reserves – the Schorfheide – lie the ruins of Carinhall – Herrmann Göring’s luxurious villa, attracting treasure hunters, Neo-Nazis and the curious alike. While nature has reclaimed what belongs to it over the past 72 […]
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Schloss Dammsmühle – an 18th century fairy tale castle to the north of Berlin slowly bidding its time. Once an illustrious home to a wealthy merchant, the abandoned castle has gone through all the un-pleasantries modern German history can offer. But lets start at the […]
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The year 2017 marked the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution in Russia, with which Lenin and his comrades toppled the Russian Empire and ushered in the reign of the Soviet Union. This centenary anniversary posed an excellent chance to showcase one of Berlin’s hidden […]
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Hidden in a thick overgrowth and a fast growing forest in the northeast of Germany lies one of the last remnants of what Hitlers world capital Germania could have looked like. Hitlers secret city – known as the Weiße Häuser Rechlin – the White Houses, […]
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Berlin is a city that bears the scars of its history. Be it remnants of its imperial history, bullet scared facades (like the Bridge of Scars)or tragic memorials. While it seems like virtually every other building is either listed as a protected monument or has […]
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The history of the VEB Milchhof (Dairy Farm) begins with the construction and opening of another famous (and now abandoned) Berlin location – the Säuglings und Kinderkrankenhaus in Weißensee in 1911. The Berlin Milk War Before we get into the details we need to go back […]
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Every Kiez in Berlin has one or two buildings which define the area – be it the Fernsehturm in Mitte, the Karstadt Building in Neukölln, The Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche in Charlottenburg or the Dong Xuan Center in Lichtenberg. No other building exemplifies Prenzlauer Berg like the Wasserturm – […]
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The Wernerbad was Berlins oldest (abandoned) open air swimming pool. The term Swimmingpool might be a bit of a glorification as the origins of the Wernerbad are a kettle pond – a pond that’s formed by the water of a melting glacier. The origins of […]
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Hidden in a small overgrowth in a luxurious suburb of Berlin lie the ruins of an abandoned villa. Built at the turn of the of the 19th Century, the luxurious villa was just one of many in this sleepy part of Berlin. While its inhabitants […]
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Founded in 1867, the now abandoned nail factory specialised in manufacturing horse shoe nails. In 1871, the owners decided to relocate the factory to a new production site as they had developed a machine that allowed for a far more cost-effective and efficient production of […]
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Berlin and its Airports – a never-ending saga. First they killed off Berlins most central Airport, Tempelhof in 2008, then they wanted to expand Schönefeld and close down Tegel in 2011. While closing down Tempelhof gave Berlin its “Abandoned Airport Park” , everyone knows how […]
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Wedged between some trees in a little forest stands a stripped Soviet helicopter. A Mil Mi-8 to be exact. As rumors have it, the Mil Mi-8 was pushed as a project after Nikita Khrushchev was so impressed by a flight he took in the American Presidential helicopter […]
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When it comes to abandoned structures, it always struck me as odd why cities let Hospitals go to waste. Industries come and go (especially in East Germany), but everybody needs a Hospital right? Berlin has its fair share of abandoned childrens hospitals, clinics and sanatoriums – […]
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It seems like nobody likes to go swimming anymore these days. Or at least one gets that impression when looking at the amount of abandoned swimming pools Berlin has. The city has no money to repair them (or is just unwilling to spend it)- and […]
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Sicily – an explorers dream. Stunning landscapes, beautiful coastlines with crystal clear water and lots of abandoned villages and factories. Just a short walk from one of Sicily’s most stunning beaches – san vito lo capo – lies a historic (and abandoned) reminder of the […]
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Built in 1873 by one of the richest Germans of the Bismarck era – the White Castle was one of the only buildings in northern Germany at the time to be built out of massive sandstone, granite and real marble. Costing over 4 million Goldmark […]
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What to do in London when you’ve virtually seen everything? You go out looking for the obscure and weird. And it doesn’t get more weird than looking for an old Soviet T34 Tank in South London. So whats the story behind this soviet relic affectionately […]
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Its the same spectacle every year: Berlins streets are flooded with some weird cotton pollen just as the summer starts kicking in. When a light breeze brushes through the streets – the fluffy white clouds spread out and one could be lead to believe that […]
