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…

Cologne Central Mosque

26 March 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  2 minutes

© Raimond Spekking/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Raimond Spekking/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Cologne Central Mosque (German: DITIB-Zentralmoschee Köln, Turkish: Köln Merkez-Camii) is a building commissioned by German Muslims of the Organization DİTİB for a large, representative Zentralmoschee (central mosque) in Cologne, Germany. This mosque was inaugurated by Turkish President Erdogan. After controversy, the project won the approval of Cologne’s city council.   read more…

Greiz in Thuringia

4 March 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  4 minutes

© Steffen Loewe/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Steffen Loewe/cc-by-sa-4.0

Greiz is a town in the state of Thuringia, Germany, and is the capital of the district of Greiz. Greiz is situated in eastern Thuringia, 40 kilometres (25 mi) east of state capital Erfurt, on the river White Elster.   read more…

Munich Documentation Centre for the History of National Socialism

27 January 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions Reading Time:  4 minutes

© flickr.com - Fred Romero/cc-by-2.0

© flickr.com – Fred Romero/cc-by-2.0

The NS-Dokumentationszentrum is a museum in the Maxvorstadt area of Munich, Germany, which focuses on the history and consequences of the Nazi regime and the role of Munich as Hauptstadt der Bewegung (′capital of the movement′).   read more…

Culture Brewery in Berlin

20 January 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Berlin, Museums, Exhibitions, Opera Houses, Theaters, Libraries, Universities, Colleges, Academies Reading Time:  11 minutes

© Kaspar Metz

© Kaspar Metz

The Berlin Kulturbrauerei (literally “Culture Brewery”) is a 25,000 square metres (270,000 sq ft) building complex in Berlin, Germany. Originally built and operated as a brewery, its courtyards and unique architecture have been protected as a monument since 1974 and it is one of the few well-preserved examples of industrial architecture in Berlin dating from the end of the 19th century.   read more…

Weihenstephan in Bavaria

26 December 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

© Wolfgang Rieger/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Wolfgang Rieger/cc-by-sa-3.0

Weihenstephan is a part of Freising north of Munich, Germany. It is located on the Weihenstephan Hill, named after the Weihenstephan Abbey, in the west of the city. Freising is the oldest town between Regensburg and Bolzano, and is located on the Isar river in Upper Bavaria, near the Munich International Airport. The city is built on and around two prominent hills: the Cathedral Hill with the former Bishop’s Residence and Freising Cathedral, and Weihenstephan Hill with the former Weihenstephan Abbey, containing the oldest working brewery in the world. It was also the location of the first recorded tornado in Europe. The city is 448 meters above sea level.   read more…

Fulda Cathedral in Hesse

18 December 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  9 minutes

© Guido Radig/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Guido Radig/cc-by-sa-3.0

Fulda Cathedral (German: Fuldaer Dom, also Sankt Salvator) is the former abbey church of Fulda Abbey and the burial place of Saint Boniface. Since 1752 it has also been the cathedral of the Diocese of Fulda, of which the Prince-Abbots of Fulda were created bishops. The abbey was dissolved in 1802 but the diocese and its cathedral have continued. The dedication is to Christ the Saviour (Latin: Salvator). The cathedral constitutes the high point of the Baroque district of Fulda, and is a symbol of the town. The present cathedral stands on the site of the Ratgar Basilica (once the largest basilica north of the Alps), which was the burial site of Saint Boniface and the church of Fulda Abbey, functions which the new building was intended to continue.   read more…

Berlin-Dahlem

26 November 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Berlin Reading Time:  17 minutes

Free University of Berlin - Rost- und Silberlaube complex © Unify~commonswiki/cc-by-sa-3.0

Free University of Berlin – Rost- und Silberlaube complex © Unify~commonswiki/cc-by-sa-3.0

Dahlem is a locality of the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough in southwestern Berlin. Until Berlin’s 2001 administrative reform it was a part of the former borough of Zehlendorf. It is located between the mansion settlements of Grunewald and Lichterfelde West. Dahlem is one of the most affluent parts of the city and a center for academic research. It is home to the Freie Universität Berlin, with its architecturally significant Philological Library (“The Brain”). Several other research institutions and museums, as well as parts of the Grunewald forest with its renaissance hunting lodge, are located in Dahlem. The U3 line of the Berlin U-Bahn system connects Dahlem to central Berlin.   read more…

Bergen auf Rügen

24 November 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  9 minutes

© THFR/cc-by-sa-3.0

© THFR/cc-by-sa-3.0

Bergen auf Rügen is the capital of the former district of Rügen in the middle of the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. Since 1 January 2005, Bergen has moreover been the administrative seat of the Amt of Bergen auf Rügen, which with a population of over 23,000 is Mecklenburg-Vorpommern’s most populous Amt.   read more…

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