Anton von Werner, Congress of Berlin (1881): Final meeting at the Reich Chancellery on 13 July 1878, Bismarck between Gyula Andrássy and Pyotr Shuvalov, on the left Alajos Károlyi, Alexander Gorchakov and Benjamin Disraeli

The Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878) was a meeting of the European Great Powers' and the Ottoman Empire's leading statesmen in Berlin in 1878. In the wake of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, the meeting's aim was to reorganize the countries of the Balkans.

Overview[link]

German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, who led the Congress, undertook to stabilize the Balkans, recognize the reduced power of the Ottoman Empire, and balance the distinct interests of Britain, Russia and Austria-Hungary; at the same time he tried to diminish Russian gains in the region and to prevent the rise of a big Bulgaria. As a result, Ottoman holdings in Europe declined sharply; Bulgaria was established as an independent principality inside the Ottoman Empire; Eastern Rumelia was restored to the Turks under a special administration; and Macedonia was returned outright to the Turks, who promised reform. Romania achieved full independence, turning over part of Bessarabia to Russia and gaining Northern Dobruja in return. Serbia and Montenegro finally gained complete independence, but with smaller territories, with Austria-Hungary occupying the Sandžak (Raška) region.^[1] Austria-Hungary also took over Bosnia and Herzegovina, whereas Britain took over Cyprus.

The results were first hailed as a great achievement in peacemaking and stabilization. However, most of the participants were not fully satisfied, and grievances regarding the results festered until they exploded in world war in 1914. Serbia, Bulgaria, and Greece made gains, but far less than they thought they deserved. The Ottoman Empire, called at the time the "sick man of Europe," was humiliated and significantly weakened, rendering it more liable to domestic unrest and more vulnerable to attack. Although Russia had been victorious in the war that occasioned the conference, it was humiliated at Berlin, and resented its treatment. Austria gained a great deal of territory, which angered the South Slavs, and led to decades of tensions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bismarck became the target of hatred by Russian nationalists and Pan-Slavists, and found that he had tied Germany too closely to Austria in the Balkans.^[2]

In the long-run, tensions between Russia and Austria-Hungary intensified, as did the nationality question in the Balkans. The congress was aimed at the revision of the Treaty of San Stefano and at keeping Constantinople in Ottoman hands. It effectively disavowed Russia's victory over the decaying Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish War. The Congress of Berlin returned to the Ottoman Empire territories that the previous treaty had given to the Principality of Bulgaria, most notably Macedonia, thus setting up a strong revanchist demand in Bulgaria that in 1912 led to the First Balkan War.

Background[link]

Pro-Greek ethnic map of the Balkans by Ioannis Gennadius,^[3] published by the English cartographer E. Stanford in 1877

In the decades leading up to the Congress of Berlin, Russia and the Balkans had been gripped by a movement known as Pan-Slavism, a desire to unite all the Balkan Slavs under one rule. This movement, which evolved similarly to the Pan-Germanic and Pan-Italian movements that resulted in the unification of their respective nations, took different forms in the various Slavic nations. In Imperial Russia, Pan-Slavism meant the creation of a unified Slavic state under Russian direction – essentially a byword for Russian conquest of the Balkan peninsula.^[4] The realization of this goal would result in Russia’s controlling of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus, giving it economic control of the Black Sea and substantially increasing its geopolitical power. In the Balkans, Pan-Slavism meant unifying the Balkan Slavs under the rule of a particular Balkan state – though which state was meant to serve as the locus for unification was not always clear; initiative waffled between Serbia and Bulgaria. It is worthy to remember that the creation of a Bulgarian Exarch by the Ottomans in 1870 was to separate the Bulgarians religiously from the Greek Patriarch and politically from Serbia.^[5] From the Balkan point of view, the peninsula needed a Piedmont, and a corresponding France to sponsor its unification.^[6] Though the views of how Balkan politics should proceed differed, both began with the deposition of the Sultan as ruler of the Balkans and the ousting of the Ottomans from Europe. How this was to proceed, or whether it was to proceed at all, was the major question to be answered at the Congress of Berlin.

The Great Powers in the Balkans[link]

The Balkans were a major stage for competition between the European Great Powers in the second half of the nineteenth century. Great Britain and Russia both had stake in the fate of the Balkans. Russia was interested in the region both ideologically as a pan-Slavist unifier and as a way to secure greater control of the Mediterranean, while Great Britain was interested in preventing Russia from doing exactly that. Furthermore, the unification of Italy and Germany had stymied the ability of a third European power, Austria-Hungary, to further expand its domain to the southwest. Germany, as the most powerful continental nation after the Franco-Prussian War of 1871 and one without large direct interests in the settlement, was the only power which could mediate the Balkan question.^[7]

Russia and Austria-Hungary, the two powers most invested in the fate of the Balkans, were allied with Germany in the League of Three Emperors, founded to preserve monarchy and conservatism on continental Europe. This meant that the Congress of Berlin was mainly a dispute among supposed allies with conflicting goals. Otto von Bismarck and the German Empire, the arbiter of the discussion, would thus have to choose before the end of the congress which of their allies to support. This decision was to have direct consequences on the future of European geopolitics.^[8][9]

The Treaty of San Stefano[link]

