Berlin

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In 2009, Berlin celebrated its 20th Anniversary of the “Fall of the Wall”, a testimony of the   wounds inflicted on this city in 1961 in order to divide the Communist zone, under the Russian dominion, from that of the Western zone.  A kilometre was transformed into an open sky gallery full of graffiti where one finds  the “Checkpoint Charlie Museum” and the official gate that leads in and out of the East and  West.
The rebirth of the city was done in record time, becoming the capital of a unified Germany, transferring the government, ministries, embassies and other representations.  The buildings are located along the banks of the Spree River and in the Mitte district, an intersection between Unter den Linden and Friedrich St.   The Brandeburg Gate in Pariser Sq.,   is the city’s emblem and symbol of the restored  reunification. It has been re-done in its ancient style and form heart of the  city, while other areas were modified and are still in continuous evolution.
Great names of contemporary architecture have experimented like in no other city, coming up with the most diverse architectonic style ( West part of Potsdamer Sq.) which was the most frequented Sq. in all of Europe.  It was destroyed during the war, but was rebuilt with the help of the Berliner architects   Renzo Piano and Helmut Jahn.   Sometimes  Berliner architecture assumes symbolic meaning such as in    Sir Norman Foster’s dome in  Reichstag,  that elevates the people beyond the parliament, and  the Jewish Museum (in the form of an arrow) in Libeskind which intends to make history and the voids it left behind, palpable.
Thanks to the architectural and artistic variety and   cultural fermentation, the city is capable of attracting   people from all parts of the world, creating a   mixture of cultures that cohabit even though there are a lot of   contradictions.
The busy young Berliners are heading towards an avanguard culture, which can be found in the different   historic movements such as, the punk and the gothic, and  the more recent trend of body-piercing and tattoos  and   electronic music, considered to be the last frontier of disco dancing.
In    Kulturhaus Tacheles in Oranienburger Str. (East Berlin) you can find the symbol of an alternative muli ethnic and experimental culture that emerged in the 80s and 90s and is one of the most famous artistic centers in Europe.  For years, it has been the fulcrum of transgression and of artistic-political protest, post industrial places symbolic of alternative culture, multi ethnic and experimental movements.
The Hackesche Hofe, a complex with eight courtyards (largest of its kind in Europe) has many restaurants laboratories, shops and logging places.  These “jewels of nouveau art” are some of the liveliest and busiest  places in Berlin..  They are swarmed with people night and day.
The punks  love to meet in post industrial places with their sprayers and graffiti ,  coloring the city with  the hip  pop   style.
The “sacred” places during the Communist period, revive the DDR nostalgias such as;  the ex republic building,  locals in Prenzlauer Berg, like the Café Burger, the Café Moskow in Kasrl Marx Allee and Alexander Sq. the historical place  in the heart of East Berlin which is a meeting point for many youths.
Instead, the West side of Berlin is a meeting place for university students and wealthy kids.  Berlin, Capital of Europe,  with  all of these combined  elements,  promotes the new millennium.