Note : The last three points are on Germany as a whole country rather than the city of Berlin on its own.
Culture in Berlin
Berlin is one of Europe's key cities when it comes to culture. The city is home to a number of world leading culture and art centres and it also hosts many international cultural events such as film festivals and concerts. Some of the cultural treats for Berlin's visitors include museums, theatres, stages and opera houses.
Museum Visits
One of the key museums in Berlin is called Museumsinsel (which will be featured under 'What is Berlin known for...' Other important museums include Dokumentationszentrum Berliner Mauer which is a permanent exhibition based on the history of the Berlin Wall. Secondly, Martin-Gropius-Bau which was named after the architect who designed the building. The place is one of Germany's leading exhibition halls, with programmes that includes changing exhibition, lecture and film screenings.
Opera, Theatre and Cinema
Deutsches Theatre was founded by Adolf L' Arronge in 1883. The place has the longest state tradition in Berlin and it has the top rated ensemble of actors. It has two adjoining stages that share a common, classical facade.
The 2009/10 Season at the Berliner Philharmoniker's Digital Concert Hall
Philharmonie, the home of Germany's most well-known ensemble: the Berliner Philharmonische Orchester also known as the Berliner Philharmoniker.
Deutsche Oper Berlin, opened in 1961as Berlin's largest opera house, has a fantastic design of a 1,900- seat auditorium which allows the audience to have a good view of the stage.
Kino in den Hackeschen Höfen which is at the forth floor of the Hackesche Höfe has one of the Berlin's most attractive cinemas. Premieres, festivals and special screenings are held here regularly.
Berlin // Berlin Airports. - Berlin : [s.n.], 2010.
Berliner Philharmoniker: Berliner Philharmoniker [Online] // Berliner- Philharmoniker. - 2010. - December 8, 2010. - http://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/en/.
Traditions in Berlin
The longest lasting tradition in Berlin is graphic art. The graphic design scene has prosper well throughout the years. There is a great variety of independent designers, illustrators,typographers, graphic artists, comic-strip artists who have contributed well in the industry. Events such as Pictoplasma, Typo and Illustrative have reputable status amongst the international graphic design scene.
TYPO Berlin 2010
One of other Germany's favourite traditions is carnivals which is usually held from late February to early March. The annual Berlin Carnival Parade brings colours, music and dancing on the streets. The characters are dressed in traditional costumes such as witches, clowns, Narren (jesters) and so much more.
The carnival is meant for people of all ages and it is guaranteed to brighten up the city. The parade starts at Ernst-Reuterplatz, heads down Hardenbergstrasse, and ends on Berlin's famous shopping street, Kudaam.
Germany is also well known for its handmade and hand-painted porcelains. The oldest producer Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Berlin in short KPM has a special status worldwide due to its high quality and great diversity of its paintings and décors. It also has a rich tradition going all the way back approximately 245 years.
Porcelains or Porzellan in German has been a trendsetter since 244 years ago and it is considered a timeless product. Visitors of Berlin should remember their trip to the city by purchasing one of these unique Berlin Motifs at KPM.
References
Berlin Carnival Parade [Online] // What's On When. - 2010. - December 6, 2010. - http://www.whatsonwhen.com/sisp/index.htm?fx=event&event_id=102078.
Karnevals Zug Berlin [Online] // Karnevals Zug Berlin E.V. - 2010. - December 6, 2010. - http://www.karnevals-zug-berlin.de/.
KPM - Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Berlin [Online] // KPM- Berlin. - 2010. - December 6, 2010. - http://en.kpm-berlin.com/default.aspx. Tradition, Art and Business [Online] // Berlin Square. - April 23, 2010. - December 6, 2010. - http://berlinsquare2010.de/134/tradition-art-and-business-berlin-graphic-design
Berliners - Indigeneous Groups
'Ich bin ein Berliner' (I am a Berliner), 3.4 million people might declare so. 13.6% of them are foreigners meaning that they do not have a German citizenship. These people are made up of some 184 nationalities.
Due to its relatively easy naturalization immigrants with 'German blood' who are the late settlers also known as Spautaussiedler, several German citizenship also has a immigrant past. They are mainly from Poland, Soviet Union and Romania.
Approximately 7.2% - 8.4% of Berliners are of Turkish descents including people who has partially Turkish ancestry. These 350,000 - 400,000 citizens originated from the former Yugoslavia and the Poles.
51,000 ex-Yugoslavs also make up the total number of foreigners in Berlin. Those people come from Bosnia, Croatia, Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia and Herzegovina.