After the Bulgarian April Uprising in 1876 and the decisive Russian victory in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, Russia liberated almost all of the Ottoman European possessions. The Ottomans recognized Montenegro, Romania, and Serbia as independent, and the territories of all three were expanded. Russia created a large Principality of Bulgaria as an autonomous vassal of the Sultan. This expanded Russia’s sphere of influence to encompass the entire Balkans, something that alarmed other powers in Europe. Great Britain, which had threatened war with Russia if they were to occupy Constantinople,^[10] and France, which still harbored resentment over Russia’s role in the defeat of Napoleon, did not want another power meddling in the Mediterranean or the Middle East, where both of them were prepared to make large colonial gains. Austria-Hungary desired Habsburg control over the Balkans, and Germany wanted to avoid their allies going to war. The German chancellor Otto von Bismarck thus called the Congress of Berlin to discuss the partition of the Ottoman Balkans among the European powers and to preserve the League of Three Emperors in the face of European liberalism.^[11]

The Congress was attended by the British Empire, Austria-Hungary, France, the German Empire, Italy, the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire. Delegates from Greece, Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro attended the sessions concerning their states, but were not members of the congress. The congress was solicited by the rivals of the Russian Empire, particularly by Austria-Hungary and Britain, and hosted in 1878 by Otto von Bismarck. The Congress of Berlin proposed and ratified the Treaty of Berlin. The meetings were held at Bismarck’s chancellory, the former Radziwill Palace, from 13 June 1878 until 13 July 1878. The congress revised or eliminated 18 of the 29 articles in the Treaty of San Stefano. Furthermore, using as a foundation the treaties of Paris (1856) and Washington (1871), the treaty effected a rearrangement of the Eastern situation.

Main issues[link]

Ethnic composition map of the Balkans by the German-English cartographer E. G. Ravenstein of 1870.

The principal mission of the World Powers at the congress was to deal a fatal blow to the burgeoning movement of pan-Slavism. The movement caused serious concern in Berlin, and even more so in Vienna, which was afraid that the repressed Slavic nationalities would revolt against the Habsburgs. London and Paris were nervous about the diminishing influence of the Ottoman Empire and about Russian cultural expansion to the south, where both Britain and France were poised to colonize Egypt and Palestine. Through the Treaty of San Stefano, the Russians, led by chancellor Alexander Gorchakov, had managed to create a Bulgarian autonomous principality under the nominal rule of the Ottoman Empire, thus sparking British well-entrenched fears of growing Russian influence in the East. The new principality, including a very large portion of Macedonia and with access to the Aegean Sea, could easily threaten the Straits that separate the Black Sea from the Mediterranean. This arrangement was not acceptable to the British Empire, which considered the entire Mediterranean to be a British sphere of influence, and saw any Russian attempt to gain access there as a grave threat to its power. On 4 June, before the Congress opened on 13 June, Prime Minister Lord Beaconsfield had already concluded a secret alliance with the Ottomans against Russia, whereby Britain was allowed to occupy the strategically placed island of Cyprus. This agreement predetermined Beaconsfield's position during the Congress and led him to issue threats to unleash a war against Russia if it did not comply with Turkish demands. Negotiations between the Austo-Hungarian Foreign Minister Gyula Andrássy and the British Foreign Secretary Marquess of Salisbury had already "ended on 6 June by Britain agreeing to all the Austrian proposals relative to Bosnia-Herzegovina about to come before the congress while Austria would support British demands."^[12]

Bismarck as host[link]

The Congress of Berlin is frequently viewed as the culmination of the "Battle of Chancellors" involving Alexander Gorchakov of Russia and Otto von Bismarck of Germany. They were able to effectively persuade other European leaders that a free and independent Bulgaria would greatly improve the security risks posed by a disintegrating Ottoman Empire. According to German historian Erich Eyck, Bismarck supported Russia's persuasion that "Turkish rule over a Christian community (Bulgaria) was an anachronism which undoubtedly gave rise to insurrection and bloodshed and should therefore be ended."^[13] He used the Great Eastern Crisis of 1875 as proof of growing animosity in the region.

Borders of Bulgaria according to the Preliminary Treaty of San Stefano (red stripes) and the Treaty of Berlin (solid red).

Bismarck's ultimate goal during the Congress of Berlin was not to upset Germany's status on the international platform. He did not wish to disrupt the Three Emperor's League by choosing between Russia and Austria as an ally.^[13] In order to maintain peace in Europe, Bismarck sought to convince other European diplomats on dividing up the Balkans so as to foster greater stability. During the process of division, Russia began to feel short-changed even though it eventually gained independence for Bulgaria. One can therefore see the underpinnings of the alliance problems in Europe prior to the First World War. One reason why Bismarck was able to mediate the various tensions present at the Congress of Berlin stemmed from his diplomatic persona. He was an ardent pacifist when international affairs did not pertain to Germany directly.^{[citation needed]} He viewed the current situation in Europe as favorable for Germany, therefore any conflict between the major European powers threatening the status quo was against German interests. And at the Congress of Berlin, "Germany could not look for any advantage from the crisis" that had occurred in the Balkans back in 1875.^[13] As a result, Bismarck claimed impartiality on behalf of Germany at the Congress. This claim enabled him to preside over the negotiations with a keen eye for foul play.

Though most of Europe went into the Congress expecting a diplomatic show much like the Congress of Vienna, they were to be sadly disappointed. Bismarck, unhappy to be conducting the Congress in the heat of the summer, had a short temper and a low tolerance for malarky. Thus, any grandstanding was cut short by the testy German chancellor. The ambassadors from the small Balkan territories whose fate was being decided were barely even allowed to attend the diplomatic meetings, which were mainly between the representatives of the Great Powers.^[14]

According to Henry Kissinger,^[15] the congress saw a shift in Bismarck's Realpolitik. Until then, as Germany had become too powerful for isolation, his policy was to maintain the Three Emperors League. Now that he could no longer rely on Russia's alliance, he began to form relations with as many potential enemies as possible.

Legacy[link]

Ethnic composition map of the Balkans by the A. Synvet of 1877, a known French professor of the Ottoman Lyceum of Constantinople. It was considering as pro-Greek by later historians.

