History of Berlin


The history of Berlin starts with its foundation in the 12th century. It became the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1237, and later of Brandenburg-Prussia, and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia grew about rapidly in the 18th and 19th centuries and formed the basis of the German Empire in 1871. The empire would survive until 1918 when it was defeated in World War I.
After 1900 Berlin became a major world city, known for its leadership roles in science, the humanities, music, museums, higher education, government, diplomacy and military affairs. It also had a role in manufacturing and finance.
During World War II, bombing, artillery, and ferocious street-by-street fighting destroyed large parts of Berlin. Berlin was subsequently divided among the four major Allied powers and for over four decades it encapsulated the Cold War confrontation between West and East. With the reunification of Germany in 1990, Berlin was restored as the capital and as a major world city.

Etymology

The name Berlin is of Slavic origin, formed from a root *berl-/*brl-, enlarged by a suffix -in which is still common in modern Slavic languages. The meaning of the root is somewhat obscure, lacking clear cognates in other languages, but is usually interpreted as "bog, swamp", due to similar and obviously Slavic toponyms in Eastern Germany. As early sources mention the name with a definite article, it appears to have referred originally to a specific piece of land. Similar to other Slavic-derived German toponyms ending in -in, the name is consistently stressed on this suffix.
The name of the city's other historic kernel, Kölln, is likely derived from Cologne, called Köln in German, whose name ultimately stems from the Latin colonia "colony, new planned settlement". The prominent role of merchants from the Lower Rhine in the earliest days of the city makes this likely. A derivation from Slavic kol'no, related to a word meaning "stake, pale, post", cannot be completely excluded.
Contrary to folk etymology, the name is not related to bears, even though the city was allegedly founded by Albert the Bear, the first Margrave of Brandenburg. A relationship between Albert and the coat-of-arms has not been reliably proven.

Prehistory

The oldest human traces, mainly arrowheads, in the area of later Berlin are dating to the 9th millennium BC. During Neolithic times a large number of villages existed in the area. During the Bronze Age it belonged to the Lusatian culture. For the time around 500 BC the presence of Germanic tribes can be evidenced for the first time in form of a number of villages in the higher situated areas of today's Berlin. After the Semnones left around 200 AD, the Burgundians followed. A large part of the Germanic tribes left the region around 500 AD.
In the 7th century Slavic tribes, the later known Hevelli and Sprevane, reached the region. Today their traces can mainly be found at plateaus or next to waters. Their main settlements were today's Spandau and Köpenick. No Slavic traces could be found in the city center of Berlin.

Emerging city (1100–1400)

In the 12th century the region came under German rule as part of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, founded by Albert the Bear in 1157. At the end of the 12th century German merchants founded the first settlements in today's city center, called Berlin around modern Nikolaiviertel and Cölln, on the island in the Spree now known as the Spreeinsel or Museum Island. It is not clear which settlement is older and when they got German town rights. Berlin is mentioned as a town for the first time in 1251 and Cölln in 1261.
The year 1237 was later taken as the year of founding as the first recorded mention of Cölln is from that year. The first mention of Berlin dates to 1244 The two settlements formally merged into the town of Berlin-Cölln in 1432. Albert the Bear also bequeathed to Berlin the emblem of the bear, which has appeared on its coat of arms ever since. Between 1373 and 1415, it was part of the Bohemian Crown Lands. By the year 1400 Berlin and Cölln had 8,000 inhabitants. A great town center fire in 1380 damaged most written records of those early years, as did the great devastation of the Thirty Years' War 1618–1648.