The third largest group of foreigners in Berlin are the Poles (Poland citizens). It is even larger if we include the number of Poles with German ancestry who have been naturalized as German citizens.
Finally, some 12,000 Vietnamese can be found in the city. Other nationalities include, Italians, French, Americans, Greek, People's Republic of China and Russians. Most Germans in Berlin were not born and bred locally, therefore a wide range of accents and dialects are spoken in Berlin.
References:
Culture Shock! : A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette - Berlin [Book] / auth. Saschsenroeder Agnes. - Singapore : Times Publishing Limited, 2009.
Ethnic Groups and Communities , Berlin[Online] // Earth.org. - Creative Commons, 2010. - December 6, 2010. - http://www.earth.org/travel-guide/Berlin/ethnic-groups-communities.
Languages
German is the most commonly spoken language in Berlin however, High German (Hochdeutsch) which originated in Saxon times is the official language.
High German is the variety of German conversed in southern (Bavaria) and central Germany (Frankfurt), Switzerland and Austria. Other locations where Hochdeutsch is spoken includes European countries such as Poland,Italy, Belgium and France. "High" in this case does not mean superiority as many people would think but it actually refers to the ground elevation areas in Germany where it is spoken.
Low German is spoken in northern part of Germany in cities such as Hamburg and Bremen and in the Netherlands.
The red line divides Low German and Middle German The blue line divides Middle German and High German.
A small number of Berliners speak pure Berlinerisch which is a regional dialect which comes from a Mark Brandenburgish variant. This dialect does not sound like German at all and foreigners need not learn this language and it is good enough that you know that it exists.
Example of Berlinerisch :
Jutn Tach ('Good day' similar to 'Guten Tag' in German)
Pronunciation of letters 'G' is replaced by the German 'J'
Most locals below the age of 40 are able to converse in English but the level of fluency varies on each individual. People there speak English with the influenced of British accent as how they were taught in schools in Germany. Besides English, basic Frenchand Russian is partly spoken in Berlin because French is being taught in schools in West Berlin while Russian in the East.
Lastly, there are approximately 400,000 Turkish originated people living in Berlin in the Kruezberg district. Therefore, the Turkish language is also one of the main spoken languages in Berlin. Other languages heard in Berlin includes Spanish, Italian and Portuguese.
References:
Culture Shock! : A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette - Berlin [Book] / auth. Saschsenroeder Agnes. - Singapore : Times Publishing Limited, 2009.
Varieties of German [Online] // Deutsch-Lernen. - December 5, 2010. - http://www.deutsch-lernen.com/learn-german-online/german_language.htm.
What is High German? [Online] // Wise Geek. - December 6, 2010. - http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-high-german.htm.
Education
Berlin's public school system is similar throughout the rest of Germany. The state (Länder) is responsible for financing 12 years of compulsory education. Kindergarten and nursery education is optional for children between the age of three to six after which, students are to attend primary /elementary school (Grundschule).
Hauptschule offers lower secondary school education and usually finishes when the student is about 15 or 16 years old. Students who attend Hauptaschule are less likely to go to a university later on and the lessons conducted in such schools are at a slower pace though the subjects are similar as the Realschule and Gymnasium. Subjects include physics/chemistry, biology, geography history, religion (or a substitute subject), music, art, sport, language, politics and "introduction to the world of work" which is not offered in Gymnasium.
Realschule offers extended education where a student is required to learn one foreign language. It emphasizes on a rather practical curriculum which includes the use of chemistry laboratories and workshops for wood and glass.
Lastly, Gymnasium prepares students for a university education, for those who wants to undergo an advanced acadaemic study route. They are required to learn 2 foreign languages (English and French or Latin) and Ancient Greek in addition of what students at Hauptaschule have to study.
Students who graduated from Hauptaschule and Realschule will then take up a 2 or 3 year apprenticeship taught in a system also known as 'dual education' where students learn part time at a Berufsschule (vocational school) while they undergo on-the-job training at the same.
Berlin is home to about 145,000 students learning at four arts colleges, nine technical colleges and 3 universities. The biggest schools are the Freie Universität with 48,000 students, Technische Universität with 35,000 students andHumboldt Universität with 29,000 students.
German School System [Online] // How to Germany. - Chuck Emerson Media Services, 2010. - December 6, 2010. - http://www.howtogermany.com/pages/germanschools.html.
