Berlin

This article is about the capital city of Germany. For other uses, see Berlin (disambiguation).

Berlin
Capital city, state and municipality
Tiergarten and Mitte skyline
Spree river, Museum Island, Berlin TV Tower and Berlin Palace in Mitte
Victory Column
Victory Column
Charlottenburg Palace
Charlottenburg Palace
Rotes Rathaus
Rotes Rathaus
Brandenburg Gate
Brandenburg Gate
Reichstag
Reichstag
Berlin Cathedral
Berlin Cathedral
Potsdam Square
Potsdam Square
Flag of Berlin
Flag
Coat of arms of Berlin
Coat of arms
Nicknames: 
Grey City[1]
"Spreeathen", or Athens on the Spree River[2]
Map
Map
Berlin highlighted in Germany
Berlin highlighted in Germany
Coordinates: 52°31′12″N 13°24′18″E / 52.52000°N 13.40500°E / 52.52000; 13.40500
CountryGermany
StateBerlin
Government
 • BodyAbgeordnetenhaus of Berlin
 • Governing MayorKai Wegner (CDU)
 • Bundesrat votes4 (of 69)
 • Bundestag seats29 (of 736)
Area
[3]
 • City/State891.3 km2 (344.1 sq mi)
 • Urban
3,743 km2 (1,445 sq mi)
 • Metro
30,546 km2 (11,794 sq mi)
Elevation
34 m (112 ft)
Population
 (2023-12-31)[4]
 • City/State3,878,100
 • Rank5th in Europe
1st in Germany
 • Density4,213/km2 (10,910/sq mi)
 • Urban
[5]
4,768,142
 • Urban density1,274/km2 (3,300/sq mi)
 • Metro
[6]
6,144,600
 • Metro density201/km2 (520/sq mi)
DemonymsBerliner(s) (English)
Berliner (m), Berlinerin (f) (German)
GDP
[7][8]
 • City/State€193.219 billion (2023)
 • Metro€290.696 billion (2023)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Area codes030
GeocodeNUTS Region: DE3
ISO 3166 codeDE-BE
Vehicle registrationB
GeoTLD.berlin
HDI (2021)0.959[9]
very high · 2nd of 16
Websiteberlin.de

Berlin (/bɜːrˈlɪn/ bur-LIN, German: [bɛʁˈliːn] ⓘ)[10] is the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and by population.[11] Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants[12] make it the European Union's most populous city, as measured by population within city limits.[13] The city is also one of the states of Germany, and is the third smallest state in the country in terms of area. Berlin is surrounded by the state of Brandenburg, and Brandenburg's capital Potsdam is nearby. The urban area of Berlin has a population of over 4.5 million and is therefore the most populous urban area in Germany.[5][14] The Berlin-Brandenburg capital region has around 6.2 million inhabitants and is Germany's second-largest metropolitan region after the Rhine-Ruhr region, and the sixth-biggest metropolitan region by GDP in the European Union.[15]

Berlin was built along the banks of the Spree river, which flows into the Havel in the western borough of Spandau. The city incorporates lakes in the western and southeastern boroughs, the largest of which is Müggelsee. About one-third of the city's area is composed of forests, parks and gardens, rivers, canals, and lakes.[16]

First documented in the 13th century[10] and at the crossing of two important historic trade routes,[17] Berlin was designated the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1417–1701), Kingdom of Prussia (1701–1918), German Empire (1871–1918), Weimar Republic (1919–1933), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). Berlin served as a scientific, artistic, and philosophical hub during the Age of Enlightenment, Neoclassicism, and the German revolutions of 1848–1849. During the Gründerzeit, an industrialization-induced economic boom triggered a rapid population increase in Berlin. 1920s Berlin was the third-largest city in the world by population.[18]

After World War II and following Berlin's occupation, the city was split into West Berlin and East Berlin, divided by the Berlin Wall.[19] East Berlin was declared the capital of East Germany, while Bonn became the West German capital. Following German reunification in 1990, Berlin once again became the capital of all of Germany. Due to its geographic location and history, Berlin has been called "the heart of Europe".[20][21][22]

The economy of Berlin is based on high tech and the service sector, encompassing a diverse range of creative industries, startup companies, research facilities, and media corporations.[23][24] Berlin serves as a continental hub for air and rail traffic and has a complex public transportation network. Tourism in Berlin makes the city a popular global destination.[25] Significant industries include information technology, the healthcare industry, biomedical engineering, biotechnology, the automotive industry, and electronics.

