Square, Plaza sights in Berlin
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Nollendorfplatz
Paintings and photographs from the early 20th century show Nollendorfplatz as a bustling urban square filled with cafés, theatres and people on parade. It was just this kind of liberal and libertine flair that so enticed British author Christopher Isherwood. To Isherwood, ‘Berlin meant boyz’ and boys he could find aplenty in such famous bars as the Eldorado, haunt of a demimonde that included Marlene Dietrich and chanteuse Claire Waldorff. The Nazis put an end to the fun, but not for good. After WWII, the area south of Nollendorfplatz reprised its role as Berlin’s gay mecca and continues to be a major gay nightlife hub today. A small memorial plaque near the south entranc…
reviewed
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A
Leipziger Platz
Just like Potsdamer Platz, this historical square has risen from the death strip. The octagonal Leipziger Platz was first laid out in 1734 and later became one of Berlin’s most beautiful squares courtesy of the urban planning ‘dream team’ of Schinkel and Lenné. The hulking building just east of here houses the Bundesrat (Federal Council), the body of the German legislative branch of government that represents the interests of the Länder, or federal states. Hidden behind the new buildings stands a rare remaining GDR watchtower – the GDR border watchtower Erna-Berger-Strasse. To see it, follow Erna-Berger-Strasse (off Stresemannstrasse) to the end.
reviewed
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B
Bebelplatz
On this stark square books by Brecht, Mann, Marx and other ‘subversives’ went up in flames during the first big official Nazi book burning in 1933. Michael Ullmann’s underground installation, Empty Library, beneath a glass pane at the square’s centre, commemorates the event. The stately buildings framing Bebelplatz date back to the reign of Frederick the Great, who surveys his domain from horseback in Christian Rauch’s epic sculpture, Reiterdenkmal Friedrich des Grossen, nearby on Unter den Linden.
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C
Gendarmenmarkt
Berlin’s most graceful square gets its name from the Gens d’Armes, a Prussian regiment consisting of French Huguenot immigrants. Local Huguenots worshipped at the Französischer Dom (French Dome), where a small museum now chronicles their story. The cathedral closely mirrors the Deutscher Dom (German Dome) opposite, home to a hopelessly academic exhibit on German democracy. Completing the trio is Schinkel’s beautiful Konzerthaus Berlin.
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D
Chamissoplatz
Just off Bergmannstrasse, this pretty square, with its park and stately 19th-century buildings, was virtually unscathed by WWII and is often used by movie directors as a backdrop for Old Berlin. A restored Café Achteck pissoir (old public urinal) adds another touch of yesteryear authenticity. On Saturdays the entire neighbourhood turns out for the organic farmers market.
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E
Kollwitzplatz
This parklike triangular square was ground zero of Prenzlauer Berg’s revitalisation. Grab a cafe table and watch the leagues of tattooed mamas, designer-jean hipsters and gawking tourists on parade. Kids burn energy on the big playground next to a bronze sculpture of the square’s namesake, artist Käthe Kollwitz. A great time to visit is during the Thursday or Saturday farmers markets.
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F
Pariser Platz
The Brandenburg Gate stands sentinel over this elegant square, which spent the Cold War trapped just east of the Berlin Wall but now is again framed by embassies, banks and the fancy Hotel Adlon, just as it was during its 19th-century heyday. Pop into the Frank Gehry–designed DZ Bank for a peek at the atrium’s outlandish conference room. Next door, the new US Embassy opened in 2008.
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