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Once home to a wealthy industrialist or Businessman – this once stunning Villa has been left to fend on its own for several decades. Rotten to the core, its roof has collapsed taking the stairwell with it. Not that you would want to go upstairs […]
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Right at the border between Prenzlauer Berg and Friedrichshain, above the heads of the masses lies one of Prenzlauer Bergs more visible mysteries. Thousands of people have passed the intersection Greifswalder Straße / Am Friedrichshain – looking up and wondering “what the hell is that […]
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When the DDR erected the „Antifaschistischer Schutzwall“ – aka the Berlin Wall in 1961, the 160 Kilometer long fortification was overlooked by 302 Watchtowers. The East German Watchtowers weren’t only used for guarding the Berlin Wall, but served as Guard-posts for Prisons, Storage Facilities and a wide […]
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Hidden in a small overgrown forest on the outskirts of a sleepy village lies Rapunzel’s Tower. Or at least whats left of it. Rubble of the former castle is still visible here and there, alluding to its former size. Hints of the former entrance path […]
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Potsdams a nice place – but it’s just not quite as cool as its younger brother Berlin. Whatever Potsdam does it’s always seemingly second class to Dickes B. Its got the Original Brandenburger Tor (Potsdam 1770, Berlin 1788, Königsberg 1860), the Stadschloß they restored is […]
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When the DDR erected the „Antifaschistischer Schutzwall“ – aka the Berlin Wall in 1961, the 160 Kilometer long fortification was overlooked by 302 Watchtowers. The East German Watchtowers weren’t only used for guarding the Berlin Wall, but served as Guard-posts for Prisons, Storage Facilities and a wide […]
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1973 was an important year for East Germany. After years of political turmoil, the DDR was finally accepted as a member state (the 133rd) to the UN. With this, the DDR had achieved a massive step forward in what it so desperately craved for the […]
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Berlin is not a city of skyscrapers – and it seems like most of the action happens underground. With German reunification, the city had wide-reaching plans to modernize the Alexanderplatz and rid it of its socialist character. 17 Skyscrapers up to 150 meters in height […]
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In the middle of nowhere, accessible only through one treacherous country road split and cracked by the Sicilian sun lies the Ghost Town of Gibellina. This place has many names – Gibellina Vecchia, il cretto di Burri or gli Ruderi di Gibellina, but it is […]
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At first glance there’s not much to see here aside from the usual Berliner Tristesse. A gas station, a busy road and a massive construction site. But on closer inspection – the secret of the Chauseestraße unravels. A thin brick line crosses through the street […]
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If you’ve ever taken the Deutsche Bahn Trains in Berlin, chances are you’ve at least once heard a synth organ blast out a strange Volksmusik tune. What the hell is that jingle that they play on German Trains? Turns out that they dont just play […]
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Reichsadler. The word (unfairly) conjures up images of a Nazi Eagle and the Third Reich. Yet the Eagle as a symbol of Power has existed in the Germanic Realm for centuries. The Reichsadler (the Imperial Eagle) made its first Heraldic Appearance on the Banner of […]
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If you happen to stroll through Budapests 5th District and pass by the Falk Miksa Utca, you might end up doing a double take when you spot a life size bronze Columbo statue aka Peter Falk. Two questions immediately spring to mind: 1) Why is there […]
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Berlin used to be swamped with Windmills. It might be hard to believe but by the year 1860, over 150 Windmills sprouted up in and around Berlin. But whats left of them today? Aside form a few street names not much – but 8 Windmills […]
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Berlin is full of famous streets. The illustrious Kurfürstendam with its luxury shops. The historical “Unter den Linden” lined with Embassies leading up to the Brandenburg Gate, or the Oranienburger Straße with its hookers and alternative vibe (thanks to gentrification thats almost gone – the […]
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Not many Berliners know of the Jaczoturm – and even amongst the locals in Spandau it remains somewhat unknown. Hidden along the entrance of the Jaczoschlucht at the border of Wilhelmstadt to Gatow, stands a small tower commemorating the “Schildhornsage” – one of the most important legends/events […]
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Im an accidental Numismatic. Over the course of +3 years, ive been collecting all the 1,2 and 5 Cent coins that have crossed my path. What do you do with these coins? Finnland, The Netherlands and Belgium all have abolished their public use (while they are […]