Bowing to Russia's pressure, Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro were declared independent principalities, though their territorial gains were cut. Russia kept South Bessarabia, which they had annexed in the Russo-Turkish War, but the Bulgarian state they had created was first bisected, then split further into the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia, both of which were given nominal autonomy under the control of the Ottoman Empire.^[16] Bulgaria was promised autonomy, and guarantees were made against Turkish interference, but these were largely ignored. Romania received the Dobruja. Montenegro obtained Nikšić, Podgorica, Bar, and Plav-Gusinje The Turkish government, or Porte, agreed to obey the specifications contained in the Organic Law of 1868, and to guarantee the civil rights of non-Muslim subjects. The region of Bosnia-Herzegovina was given over to the administration of Austria-Hungary, which also obtained the right to garrison the Sanjak of Novi Pazar, a small border region between Montenegro and Serbia. Bosnia and Herzegovina were put on the fast track to eventual Habsburg annexation. Russia agreed that Macedonia, the most important strategic section of the Balkans, was too multinational to be part of Bulgaria, and permitted it to remain under the Ottomans. Eastern Rumelia, which had its own large Turkish and Greek minorities, became an autonomous province under a Christian ruler, with its capital at Philippopolis. The remaining portions of the original "Greater Bulgaria" became the new state of Bulgaria.

Allegorical depiction of Bulgarian autonomy after the Treaty of Berlin.

In Russia, the Congress of Berlin was considered a dismal failure. Finally defeating the Turks decisively after the many inconclusive Russo-Turkish wars of the past, many Russians expected “something colossal” – a re-imagining of the Balkan borders in support of Russian territorial ambitions. Instead, Russia’s victory resulted in a decisive Austro-Hungarian gain on the Balkan front. This gain was brought about by the rest of the European powers’ preference for a powerful Austria-Hungary, an empire that threatened basically no one, to a powerful Russia, which had been locked in competition with Britain in the Great Game for most of the century. Russian chancellor Gorchakov said of the subsequent Treaty of Berlin “I consider the Berlin Treaty the darkest page in my life.” The Russian people were by and large furious over the European repudiation of their political gains, and though there was some thought that this represented only a minor stumble on the road to Russian hegemony in the Balkans, it in fact gave Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia over to Austria’s sphere of influence, essentially removing all Russian influence from the area.^[17]

The Serbs were upset with "Russia [...] consenting to the cession of Bosnia to Austria."^[18]

Ristić who was Serbia’s first plenipotentiary at Berlin tells how he asked Jomini, one of the Russian delegates, what consolation remained to the Serbs. Jomini replied that it would have to be the thought that 'the situation was only temporary because within fifteen years at the latest we shall be forced to fight Austria.' 'Vain consolation!' comments Ristić.^[18]

Italy was dissatisfied with the results of the Congress, and the tensions between Greece and the Ottoman Empire were left unresolved. The Bosnians and Herzegovinans would also prove to be a problem to the Austro-Hungarian Empire in later decades. The League of Three Emperors, established in 1873, was destroyed, as Russia saw lack of German support on the issue of Bulgaria's full independence as a breach of loyalty and alliance. The border between Greece and Turkey was not resolved. In 1881, after protracted negotiations, a compromise border was accepted after a naval demonstration of the Powers. Thus, the congress sowed the seeds of further conflicts, including the Balkan Wars, and ultimately the First World War. Interestingly, the Marquess of Salisbury, the British Foreign Secretary at the Congress, had originally supported the Russian position and the Treaty of San Stefano. After returning from the Congress, Salisbury confessed that — in supporting Austria-Hungary instead of Russia — the British had "backed the wrong horse." According to A. J. P. Taylor, writing in 1954: "If the treaty of San Stefano had been maintained, both the Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary might have survived to the present day. The British, except for Beaconsfield in his wilder moments, had expected less and were therefore less disappointed. Salisbury wrote at the end of 1878: We shall set up a rickety sort of Turkish rule again south of the Balkans. But it is a mere respite. There is no vitality left in them."^[19]

Though the Congress of Berlin constituted a harsh blow to Pan-Slavism, it by no means solved the question of the area. The Slavs of the Balkans were still in their majority under non-Slavic rule, split between the rule of Austria-Hungary and the ailing Ottoman Empire. The Slavic states of the Balkans in fact learned that banding together as Slavs didn’t benefit them as much as playing to the desires of a neighboring Great Power, damaging the unity of the Balkan Slavs and encouraging competition amongst the fledgling Slav states.^[20] The underlying tensions of the region would continue to simmer for upwards of thirty years until they again exploded in the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913, the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, and the subsequent First World War. In hindsight, we can see that the stated goal of maintaining peace and balance of powers in the Balkans utterly failed, as the region remained a theater of conflict for Great Power politics far into the twentieth century.^[21]

Internal opposition to Andrássy's objectives[link]

The Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister Andrássy, in addition to the occupation and administration of Bosnia-Herzegovina, also obtained the right to station garrisons in the Sanjak of Novi Pazar, which remained under Ottoman administration. The Sanjak preserved the separation of Serbia and Montenegro, and the Austro-Hungarian garrisons there would open the way for a dash to Salonika that "would bring the western half of the Balkans under permanent Austrian influence."^[22] "High [Austro-Hungarian] military authorities desired [an ...] immediate major expedition with Salonika as its objective." ^[23]

On 28 September 1878 the Finance Minister, Koloman von Zell, threatened to resign if the army, behind which stood the Archduke Albert, were allowed to advance to Salonika. In the session of the Hungarian Parliament of 5 November 1878 the Opposition proposed that the Foreign Minister should be impeached for violating the constitution by his policy during the Near East Crisis and by the occupation of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The motion was lost by 179 to 95. By the Opposition rank and file the gravest accusations were raised against Andrassy.^[23]