Berlin is home to several universities such as the Humboldt University of Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, the Berlin University of the Arts and the Free University of Berlin. The Berlin Zoological Garden is the most visited zoo in Europe. Babelsberg Studio is the world's first large-scale movie studio complex and the list of films set in Berlin is long.[26]

Berlin is also home to three World Heritage Sites: Museum Island, the Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin, and the Berlin Modernism Housing Estates.[27] Other landmarks include the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag building, Potsdamer Platz, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, and the Berlin Wall Memorial. Berlin has numerous museums, galleries, and libraries.

  1. ^ "Nicknames For Berlin (Popular, Cute, Funny & Unique)". LetsLearnSlang.com. 14 May 2023. Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  2. ^ "Gilly & Schinkel and Athens on the Spree: Berlin Architecture 1790–1840 with Barry Bergdoll". Institute of Classical Architecture & Art. 1 September 2020. Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  3. ^ "Amt für Statistik Berlin Brandenburg – Statistiken". Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg (in German). Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  4. ^ "Einwohnerinnen und Einwohner im Land Berlin am 31. Dezember 2023". Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg. February 2024.
  5. ^ a b citypopulation.de quoting Federal Statistics Office. "Germany: Urban Areas". Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  6. ^ "Bevölkerungsanstieg in Berlin und Brandenburg mit nachlassender Dynamik" (PDF). statistik-berlin-brandenburg.de. Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg. 8 February 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  7. ^ "Bruttoinlandsprodukt, Bruttowertschöpfung | Statistikportal.de". Statistische Ämter des Bundes und der Länder | Gemeinsames Statistikportal (in German). Archived from the original on 25 September 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  8. ^ "Gross domestic product (GDP) at current market prices by metropolitan regions". ec.europa.eu. Archived from the original on 15 February 2023.
  9. ^ "Sub-national HDI – Area Database – Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Archived from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  10. ^ a b Kleiner, Stefan; Knöbl, Ralf; Mangold, Max (2015). Das Aussprachewörterbuch (7th ed.). Duden. p. 229. ISBN 9783411040674.
  11. ^ Milbradt, Friederike (6 February 2019). "Deutschland: Die größten Städte" (in German). Die Zeit (Magazin). Archived from the original on 13 February 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  12. ^ "75 329 mehr Berlinerinnen und Berliner als Ende 2021". www.statistik-berlin-brandenburg.de (in German). Archived from the original on 10 June 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  13. ^ "Amt für Statistik Berlin Brandenburg – Bevölkerung". Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg (in German). Archived from the original on 18 November 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  14. ^ "Einwohnerzahlen deutscher Metropolregionen 2022". Statista (in German). Archived from the original on 19 August 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  15. ^ "Daten und Fakten zur Hauptstadtregion". www.berlin-brandenburg.de. 4 October 2016. Archived from the original on 21 March 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  16. ^ Senatsverwaltung für Umwelt, Verkehr und Klimaschutz Berlin, Referat Freiraumplanung und Stadtgrün. "Anteil öffentlicher Grünflächen in Berlin" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  17. ^ "Niederlagsrecht" [Settlement rights] (in German). Verein für die Geschichte Berlins. August 2004. Archived from the original on 22 November 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  18. ^ "Topographies of Class: Modern Architecture and Mass Society in Weimar Berlin (Social History, Popular Culture and Politics in Germany)". www.h-net.org. September 2009. Archived from the original on 6 July 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2009.
  19. ^ "Berlin Wall". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 30 June 2008. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
  20. ^ "The World from Berlin: The Heart of Europe". Der Spiegel. 28 December 2006.
  21. ^ "Discovering Berlin: A City in the Heart of Europe". 7 March 2024.
  22. ^ Halliday, Fred (19 May 2005). "Berlin, heart of Europe". openDemocracy.
  23. ^ "ICCA publishes top 20 country and city rankings 2007". ICCA. Archived from the original on 22 September 2008. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
  24. ^ "Berlin City of Design" (Press release). UNESCO. 2005. Archived from the original on 16 August 2008. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
  25. ^ "Berlin Beats Rome as Tourist Attraction as Hordes Descend". Bloomberg L.P. 4 September 2014. Archived from the original on 11 September 2014. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  26. ^ "Hollywood Helps Revive Berlin's Former Movie Glory". Deutsche Welle. 9 August 2008. Archived from the original on 13 August 2008. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
  27. ^ "World Heritage Site Museumsinsel". UNESCO. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.