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Spittelmarkt. East Berlin still feels like East Berlin here. The massive 6 Lane Leipziger Straße cuts through the city while the “Komplex Leipziger Straße” – an Octuplet Set of Plattenbauten built in the late 1960s looms over Berlin. It’s not a pretty sight but one […]
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You can hear the whistles and tweets before you even reach the last step of the Cité Metro Station. If you got off at this station on a Sunday with plans to visit the famous Marché aux fleurs (Paris Flower Market) you’re in for a […]
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Trampled by the hordes of tourists crossing the Place Jean-Paul II in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral lies a small piece of hidden French history – the Point Zéro. What is the Point Zéro? The Point Zéro or known by its full name “Point Zéro […]
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A few years back when my family was living in San Francisco, I encountered this interesting so-called, “German” tradition – The German Christmas Pickle. My Mother, on the hunt for some Christmas Tree Ornaments ended up in bizarre store somewhere in downtown San Francisco and came […]
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Its far too depressing to be Rio. The lack of Palm Trees and an abundance of Ukrainian Trucks could be more than a slight give away that something isn’t right. On the other hand, there’s a massive Jesus Statue in the background looming over the […]
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Berlin-Karlshorst has always had a long history in aviation. Between 1907 and 1911, Georg Wilhelm von Siemens ordered the construction of the first rotating Airship Hangar on a plot of land in Biesdorf. Around the same time, a small airport known to locals under both the names […]
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This Island isn’t meant for visitors. 250.000 m² large, a few dozen villas and a single road that goes around in a circle. There isn’t much to see here if it weren’t for a french column. More specifically a column from the Tuileries Palace in Paris, former home of […]
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Despite having only closed its doors a few years ago – vandals have found their way into this abandoned anatomy school. All that remains are the shards of glass and medical tissue papers strew across the floor. And some old medical machines. Too heavy to […]
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Back in the day, Berlin had 6 Airports – Schönefeld, Tegel, Tempelhof, Gatow, Staaken, and Johannisthal. 4 of those have since been closed, some converted into parks and nature reserves, others into museums – and some, such as the old Airport Johannisthal turned into the […]
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Theres no doubt that the Soviets left their mark in (and around) Berlin after the end of the Second World War. Gigantic war memorials sprung up at the Tiergarten, Treptower Park and Schönholzer Heide and have subsequently become tourist attractions in their own right. While […]
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Berlin is made of Bunkers. Where ever you go, chances are pretty high that you’ll stumble across some signs or remnants of a Bunker. Be it the Volkspark Friedrichshain, underneath the Alexanderplatz, the Boros Bunker or the remnants of the Flakturm at Gesundbrunnen, the city […]
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Winter is coming. As the temperatures slowly dip into the negative digits, a many Neu Berliner begins to regret living in this city. But Berlin comes into its own when the frost settles in. Christmas markets and Glühwein stalls pop up on every corner, the […]
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Everybody loves a drink or two – and Berlin was (and still is) a city for drinkers. 150 years ago, the city had over 200 breweries and distilleries – today only a fraction of them remain. While many abandoned and disused breweries and distilleries have […]
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Der Judengang. The word sounds a lot harsher than it most likely means to be. That might be because of the German Language or the German oversensitivity. While I had heard and seen several streets been named Judengasse (the name for the Jewish Quarter) in […]
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Ill be the first to admit it – Berlin isnt a beautiful city. At least not in a classical sense. Ive yet to hear someone describe Berlin in the same tone as Rome or Paris. Now while the residents of this city might cry out […]
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With more and more abandoned places in Berlin being converted into apartments and offices (or just outright being torn down) – it’s becoming increasingly more uncommon to find “untouched” and forgotten places in Berlin. Thankfully Startups and Hipsters don’t want to live in Brandenburg (yet), […]
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From the outside it looks like any other closed down villa – but this 2 story house is more than that. Upon closer inspection this run down Villa turns out to be an Abandoned Cinema. The villa was built in 1894 as a restaurant with […]
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