Berlin – Schoneberg
So is Kreuzberg, Schoneberg was once a separate suburb, absorbed by Greater Berlin during the city's expansion at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. It was completely destroyed during the war, and currently it is primarily a residential area of the middle classes, extending south of Tiergarten sandwiched between Kreuzberg in the east and Wilmersdorf in the west. There is little to see here, but what is fascinating and moving.
On the north, right on Tiergarten, Reichpietsch Ufer stretches along the tree-shaded banks of the Landwehrkanal to the west of the Neue Nationalgalerie. The Stauffenbergstrasse departing to the right of Ufer owes its name to the organizers of the attack on Hitler, who came closest to achieving success. Claus Graf Schenk von Strauffenberg, reserve army chief of staff, which once had its seat on this street, 20 July 1944 he organized a bomb attack. During the conference in Rastenburg, Hitler's headquarters near Kętrzyn, von Stauffenberg put the suitcase full of explosives no more than four meters from the fiihrer, He sneaked out of the meeting and returned to Berlin, where, together with his associates, he established contacts with high-ranking officers with anti-Nazi views. By some strange coincidence, Hitler recovered without the slightest detriment, and von Stauffenberg and his associates were soon arrested, and shot in the headquarters yard. All over Berlin, people in any way related to the attack were arrested and many died in Plotzensee prison.
Today in the building where he worked, and later von Stauffenberg died, houses a permanent exhibition entitled: Resistance against National Socialism (Stauffenbergstr. 14; pn.-pt. 9.00-18.00, under. i nd. 9.00-13.00; Free entrance; bus #29), a well-organized collection of photographs and documents depicting the fate of a surprisingly numerous organizations against the Third Reich. This exhibition is rarely advertised among tourists and explanations are not translated into other languages, but if someone is interested in a time of war, will be satisfied.
The south-leading Potsdamer Strasse soon transforms into a wide, littered avenue full of Turkish cafes, restaurants and wholesalers, with a Turkish bazaar, located at the old U-Bahn station, where Taiwanese trash is traded. A little further south is Kleist Park, in front of which stands Koningskolonnaden, colonnade of 1780 year (in the summer 7.00-16.00), giving this place a certain splendor: on a foggy morning you might be under the illusion that you are in Paris. The building behind the park once housed the Supreme Court, where the Nazi show trials of political opponents were held under the leadership of the infamous judge Freisler.
It is worthwhile to deviate from Potsdamer Strasse towards the west on the Nollen-dorf Platz, for some unusual attractions. flea market (Wed-Mon. 11.00-19.00) on the west side it is one of the best in the city; trades from old wagons at a disused U-Bahn station, and yet, that there are more authentic antiques, than trash prices are usually reasonable. The atmosphere is additionally livened up by a nearby bar with jazz music. The Metropol disco is located right next to Nollen-dorfplatz (details see p. 105), where you can see the first fruits of art deco.
From Schóneberga, especially around Winterfeldplatz, worth dropping by in the evening, to eat something, or drink it; here it also smells bohemian, but it is much quieter and much more homely than at Savignyplatz and less dingy than in SO 36.
Schoneberg's biggest attraction offers the least to watch: town hall on Martin-Luther-Strasse, near the last U-Bahn station of the line #4, was built just before the First World War, and on the other, it became the seat of the Parliament and Senate of West Berlin. In front of this building, John F.. Kennedy gave his famous speech on political developments on the "Cold War" front months after the Cuban nuclear crisis:
Many people in the world do not understand, or claims, that he does not understand the game between the free world and the communist world. Let them come to Berlin. There are people like that, who claim, that communism is the future of the world. Let them come to Berlin. There are also those, who claim, that you can cooperate with communists in Europe and beyond. Let them come to Berlin. There are also such, who claim, that admittedly communism is a bad system, but it makes economic progress possible. Let them come to Berlin. Let them come to Berlin… All free people, wherever they live, are Berliners, that's why, as a free man, I am proud to say these words: I am a Berliner.
While uttering these touching words, the president did not realize, that when reading the phonetically written text, he actually said: "I am a marmalade donut", because Berliner is the local name for donuts. This subtext has become so famous, that you can buy plastic donuts with those historic words. On the day of President Kennedy's assassination, a square in front of the city hall was named after him, a move that was probably the result of the efforts of Berlin students, among which the president was very popular.
If you have enough time and interest, you can climb the town hall tower and see the replica of the Liberty Bell, donated to the city of 1950 year by the United States, but a walk around the small Volkspark will be much more pleasant and certainly not so tiring, which extends westwards.