The fishing villages of Cölln and Berlin, situated on the banks of the river Spree, formed a union around 1300, but the town remained a backwater until the 17th century. During the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) much of Berlin was demolished, so in order to boost the population and the local economy, it was decided to offer the persecuted French Huguenots asylum. When it was named the capital of Prussia in 1701, Berlin became the centre of one of Europe’s leading powers. Following the First World War and the subsequent collapse of the monarchy, Berlin’s cultural life blossomed during the Weimar Republic. This ended almost as soon as it had begun with the rise to power of Hitler, whose grandiose plans for Berlin were, luckily, only partially carried out.

The partition of the city between the Allies following the second World War—and physical division by the Berlin Wall— ended in 1989 with the reunification of Germany. With the Wall and all but a few traces gone, the city is seeking to redefine itself as the crossroads between old and new Europe.

POLITICS

On 3rd October 1990, Chancellor Helmut Kohl’s 'fast track’ to the reunification of Germany consisted, in effect, of the incorporation of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) into the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). The lessons learned from the Nazis’ populism and misuse of centralised structures had already resulted in the creation of a federal system of government and the banning of referenda after the Second World War, all enshrined in the Federal Republic’s constitution.

Germany has a bicameral parliament. The two chambers are the Bundestag (lower house, whose 672 representatives are directly elected every four years) and the Bundesrat (upper house, whose representatives are chosen by the 16 state governments). The head of executive power is the Chancellor, chosen by majority vote at the newly elected Bundestag. The September 2005 elections marked a significant change, not in the form of government, but in its make-up as the two larger parties lost ground to the smaller Greens, Liberals and, surprisingly, the ex-Communists of the Left Party. The ensuing grand coalition between the two main parties—Chancellor Merkel’s conservative CDU and the centre-left SPD—leaves the question open of whether this is temporary or marks a permanent change in the political landscape.

RELIGION

Berlin is chiefly Protestant, although the Catholic community is also well represented. The tendency towards Protestantism is directly connected with the Reformation, which had a strong influence on the city from the 15th century onwards, especially considering its status as capital of the Prussian empire. However, immigrants have changed the religious make-up of the city. The large Turkish minority has brought with it an array of mosques and Muslim centres, but Hindu and Buddhist temples also thrive in today’s multicultural society.

POPULATION

Berlin has 3.4 million inhabitants. The largest single minority are Turks—about 130,000 ethnic Turks live in the city. There is also a sizeable Vietnamese community. About 300,000 non-German Europeans live in Berlin, including over 100,000 expats from EU countries.