Palace of Tears in Berlin

1 April 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Berlin, House of the Month Reading Time:  7 minutes

© Matthias Süßen/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Matthias Süßen/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Tränenpalast (English: “Palace of Tears”) is a former border crossing point between East and West Berlin, at Berlin Friedrichstraße station, which was in operation between 1962 and 1989. It is now a museum with exhibitions about Berlin during the Cold War period and about the process of German reunification. It was the border crossing for travellers on the S-bahn, U-bahn and trains going between East and West Germany. It was used only for westbound border crossings. It had separate checkpoints for West Berliners, West Germans, foreigners, diplomats, transit travellers and East Germans. The term Tränenpalast is derived from the tearful partings that took place in front of the building between western visitors and East German residents who were not permitted to travel to West Berlin.   read more…

Unter den Linden and Friedrichstraße

14 March 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Berlin, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, Shopping Reading Time:  7 minutes

UNTER DEN LINDEN

Brandenburg Gate © Norbert Aepli

Brandenburg Gate © Norbert Aepli

Unter den Linden (“under the linden trees”) is a boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, the capital of Germany. It is named for its linden (lime in British English) trees that line the grassed pedestrian mall between two carriageways.   read more…

Theme Week Berlin – Galeries Lafayette

11 November 2010 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, Berlin, Shopping Reading Time:  4 minutes

© Stefan Jo Fuchs

© Stefan Jo Fuchs

It was as though a spaceship had landed in Berlin. The outside was entirely made of glass. Inside, elegant scarves were offered alongside typical French escargot. The Galeries Lafayette ushered in a new love for everything French in 1996.   read more…

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