On 10 October 1878 the French diplomat Melchior de Vogüé described the situation as follows:

Particularly in Hungary the dissatisfaction caused by this 'adventure' has reached the gravest proportions, prompted by that strong conservative instinct which animates the Magyar race and is the secret of its destinies. This vigorous and exclusive instinct explains the historical phenomenon of an isolated group, small in numbers yet dominating a country inhabited by a majority of peoples of different races and conflicting aspirations, and playing a role in European affairs out of all proportions to its numerical importance or intellectual culture. This instinct is to-day awakened and gives warning that it feels the occupation of Bosnia-Herzegovina to be a menace which, by introducing fresh Slav elements into the Hungarian political organism and providing a wider field and further recruitment of the Croat opposition, would upset the unstable equilibrium in which the Magyar domination is poised.^[24]

Delegates[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

United Kingdom

• Benjamin Disraeli Earl of Beaconsfield (Prime Minister)
• Marquess of Salisbury (Foreign Secretary, Future Prime Minister)
• Baron Ampthill

Russian Empire

• Prince Gorchakov
• Count Shuvalov
• Baron d'Oubril

German Empire

• Otto von Bismarck
• Prince Hohenlohe
• Bernhard Ernst von Bülow

Austria-Hungary

• Count Andrássy
• Count Károlyi
• Baron Heinrich Karl von Haymerle

French Third Republic

• Monsieur Waddington
• Comte de Saint-Vallier
• Monsieur Desprey

Kingdom of Italy

• Count Corti
• Count De Launay

Ottoman Empire

• Karatheodori Pasha
• Sadoullah Bey
• Mehemet Ali Pasha
• Catholicos Mkrtich Khrimian (representing Armenian population)

Romania

• Ion C. Brătianu
• Mihail Kogălniceanu

Greece

• Theodoros Deligiannis

Serbia

• Jovan Ristić

Montenegro

• Božo Petrović
• Stanko Radonjić

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Langer, William L. European Alliances and Alignments 1871–1890 (1950) ch 5–6
• Medlicott, William Norton. Congress of Berlin and After (1963)
• Millman, Richard. Britain and the Eastern Question, 1875–78 (1979)
• Taylor, A.J.P. The Struggle for Mastery in Europe: 1848–1918 (1954) pp. 228–54

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Congress of Berlin

Coordinates: 38°28′17″N 44°24′00″E / 38.47139°N 44.4°E / 38.47139; 44.4

Berlin
—  State of Germany  —
Left to right: Berliner Fernsehturm and Skyline, Siegessäule, Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche, View over Spree river, and Brandenburger Tor
Flag Coat of arms
Location within European Union and Germany
Coordinates: 52°30′2″N 13°23′56″E / 52.50056°N 13.39889°E / 52.50056; 13.39889Coordinates: 52°30′2″N 13°23′56″E / 52.50056°N 13.39889°E / 52.50056; 13.39889
Country	Germany
Government
• Governing Mayor	Klaus Wowereit (SPD)
• Governing parties	SPD / CDU
• Votes in Bundesrat	4 (of 69)
Area
• City	891.85 km2 (344.35 sq mi)
Elevation	34 m (112 ft)
Population (30 November 2011)[1]
• City	3,499,879
• Density	3,900/km2 (10,000/sq mi)
• Metro	5,963,998
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code(s)	10001–14199
Area code(s)	030
ISO 3166 code	DE-BE
Vehicle registration	B (for earlier signs see note)[2]
GDP/ Nominal	€ 94.7 billion (2010) [3]
NUTS Region	DE3
Website	berlin.de

Berlin ( /bɜrˈlɪn/; German pronunciation: [bɛɐ̯ˈliːn] ( listen)) is the capital city of Germany and one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.5 million people,^[1] Berlin is Germany's largest city and is the second most populous city proper and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union.^[4] Located in northeastern Germany, it is the center of the Berlin-Brandenburg Metropolitan Region, which has 5.9 million^[5] residents from over 190 nations.^[6] Located in the European Plains, Berlin is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. Around one third of the city's area is composed of forests, parks, gardens, rivers and lakes.^[7]

First documented in the 13th century, Berlin was the capital of the Kingdom of Prussia (1701–1918), the German Empire (1871–1918), the Weimar Republic (1919–1933) and the Third Reich (1933–1945).^[8] Berlin in the 1920s was the third largest municipality in the world.^[9] After World War II, the city became divided into East Berlin—the capital of East Germany—and West Berlin, a West German exclave surrounded by the Berlin Wall (1961–1989).^[10] Following German reunification in 1990, the city regained its status as the capital of Germany, hosting 147 foreign embassies.^[11][12]

Berlin is a world city of culture, politics, media, and science.^[13][14][15] Its economy is primarily based on the service sector, encompassing a diverse range of creative industries, media corporations, and convention venues. Berlin also serves as a continental hub for air and rail transport,^[16][17] and is a popular tourist destination.^[18] Significant industries include IT, pharmaceuticals, biomedical engineering, biotechnology, electronics, traffic engineering, and renewable energy.

Berlin is home to renowned universities, research institutes, orchestras, museums, and celebrities, as well as host of many sporting events.^[19] Its urban settings and historical legacy have made it a popular location for international film productions.^[20] The city is well known for its festivals, diverse architecture, nightlife, contemporary arts, public transportation networks and a high quality of living.^[21]

History[link]

The origin of the name Berlin is unknown, but it may have its roots in the language of West Slavic inhabitants of the area of today's Berlin, and be related to the Old Polabian stem berl-/birl- ("swamp").^[22] Folk etymology connects it to the German Bär, a bear, and a bear appears in the coat of arms of the city.

