In Germany only Frankfurt has a similar spectacular skyline.
The Potsdamer Platz is located in Berlin Mitte, at the urban district Tiergarten. Through the years it developed to the new middle of Berlin. Former this place was only a simple crossing point, but since in 1838 a railway station was opened it generated from an outlying crossing to the central point of Berlins traffic. A fast growing population increase and the great number of tourists needed the according infrastructure. That means not only a new traffic junction was born but also a new gastronomic richness came into being. The Potsdamer Platz became a favoured address for bankers, aristocrats and artists. Over the next decades this place got a special impact in Berlin. An impressive deflection of traffic took place. Already in 1920 it was one of the busiest places in Europe. The first traffic light was installed at this crossing. Today busses, trains, city railways, underground railways and a calculated traffic system control the crowds. But not only is the logistic impressing. The architectural development has no equal in Berlin. While the Second World War more than eighty percent of the buildings were destroyed and only a few were restaurated after the war ended. Not until the peaceful revolution and the reunion of GDR and Germany the town grow together. The same happened to the Potsdamer Platz. In the Cold War this place was separated by the borderline in form of the Berlin Wall. In the course of this circumstance most remaining houses at the Potsdamer Platz were torn of at both sides. That made place for new created down town area.
After the Berlin Wall felt down high rise buildings and apartment towers rocked upwards. It was the greatest construction side of Europe. The planners wanted to create an international post-modern style. High glass frontages make the architecture so remarkable. Noble Hotels found an ideal location. A famous part of the Potsdamer Platz is also the Sony Centre. The architect Helmut Jahn included the rests of the traditional Hotel Esplanade into the ensemble of seven modern buildings. The Marlene Dietrich - Museum is a must for everyone. The Knollhoff - Tower was created in a New Yorker style of clinker by Hans Knollhoff and you have rarely such a fascinating view over Berlin like from the observation platform at this building. Nightclubs, cinemas and a vast number of shops attract so many visitors every year.
The development and the plans for the Potsdamer Platz have many critics. They are afraid of a "city in the city". But in one point critics and supporters go along with each other. The chance to create a whole new town district is unique. And how controversial the discussions will ever be, it is indisputable that new life came to the Potsdamer Platz. Berlin benefits of the various cultural facilities like restaurants, shopping centres or museums. The nearness to the Brandenburg Gate, The Reichstag or the Philharmonic Hall makes the location interesting.
Übers. C.D.