Various Leisure Programmes
Berlin is a cosmopolitan, exciting capital, a city of culture with international appeal. The place is bound to attract cinema enthusiasts, music lovers and cultural and heritage suiter.
Berlin International Film Festival also known as Berlinale is one of the top film festivals.The event attracts stars, directors, journalists and critics from worldwide. About 400 films are being screened in two weeks at theaters in Berlin.
It is held back to back with the Internationales Forum des Jungen Films which features fantastic low-budget movies in the Palais Podewils (a Baroque palace)and also the Berliner Rosenmontagskonzerte (series of classical musical concerts).
The Berlinale is separated in parts, where each section has its own unique characteristics. For example, there are big intertational movies in the Competition, independent and art-house productions in Panorama, movies for young views in the Generation section. Lastly, German cinema productions in Perspektive Deutsches Kino.
Some films featured in this year's Berlinale includes:
Museum Island better known in Germany as Museumsinsel is the name of the northern half of an island in the Spree river in the central Mitte district of Berlin.
It is names as such because it has five internationally renowned museums; Altes Museum (old museum) completed in the year 1830, Neues Museum (new museum) finished in 1859 but destroyed during the World War II and rebuilt and then reopened in 2009, Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery) completed in 1876 and is home to a collection of 19th century art donated by Joachim H.W. Wagener. On the island's northern tip, there is the Bode Museum which was then called Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum which exhibits the sculpture recollections and late Antique and Byzantine art. Lastly, the Pergamom Museum constructed in 1930 which has multiple reconstructed and historically significant buildings such as the Pergamon Altar and the Ishtar Gate of Babylon.
The Museumsinsel was awarded with an UNESCO World Heritage Status in 1999.
Berlin Festival will appeal to concert-goers all over Europe and beyond. This year it was held at the Tempelhof Airport and had some 20,000 people attending the event. The lineup includes German's legendary Mobile Disko and other international artists such as Editors, Fever Ray, LCD Soundsystem, Peaches and many more. Click here to know about this annual music event.
Bricks and Mortar by Editors (Live at the Berlin Festival)
Other popular music events in Berlin includes the Love Parade but it has been permanently cancelled due to the injuries and deaths that occurred in this year's event. (Read more here)
Berlin Festival 2010 [Online] // Berlin Festival. - 2010. - December 8, 2010. - http://www.berlinfestival.de/?lang=en. Internationale Filmfestspiele[Online] // Berlinale. - December 7, 2010. - http://www.berlinale.de/en/HomePage.html
Berlin is famous for ...
The Berlin Wall better known in Germany as Berliner Mauer was the physical barrier between East and West Germany. It was built in the middle of the night on the 13 August 1961 due to political tensions and it kept the East Germans and West Germans apart for 28 years. Western Germans could only pass through strictly controlled checkpoints along the wall. It was also the symbolic boundary between democracy and Communism during the Cold War.
However, it is known that about 5,000 people managed to cross to the opposite side but approximately 100 to 200 East Germans died while attempting to cross the Berlin Wall. The deaths were the result of authority given to East German guards to shoot anyone nearing the eastern part of the Berlin Wall.
The destruction of the Berlin Wall which happened on 9th November, 1989 was as instant as its creation back then. Soon after its demolition, East and West Germany reunified into a single German state on October 3, 1990.
Brandenburg Gate also known as Brandenburg Tor symbolizes the reunification of the two sides of Berlin. It was designed by Carl Gotthard Langhans who modelled it on the Athenian Propylaea which is the entrance to the Acropolis. The Brandenburg gate is significant to many Berlin's important event. For example, military parades and demonstrating workers have marched under its arches. Celebrations marking the birth of the Second Reich (learn more) as well as Hitler's ascent to power. The Russian flag was raised in May 1945 and on 17 June 1953, workers demonstrating for better conditions were killed.
The Quadriga (chariot drawn by four horses abreast (the Roman equivalent of Greek Tethrippon) was a symbol of peace but in the year 1806 during the French occupation, it was dismantled on Napoleon's orders and brought to Paris. However, in the years between 1956 and 1958 the Quadriga was rebuilt in West Berlin. For 40 years, it stood there and watch over the divided city until the year 1989 when the first section of the Berlin Wall was torn down.
Currywurst is a fast-food dish consisting of sliced hot pork sausage and seasoned with curry sauce often blended with tomato paste or ketchup topped with generous amounts of curry powder. This was invented in the year 1949 in Berlin by Herta Heuwer who mixed ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and curry powder and poured it over grilled pork sausage.