Map of Berlin in 1688

The earliest evidence of settlements in the area of today's Berlin is a wooden beam dated from approximately 1192.^[23] The first written records of towns in the area of present-day Berlin date from the late 12th century. Spandau is first mentioned in 1197 and Köpenick in 1209, although these areas did not join Berlin until 1920.^[24] The central part of Berlin can be traced back to two towns. Cölln on the Fischerinsel is first mentioned in a 1237 document, and Berlin, across the Spree in what is now called the Nikolaiviertel, is referenced in a document from 1244.^[23] The former is considered to be the founding date of the city. The two towns over time formed close economic and social ties and eventually merged in 1307 and came to be known as Berlin.

In 1435, Frederick I became the elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, which he ruled until 1440.^[25] His successor, Frederick II Irontooth, established Berlin as capital of the margraviate, and subsequent members of the Hohenzollern family ruled until 1918 in Berlin, first as electors of Brandenburg, then as kings of Prussia, and eventually as German emperors. In 1448, citizens rebelled in the "Berlin Indignation" against the construction of a new royal palace by Frederick II Irontooth. This protest was not successful, however, and the citizenry lost many of its political and economic privileges. In 1451 Berlin became the royal residence of the Brandenburg electors, and Berlin had to give up its status as a free Hanseatic city. In 1539, the electors and the city officially became Lutheran.^[26]

17th to 19th centuries[link]

Frederick the Great (1712–1786) was one of Europe's enlightened monarchs.

The Thirty Years' War between 1618 and 1648 devastated Berlin. One third of its houses were damaged or destroyed, and the city lost half of its population.^[27] Frederick William, known as the "Great Elector", who had succeeded his father George William as ruler in 1640, initiated a policy of promoting immigration and religious tolerance. With the Edict of Potsdam in 1685, Frederick William offered asylum to the French Huguenots. More than 15,000 Huguenots went to Brandenburg, of whom 6,000 settled in Berlin. By 1700, approximately 20 percent of Berlin's residents were French, and their cultural influence on the city was immense.^{[citation needed]} Many other immigrants came from Bohemia, Poland, and Salzburg.

Berlin became the capital of the German Empire in 1871 and expanded rapidly in the following years. (Unter den Linden in 1900)

With the coronation of Frederick I in 1701 as king (in Königsberg), Berlin became the new capital of the Kingdom of Prussia (instead of Königsberg); this was a successful attempt to centralize the capital in the very outspread Prussian Kingdom, and it was the first time the city began to grow.^{[citation needed]} In 1740, Frederick II, known as Frederick the Great (1740–1786), came to power. Under the rule of Frederick II Berlin became a center of the Enlightenment.^{[citation needed]} Following France's victory in the War of the Fourth Coalition, Napoleon Bonaparte marched into Berlin in 1806, but granted self-government to the city. In 1815 the city became part of the new Province of Brandenburg.

The Industrial Revolution transformed Berlin during the 19th century; the city's economy and population expanded dramatically, and it became the main rail hub and economic center of Germany.^{[citation needed]} Additional suburbs soon developed and increased the area and population of Berlin. In 1861, outlying suburbs including Wedding, Moabit, and several others were incorporated into Berlin. In 1871, Berlin became capital of the newly founded German Empire. On 1 April 1881 it became a city district separate from Brandenburg.

20th century[link]

Berlin in ruins after World War II (Potsdamer Platz, 1945).

At the end of World War I in 1918, a republic was proclaimed in Berlin. In 1920, the Greater Berlin Act incorporated dozens of suburban cities, villages, and estates around Berlin into an expanded city. This new area encompassed Spandau and Charlottenburg in the west, as well as several other areas that are now major municipalities. After this expansion, Berlin had a population of around four million. During the Weimar era, Berlin became internationally renowned as a center of cultural transformation, at the heart of the Roaring Twenties.

On 30 January 1933, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power. Nazi rule destroyed Berlin's Jewish community, which had numbered 170,000 before 1933.^{[citation needed]} After Kristallnacht in 1938, thousands of the city's Jews were imprisoned in the nearby Sachsenhausen concentration camp or, in early 1943, were shipped to death camps, such as Auschwitz. During World War II, large parts of Berlin were destroyed in the 1943–45 air raids and during the Battle of Berlin. Among the hundreds of thousands who died during the Battle for Berlin, an estimated 125,000 were civilians.^[28] After the end of the war in Europe in 1945, Berlin received large numbers of refugees from the Eastern provinces. The victorious powers divided the city into four sectors, analogous to the occupation zones into which Germany was divided. The sectors of the Western Allies (the United States, the United Kingdom and France) formed West Berlin, while the Soviet sector formed East Berlin.^[29]

The Berlin Wall in 1986, painted on the western side. People crossing the so-called "death strip" on the eastern side were at risk of being shot.

All four Allies shared administrative responsibilities for Berlin. However, in 1948, when the Western Allies extended the currency reform in the Western zones of Germany to the three western sectors of Berlin, the Soviet Union imposed a blockade on the access routes to and from West Berlin, which lay entirely inside Soviet-controlled territory. The Berlin airlift, conducted by the three western Allies, overcame this blockade by supplying food and other supplies to the city from 24 June 1948 to 11 May 1949.^[30] In 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany was founded in West Germany and eventually included all of the American, British, and French zones, excluding those three countries' zones in Berlin, while the Marxist-Leninist German Democratic Republic was proclaimed in East Germany. West Berlin officially remained an occupied city, but as a corpus separatum it politically was very closely aligned with Federal Republic of Germany despite Berlin's geographic location within East Germany. West Berlin issued its own postage stamps, which were often the same as West German postage stamps but with the additional word "Berlin" added. Airline service to West Berlin was granted only to American, British, and French airlines.

