Landmark sights in Germany
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Kunsthaus Tacheles
After the fall of the Wall, this graffiti-slathered art squat became a permanent fixture on Oranienburger Strasse, drawing locals and tourists to its galleries, cultural venues, bizarre sculptures and beer garden. Although over time it lost much of its anarchic edge, it was still one of the few bastions of alternative spirit in this heavily gentrified area. Now the Tacheles too has fallen victim to development. Things started going downhill in 1998 when the land was sold to property investors. The group went bankrupt and so the creditor bank decided to recoup its losses by auctioning off the plot. Initial attempts to evict the artists and clear the space in summer 2010…
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Teufelsberg
It may have a terrifying name, but at 115m high, the Teufelsberg (Devil’s Mountain), just south of the Olympic grounds, ain’t no Matterhorn. It is, however, the tallest of Berlin’s 20 ‘rubble mountains’, built by citizens, initially most of them women, during the clean-up of their bomb-ravaged city after WWII. It took 20 years to pile up 25 million cubic metres of debris. The curious domed structure up on top used to be a listening station operated by the Allies during the Cold War. The hill that was born from destruction is now a fun zone, especially in snowy winters when hordes of squealing kids toboggan or ski down its gentle slopes. At other times you can explore the…
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Europa-Center
With its giant Mercedes star spinning on its rooftop, the 103m-high Europa-Center was Berlin’s first 'skyscraper' at its 1965 opening. These days, the 20-storey shopping centre exudes charming retro flair and is packed with such quirky sights as the Lotus Fountain on the ground floor and the psychedelic Flow of Time Clock by Bernard Gitton in the basement.
You can also catch the lift to the 20th floor to enjoy the panorama or get an eyeful of pretty people and Berlin at the swish Puro Skylounge. It was built on the site of the Romanisches Cafe, a key hangout of 1920s glitterati and intellectuals.
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Fernsehturm
Germany's tallest structure, the 368m-high TV Tower is as iconic to Berlin as the Eiffel Tower is to Paris. Come early to beat the queue for the lift to the panorama level at 203m, where views are unbeatable on clear days. Pinpoint city landmarks from here or the upstairs cafe, which makes one revolution every 30 minutes. VIP ticket holders can jump the queue. Built in 1969, the tower was supposed to demonstrate the GDR's engineering prowess but ended up being a bit of a laughing stock when it turned out that, when hit by the sun, the steel sphere below the antenna produced the reflection of a giant cross. West Berliners gleefully dubbed the phenomenon ‘the Pope’s…
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Anhalter Bahnhof
Only a forlorn fragment of the entrance portal is left of the Anhalter Bahnhof, once Berlin’s finest and busiest railway station, surrounded by luxury hotels and bustling cafés. Marlene Dietrich departed from here for Hollywood, and the king of Italy and the tsar of Russia were among the official visitors to Berlin arriving at this station. Although badly bombed in WWII, Anhalter Bahnhof remained operational for years but was eventually eclipsed by Ostbahnhof. Not even vociferous protests could halt its demolition in 1960.
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Checkpoint Charlie
Checkpoint Charlie was the principal gateway for Allies, other non-Germans and diplomats between the two Berlins from 1961 to 1990. Unfortunately, this potent symbol of the Cold War has become a tacky tourist trap where uniformed actors pose for tips in front of a replica guardhouse. The one redeeming aspect is the free temporary open-air exhibit chronicling Cold War history along Friedrichstrasse, Zimmerstrasse and Schützenstrasse.
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Stadthaus
Designed by Richard Meier, the contemporary aesthetic of the concrete-and-glass Stadthaus is a dramatic contrast to the Münster. The American architect caused uproar by erecting a postmodern building alongside the city’s Gothic giant but the result is striking. The edifice stages exhibitions and events, and houses the tourist office and a cafe.
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Trinkhalle
Standing proud above a manicured park, this neoclassical pump room was built in 1839 as an attractive addition to the Kurhaus. The 90m-long portico is embellished with 19th-century frescoes of local legends. Baden-Baden’s elixir of youth, some say, is the free curative mineral water that gushes from a faucet linked to the Friedrichsbad spring. A cafe sells cups for €0.20, or bring your own bottle.
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Historisches Kaufhaus
Facing the Münster’s south side and embellished with polychrome tiled turrets is the arcaded brick-red Historisches Kaufhaus, an early 16th-century merchants’ hall. The coats of arms on the oriels and the four figures above the balcony symbolise Freiburg’s allegiance to the House of Habsburg.
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Schwörhaus
On the third Monday of July, the mayor swears allegiance to the town’s 1397 constitution from the 1st-floor loggia of the early 17th-century baroque Schwörhaus (Oath House), three blocks west of the Rathaus.
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Haus zum Walfisch
Across the street from Martinskirche is its architectural antithesis, the marvellously extravagant Haus zum Walfisch, whose late-Gothic oriel is garnished with two impish gargoyles.
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City-Hochhaus
Sticking out like the tall kid in your third-grade picture, is the landmark MDR Hochhaus, a rather attractive skyscraper from 1970, with a viewing platform and restaurant on top.
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Luthereiche
This oak tree marks the spot where the preacher burned the 1520 papal bull threatening his excommunication; the tree itself, though, was only planted around 1830.
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Holstentor
Built in 1464 and looking so settled-in that it appears to sag, Lübeck’s charming red-brick city gate is a national icon. Its twin pointed cylindrical towers, leaning together across the stepped gable that joins them, captivated Andy Warhol (his print is in the St Annen Museum), and have graced postcards, paintings, posters and marzipan souvenirs, as you’ll discover inside its Museum Holstentor.
The latin inscription on the west face 'concordia domi foris pax' means 'harmony at home and peace abroad'.
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Hansaplast Fountain
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Einstein Fountain & Monument
A nod to Ulm’s most famous son, Jürgen Goertz’s fiendishly funny bronze fountain shows a wild-haired, tongue-poking-out Albert Einstein, who was born in Ulm but left when he was one year old. Standing in front of the 16th-century Zeughaus, the rocket-snail creation is a satirical play on humanity’s attempts to manipulate evolution for its own self-interest. Nearby, at Zeughaus 14, is a single stone bearing the inscription Ein Stein (One Stone).
On Bahnhofstrasse sits Max Bill’s monument (1979) to the great physicist, a stack of red-granite pillars marking the spot where Einstein was born.
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Brandenburger Tor & Pariser Platz
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Kurhaus & Casino
Corinthian columns and a frieze of mythical griffins grace the belle époque facade of the Kurhaus, which towers above well-groomed gardens. An alley of chestnut trees, flanked by two rows of boutiques, links the Kurhaus with Kaiserallee.
Inside is the sublime casino, which seeks to emulate the gilded splendour of Versailles. Marlene Dietrich called it ‘the most beautiful casino in the world’. Gents must wear a jacket and tie, rentable for €8 and €3 respectively. If you’re not a gambler and don’t fancy dressing up, join a 25-minute guided tour of the opulent interior.
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