Today, Currywurst is sold as take-out food or snacks at diners , restaurants or as street food. at Schnell Imbiss (fast lunch stands) all over Berlin. It is usually served on wax paper covered paper plate and accompanied by abrötchen (roll). Approximately 800 million servings are sold in Germany every year.
Berlin : Brandenburg Gate[Online] // Berlin-Landmarks. - December 5, 2010. - http://www.berlin-landmarks.com/brandenburg_gate.html.
The Essential Currywurst [Online] // The House at the Bridge. - March 11, 1999. - December 6, 2010. - http://www.thehouseatthebridge.com/TravelInfo/CurryWurst.html.
The Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall [Online] / auth. Rosenburg, Jennifer // About. - 2010. - December 7, 2010. - http://history1900s.about.com/od/coldwa1/a/berlinwall.htm.
Disneyfication in Berlin
Themes :
'Land of Music'
The country is home to 13,000 concerts each year and is the world's leading countries for classical music. Besides that, they had well-known musicians such as Bach, Beethoven and more current artist such as Paul Van Dyk and Wolfsheim. In my opinion, when the country comes to mind, classical music and electronic music comes to mind.
'Home of Culture and Heritage'
As mentioned in 'What is Berlin famous for?', culture and heritage has been the main purpose for most tourists to visit the city. Places like Museumsinsel which is made up of five museums in the island and Berlin wall may help define the city in such a way. Also, the location's richness in history during the cold war and the World War II.
Inculcating Germany's History with Music
Wir Sind Wir by Paul Van Dyk and Peter Heppner
Europa Park
German kept pace with America by the development of an amusement park which is at Black Forest. It was the second largest theme park in Europe, first was Disneyland Paris. It was cited by the British "Sunday Times Travel Magazine", as the best theme park in Europe. The park has many entertainment programs such as movies , parades and circuses and lastly it has "foreign" parts such as Dutch, Chinese, Scandinavian villages, western towns with its respective food and drink and also Italian Pizzas.
References:
Berlin [Book] / auth. Omilanowska Malgorzata. - [s.l.] : Dorling Kindersley Limited, 2000 Theme Parks [Online] // How to Germany. - December 9, 2010. - http://www.howtogermany.com/pages/themeparks.html.
Changes brought about by Tourism
Since the success of FIFA World Cup in the year 2006, tourism in Germany has been on the rise and made people think that Germany is one of world's ideal places to host a sporting event.
Due to the increase in visitors in Germany, the economic situation in the country has improved because of this, the standard of living in the country will also rise. Infrastructure within the country will then be developed further to ease transportation for visitors.
Despite economic benefits, tourism can cause environmental degradation in Germany. Pollution such as littering could happen, hence the government need to enforce strict laws to prevent it. Secondly, overcrowding can also occur so to overcome this issue, quotas for the number of visitors especially at a cultural and heritage attraction should be considered.
Because of the FIFA World cup in 2006, public transportation staff were sent for training to learn English so they could communicate efficiently with tourists. As such, more Germans are now able to speak English hence enhancing the tourist's experience because they are able to communicate to locals.
References:
The 2006 Fifa World Cup and its effect on the image and economy of Germany [Online] // Germany Tourism. - 206. - December 10, 2010. http://www.germany-tourism.de/pdf/DZT_WM_Bilanz_Bro2008_Eng.pdf-
Culture Shock! : A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette - Berlin [Book] / auth. Saschsenroeder Agnes. - Singapore : Times Publishing Limited, 2009.
Tourism - The Main Cause for Commodification in Culture and Traditions
Tourism has been a culprit in commodifying cultures and traditions at a minimal extend. In my opinion, throughout the years, Berlin has done well in preserving its culture and heritage. The city has an attraction, Museumsinsel which is awarded with an UNESCO World Heritage Status in 1999. Despite having an increase with the number of visitors since the Fifa World Cup, I feel that the influence of tourism is not as strong as Americanization which occurred in the 1920s.
Americanization here means "Rationalization", higher efficiency and productivity which causes science to prosper.It brings modern to a whole new level and was used in economic production and consumption not to mention public administration. For others, it was used by teachers, architects, government officials, etc.
Tourism has made Germany a multi-racial city as there is an increase in international tourists over the years.
The increase in tourism has caused more places to be roamed by travelersbut I feel that Germany has done their part to preserve their culture and heritage. With the well maintained architecture, handmade porcelain (a tradition that goes way back more than 200 years), music, theatre and festivals.