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

The founding of the two German states increased Cold War tensions. West Berlin was surrounded by East German territory and East Germany proclaimed East Berlin (described as "Berlin") as its capital, a move that was not recognized by the western powers. Although only half the size and population of West Berlin, East Berlin included most of the historic center of the city. The West German government, meanwhile, established itself provisionally in Bonn.^[31]

As a result of the political and economical tensions brought on by the Cold War, on 13 August 1961, East Germany began building of the Berlin Wall between East and West Berlin and similar barriers around West Berlin, and events escalated to a tank standoff at Checkpoint Charlie on 27 October 1961. West Berlin was now de facto a part of West Germany with a unique legal status, while East Berlin was de facto a part of East Germany.

Berlin Mitte in the 21st century. Some landmarks from top left to bottom right: Hauptbahnhof (main station), Charité hospital, Berliner Dom, City hall, TV tower at Alexanderplatz, Spree river, East Side Gallery, O2 World.

Berlin was completely divided. Although it was possible for Westerners to pass from one to the other only through strictly controlled checkpoints, for most Easterners, travel to West Berlin or West Germany was no longer possible. In 1971, a Four-Power agreement guaranteed access to and from West Berlin by car or train through East Germany and ended the potential for harassment or closure of the routes.^[32]

In 1989, with the end of the Cold War and pressure from the East German population, the Berlin Wall fell on 9 November 1989 and was subsequently mostly demolished, with little of its physical structure remaining today; the East Side Gallery in Friedrichshain near the Oberbaumbrücke over the Spree preserves a portion of the Wall.^{[citation needed]}

On 3 October 1990, the two parts of Germany were reunified as the Federal Republic of Germany, and Berlin again became the official German capital. In June 1991, the German Parliament, the Bundestag, voted to move the seat of the (West) German capital back from Bonn to Berlin, which was completed in 1999.

Geography[link]

Natural and built environment

View over central Berlin. Unter den Linden in foreground and skyscrapers of Potsdamer Platz up to the right.

Berlin is located in eastern Germany, approximately 60 km (37 mi) west of the Polish border, in an area of low-lying marshy woodlands with a mainly flat topography, part of the vast Northern European Plain which stretches all the way from northern France to western Russia. The Berlin–Warsaw Urstromtal (ice age glacial valley), between the low Barnim Plateau to the north and the Teltow Plateau to the south, was formed by meltwater flowing from ice sheets at the end of the last Weichselian glaciation. The Spree follows this valley now. In Spandau, Berlin's westernmost borough, the Spree empties into the river Havel, which flows from north to south through western Berlin. The course of the Havel is more like a chain of lakes, the largest being the Tegeler See and Großer Wannsee. A series of lakes also feeds into the upper Spree, which flows through the Großer Müggelsee in eastern Berlin.^[33]

Substantial parts of present-day Berlin extend onto the low plateaus on both sides of the Spree Valley. Large parts of the boroughs Reinickendorf and Pankow lie on the Barnim Plateau, while most of the boroughs Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Tempelhof-Schöneberg, and Neukölln lie on the Teltow Plateau.

The borough of Spandau lies partly within the Berlin Glacial Valley and partly on the Nauen Plain, which stretches to the west of Berlin. The highest elevations in Berlin are the Teufelsberg and the Müggelberge in the city's outskirts, and in the centre the Kreuzberg. While the latter measures 66 m (217 ft) above sea level, the former have both an elevation of about 115 m (377 ft). The Teufelsberg is in fact an artificial hill composed of a pile of rubble from the ruins of World War II.

Climate[link]

The outskirts of Berlin are covered with woodlands and numerous lakes

Berlin has a humid continental climate according to the Köppen climate classification system.

Summers are warm and sometimes humid with average high temperatures of 22–25 °C (72–77 °F) and lows of 12–14 °C (54–57 °F). Winters are relatively cold with average high temperatures of 3 °C (37 °F) and lows of -2 to 0 °C (28 to 32 °F). Spring and autumn are generally chilly to mild. Berlin's built-up area creates a microclimate, with heat stored by the city's buildings. Temperatures can be 4 °C (7 °F) higher in the city than in the surrounding areas.^[34]

Annual precipitation is 570 millimeters (22 in) with moderate rainfall throughout the year. Light snowfall mainly occurs from December through March, but snow cover does not usually remain for long. The recent winter of 2009/2010 was an exception as there was a permanent snow cover from late December till early March.^[35]

Cityscape[link]

Berlin along the Spree river and the Fernsehturm by night

Berlin's history has left the city with a highly eclectic array of architecture and buildings. The city's appearance today is predominantly shaped by the key role it played in Germany's history in the 20th century. Each of the national governments based in Berlin—the 1871 German Empire, the Weimar Republic, Nazi Germany, East Germany, and now the reunified Germany—initiated ambitious (re-) construction programs, with each adding its own distinctive style to the city's architecture. Berlin was devastated by bombing raids during World War II, and many of the buildings that had remained after the war were demolished in the 1950s and 1960s in both West and East Berlin. Much of this demolition was initiated by municipal architecture programs to build new residential or business quarters and main roads.

The eastern parts of Berlin have many Plattenbauten, reminders of Eastern Bloc ambitions to create complete residential areas that had fixed ratios of shops, kindergartens and schools to the number of inhabitants.

