History

The city history of Berlin goes back to the end of the 13th century. The settlements of both Berlin and Cölln, which were first mentioned in 1230, had already gained city rights in 1251 and 1261, respectively. In 1307, Berlin and Cölln formed a union. Each city retained its own rights, but in matters of security and politics, they acted jointly. In 1338, the signet of the Berlin Bear was first utilised on an official document. In 1701, Berlin gained the status of being the capital of Prussia with the crowning of Frederick I as king.

Finally in 1710, the cities of Berlin , Cölln, Friedrichswerder, Dorotheenstadt, and Friedrichstadt were united as the “Royal Capital and Residence of Berlin.” The name Berlin is most likely of Slavic heritage and stands for “swampy, wet terrain,” which can be explained by the lake areas around the Spree River.

Following the end of World War I in 1918, the Republic of Germany was proclaimed in Berlin . In 1920, the Greater Berlin Act called for a comprehensive consolidation of several cities, rural communities, and private estates into a greater Berlin , making it a city with a population of about four million inhabitants.

When the National Socialists seized power in 1933, Berlin became the capital of the Third Reich. During the war, large parts of the city were destroyed. In 1945, the Red Army took over the city and the NS regime capitulated, and Berlin was divided into four sectors, analogue to the regulation for all of Germany . The sectors of the Western Allies ( USA , Great Britain , and France) formed the western part of the city, while the eastern sector was occupied by the Soviet Union. Nonetheless, the entire city remained in joint Allied control. The increasing political differences between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union led to an economic blockade of West Berlin in 1948/49, which the Allies successfully undermined with the so-called airlift.

Following the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in West Germany and the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in East Germany in 1949, the Cold War intensified in Berlin , as well. While West Germany relocated its capital to Bonn , the GDR assigned East Berlin as its capital. The East-West conflict climaxed with the building of the Berlin Wall through the GDR on August 13, 1961 . West Berlin was de facto part of the Federal Republic–however, with a special status - and East Berlin was part of the GDR. The Wall divided the city into two hermetically separated parts. West Germans were only allowed to cross into East Berlin at certain checkpoints, while the citizens of the GDR and East Berlin were no longer allowed to cross the border at all.

In 1989, following demonstrations by the East German masses calling for freedom of travel and the prolonged exodus of East Germans to the West, Communism collapsed in the GDR. The Wall “collapsed” the night of November 9, 1989 . By October 3, 1990 , both German states were already reunited as the Federal Republic of Germany, and as part of the reunification treaty, Berlin became the capital of Germany . In 1991, with the Capital Resolution, the Bundestag designated that Berlin was to once again become the seat of the federal government. On September 1, 1999 , the government and parliament took up their work in Berlin.

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