Architecture[link]

The Neue Nationalgalerie by Mies van der Rohe

See also: List of tallest buildings in Berlin

The Fernsehturm (TV tower) at Alexanderplatz in Mitte is among the tallest structures in the European Union at 368 meters (1,207 ft). Built in 1969, it is visible throughout most of the central districts of Berlin. The city can be viewed from its 204 m (669 ft) high observation floor. Starting here the Karl-Marx-Allee heads east, an avenue lined by monumental residential buildings, designed in the Socialist Classicism Style of the Joseph Stalin era. Adjacent to this area is the Rotes Rathaus (City Hall), with its distinctive red-brick architecture. In front of it is the Neptunbrunnen, a fountain featuring a mythological group of Tritons, personifications of the four main Prussian rivers and Neptune on top of it.

The Brandenburg Gate.

The East Side Gallery is an open-air exhibition of art painted directly on the last existing portions of the Berlin Wall. It is the largest remaining evidence of the city's historical division. It has recently undergone a restoration.

The Brandenburg Gate is an iconic landmark of Berlin and Germany. It also appears on German euro coins (10 cent, 20 cent, and 50 cent). The Reichstag building is the traditional seat of the German Parliament, renovated in the 1950s after severe World War II damage. The building was again remodeled by British architect Norman Foster in the 1990s and features a glass dome over the session area, which allows free public access to the parliamentary proceedings and magnificent views of the city.

Potsdamer Platz at night.

The Gendarmenmarkt, a neoclassical square in Berlin whose name dates back to the quarters of the famous Gens d'armes regiment located here in the 18th century, is bordered by two similarly designed cathedrals, the Französischer Dom with its observation platform and the Deutscher Dom. The Konzerthaus (Concert Hall), home of the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, stands between the two cathedrals.

The Museum Island in the River Spree houses five museums build from 1830 to 1930 and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Restoration and the construction of a main entrance to all museums, as well as the reconstruction of the Stadtschloss on the same island^[38] is costing over 2 billion Euros since reunification.^[39] Also located on the island and adjacent to the Lustgarten and palace is Berlin Cathedral, emperor William II's ambitious attempt to create a Protestant counterpart to St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. A large crypt houses the remains of some of the earlier Prussian royal family. The church is now owned by the Protestant umbrella Union of Evangelical Churches (UEK). Like many other buildings, it suffered extensive damage during the Second World War and had to be restored. Berlin's best preserved medieval Church of St. Mary's is the 1^st preaching venue – Memorial Church being the 2^nd – of the Bishop of the Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia (EKBO), a Protestant regional church body. St. Hedwig's Cathedral is Berlin's Roman Catholic cathedral.

Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church is the 2^nd preaching venue of the Bishop of the Regional Protestant Church (EKBO).

Unter den Linden is a tree lined east-west avenue from the Brandenburg Gate to the site of the former Berliner Stadtschloss, and was once Berlin's premier promenade. Many Classical buildings line the street and part of Humboldt University is located there. Friedrichstraße was Berlin's legendary street during the Roaring Twenties. It combines 20th century traditions with the modern architecture of today's Berlin.

Potsdamer Platz is an entire quarter built from scratch after 1995 after the Wall came down.^[40] To the west of Potsdamer Platz is the Kulturforum, which houses the Gemäldegalerie, and is flanked by the Neue Nationalgalerie and the Berliner Philharmonie. The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, a Holocaust memorial, is situated to the north.^[41]

The area around Hackescher Markt is home to the fashionable culture, with countless clothing outlets, clubs, bars, and galleries. This includes the Hackesche Höfe, a conglomeration of buildings around several courtyards, reconstructed around 1996. Oranienburger Straße and the nearby New Synagogue were the center of Jewish culture before 1933. Although the New Synagogue is still an anchor for Jewish history and culture, Oranienburger straße and surrounding areas are increasingly known for the shopping and nightlife.

Schloss Charlottenburg is the largest existing palace in Berlin.

The Straße des 17. Juni, connecting the Brandenburg Gate and Ernst-Reuter-Platz, serves as central East-West-Axis. Its name commemorates the uprisings in East Berlin of 17 June 1953. Approximately half-way from the Brandenburg Gate is the Großer Stern, a circular traffic island on which the Siegessäule (Victory Column) is situated. This monument, built to commemorate Prussia's victories, was relocated 1938–39 from its previous position in front of the Reichstag.

The Kurfürstendamm is home to some of Berlin's luxurious stores with the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church at its eastern end on Breitscheidplatz. The church was destroyed in the Second World War and left in ruins. Nearby on Tauentzienstraße is KaDeWe, claimed to be continental Europe's largest department store. The Rathaus Schöneberg, where John F. Kennedy made his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner!" speech, is situated in Tempelhof-Schöneberg.

West of the center, Schloss Bellevue is the residence of the German President. Schloss Charlottenburg, which was burnt out in the Second World War and largely destroyed, has been rebuilt and is the largest surviving historical palace in Berlin.

The Funkturm Berlin is a 150 m (490 ft) tall lattice radio tower at the fair area, built between 1924 and 1926. It is the only observation tower which stands on insulators, and has a restaurant 55 m (180 ft) and an observation deck 126 m (413 ft) above ground, which is reachable by a windowed elevator.

Politics[link]

The Reichstag is the seat of the German parliament.

Berlin is the capital of the Federal Republic of Germany. The President of Germany, whose functions are mainly ceremonial under the German constitution, has his official residence in Schloss Bellevue.^[42] Berlin is the seat of the German executive, housed in the Chancellery, the Bundeskanzleramt.

Facing the Chancellery is the Bundestag, the German Parliament, housed in the renovated Reichstag building since the government moved back to Berlin in 1998. The Bundesrat ("federal council", performing the function of an upper house) is the representation of the Federal States (Bundesländer) of Germany and has its seat at the former Prussian House of Lords. Though most of the ministries are seated in Berlin, some of them, as well as some minor departments, are seated in Bonn, the former capital of West Germany. Discussions to move the remaining branches continue.^[43]

City state[link]

Mayor since 2001, Klaus Wowereit

The city and state parliament is the House of Representatives (Abgeordnetenhaus), which currently has 141 seats. Berlin's executive body is the Senate of Berlin (Senat von Berlin). The Senate of Berlin consists of the Governing Mayor (Regierender Bürgermeister) and up to eight senators holding ministerial positions, one of them holding the official title "Mayor" (Bürgermeister) as deputy to the Governing Mayor. The Social Democratic Party (SPD) and The Left (Die Linke) took control of the city government after the 2001 state election and won another term in the 2006 state election.^[44] After the 2011 state election, there is a coalition of the Social Democratic Party with the Christian Democratic Union, and for the first time ever, the Pirate Party won seats in a state parliament in Germany.

The Governing Mayor is simultaneously Lord Mayor of the city (Oberbürgermeister der Stadt) and Prime Minister of the Federal State (Ministerpräsident des Bundeslandes). The office of Berlin's Governing Mayor is in the Rotes Rathaus (Red City Hall). Since 2001 this office has been held by Klaus Wowereit of the SPD.^[45]

The total annual state budget of Berlin in 2007 exceeded €20.5 ($28.7) billion including a budget surplus of €80 ($112) million. The figures indicate the first surplus in the history of the city state.^[46] Due to increasing growth rates and tax revenues, the Senate of Berlin calculates an increasing budget surplus in 2008. The total budget includes an estimated amount of €5.5 ($7.7) bn, which is directly financed by either the German government or the German Bundesländer.^[47] Mainly due to reunification-related expenditures, Berlin as a German state has accumulated more debt than any other city in Germany, with the most current estimate being €60 ($84)bn in December 2007.^[48] In 2011, the very high level of public sector debt prompted the Stabilitätsrat von Bund und Ländern (Council for Fiscal Stability of the Federal and Local States) to declare a possible fiscal emergency for the city.^[49]

Since German reunification on 3 October 1990, Berlin has been one of the three city states, together with Hamburg and Bremen, among the present 16 states of Germany.

Boroughs[link]

Map of Berlin's twelve boroughs and their localities.

Berlin is subdivided into twelve boroughs (Bezirke), down from 23 boroughs before Berlin's 2001 administrative reform. Each borough contains a number of localities (Ortsteile), which often have historic roots in older municipalities that predate the formation of Greater Berlin on 1 October 1920 and became urbanized and incorporated into the city. Many residents strongly identify with their localities or boroughs. At present Berlin consists of 95 localities, which are commonly made up of several city neighborhoods—called Kiez in the Berlin dialect—representing small residential areas.

Each borough is governed by a borough council (Bezirksamt) consisting of five councilors (Bezirksstadträte) and a borough mayor (Bezirksbürgermeister). The borough council is elected by the borough assembly (Bezirksverordnetenversammlung). The boroughs of Berlin are not independent municipalities, however. The power of borough governments is limited and subordinate to the Senate of Berlin. The borough mayors form the council of mayors (Rat der Bürgermeister), led by the city's governing mayor, which advises the senate.

The localities have no local government bodies, and the administrative duties of the former locality representative, the Ortsvorsteher, were taken over by the borough mayors.

Sister cities[link]

Berlin maintains official partnerships with 17 cities.^[50] Town twinning between Berlin and other cities began with Los Angeles in 1967. East Berlin's partnerships were canceled at the time of German reunification and later partially reestablished. West Berlin's partnerships had previously been restricted to the borough level. During the Cold War era, the partnerships had reflected the different power blocs, with West Berlin partnering with capitals in the West, and East Berlin mostly partnering with cities from the Warsaw Pact and its allies.

There are several joint projects with many other cities, such as Belgrade, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Johannesburg, Shanghai, Seoul, Sofia, Sydney, and Vienna. Berlin participates in international city associations such as the Union of the Capitals of the European Union, Eurocities, Network of European Cities of Culture, Metropolis, Summit Conference of the World's Major Cities, Conference of the World's Capital Cities. Berlin's official sister cities are:^[50]

Economy[link]

The economy of Berlin is dominated by the service sector. The ICC is part of the city's exhibition and congress center.

In 2009, the nominal GDP of the citystate Berlin experienced a growth rate of 1.7% (−3.5% in Germany) and totaled €90.1 (~$117) billion.^[52] Berlin's economy is dominated by the service sector, with around 80% of all companies doing business in services. The unemployment rate reached a 15-year low in September 2011 and stood at 12.7% (German average: 6.6%).^[53]

Fast-growing economic sectors in Berlin include communications, life sciences, and transportation,^{[citation needed]} particularly services that use information and communication technologies, as well as media and music, advertising and design, biotechnology, environmental services, and medical engineering.^{[54][not in citation given]}

The Science and Business Park of Berlin-Adlershof is among the 15 largest technology parks worldwide. Research and development have high economic significance for the city, and the Berlin–Brandenburg region ranks among the top-three innovative regions in the EU.^[55]

2007 EUROSTAT[56]	Area		Population	Nominal GDP in billion	Nominal GDP per capita
Berlin	892 km2	344 sq mi	3,420,000	€ 85 / ~$110	€ 24,900 / ~$32,370
Germany	357,050 km2	137,858 sq mi	82,000,000	€ 2,482 / ~$3,227	€ 29,500 / ~$38,350
EU27	4,325,675 km2	1,670,152 sq mi	498,000,000	€ 12,363 / ~$16,072	€ 24,900 / ~$32,370