Margraviate of Brandenburg (1400–1700)

In 1415, Frederick I became the elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, which he ruled until 1440. Subsequent members of the Hohenzollern family ruled until 1918 in Berlin, first as electors of Brandenburg, then as kings of Prussia, and finally as German emperors. When Berlin became the residence of the Hohenzollerns, it had to give up its Hanseatic League free city status. Its main economical activity changed from trade to the production of luxurious goods for the court.
  • 1443 to 1451: The first Berliner Stadtschloss was built on the embankment of the river Spree.
  • *At that time Berlin-Cölln had about 8,000 inhabitants. Population figures rose fast, leading to poverty.
  • 1448: The inhabitants of Berlin rebelled in the "Berlin Indignation" against the construction of a new royal palace by Elector Frederick II Irontooth. This protest was not successful, however, and the citizenry lost many of its political and economic privileges.
  • 1451: Berlin became the royal residence of the Brandenburg electors, and Berlin had to give up its status as a free Hanseatic city.
  • In 1510: 100 Jews were accused of stealing and desecrating hosts. 38 of them were burned to death; others were banished, losing their possessions, only to be returned by later margraves.
  • 1530: The Tiergarten park began when Elector Joachim I donated the property for use as a royal game preserve; it was opened to the public in the mid-17th century; it ceased being a hunting park in 1740 when the job of redesigning it in the English landscape style began.
  • 1539: The electors and Berlin officially became Lutheran.
  • 1540: Joachim II introduced the Protestant Reformation in Brandenburg and secularized church possessions. He used the money to pay for his projects, like building an avenue, the Kurfürstendamm, between his hunting castle Grunewald and his palace, the Berliner Stadtschloss.
  • 1576, Bubonic plague killed about 6,000 people in the city.
  • Around 1600: Berlin-Cölln had 12,000 inhabitants.
  • 1618 to 1648: The Thirty Years' War had devastating consequences for Berlin. A third of the houses were damaged, and the city lost half of its population.
  • 1640: Frederick William, known as the "Great Elector", succeeded his father George William as Elector of Brandenburg. Later he initiated a policy of promoting immigration and religious toleration. Over the following decades, Berlin expanded greatly in area and population with the founding of the new suburbs of Friedrichswerder and Dorotheenstadt. During his government Berlin reached 20,000 inhabitants and became significant among the cities in Central Europe for the first time. He also developed a standing army.
  • 1647: The boulevard Unter den Linden with six rows of trees was laid down between the Tiergarten park and the Palace.
  • 1671: Fifty Jewish families from Austria were given a home in Berlin. With the Edict of Potsdam in 1685, Frederick William invited the French Calvinist Huguenots to Brandenburg. More than 15,000 Huguenots came, of whom 6,000 settled in Berlin. By 1687 they comprise 20% of the population, and many were bankers, industrialists and investors.
  • 1674 and after: The Dorotheenstadt was built in a bow of the river Spree, north-west of the Spreeinsel, where the Palace was situated.
  • 1688 and after: The Friedrichstadt was built and settled.
  • Around 1700: Many refugees from Bohemia, Poland, and Salzburg had arrived.

    Kingdom of Prussia (1701–1871)

In 1701, Elector Frederick III crowned himself as Frederick I, King in Prussia. He was mostly interested in decorum: he ordered the building of the castle Charlottenburg in the west of the city. He made Berlin the capital of the new kingdom of Prussia.
  • 1709: Berlin counted 55,000 inhabitants, of whom 5,000 served in the Prussian Army. Cölln and Berlin were finally unified under the name of Berlin, including the suburbs of Friedrichswerder, Dorotheenstadt, and Friedrichstadt, with 60,000 inhabitants. Berlin and Cölln are on both sides of the river Spree, in today's Mitte borough.
On 1 January 1710, the cities of Berlin, Cölln, Friedrichswerder, Dorotheenstadt, and Friedrichstadt were united as the "Royal Capital and Residence of Berlin".

Prussian capital

As Prussia grew, so too did Berlin, and the kings made it the centerpiece of culture and the arts, as well as the Army. Under King Friedrich Wilhelm I, Berlin's growth was encouraged by his determination to build a great military power. More men were needed, so he promoted immigration of Protestants from across Germany as well as France and Switzerland. He introduced universal primary education so that his soldiers could read and write. In 1720 he built the city's first major hospital and medical school, the Charité, now the largest teaching hospital in Europe. The city was now mainly a garrison and an armoury, for the crown heavily subsidised arms manufacturers in the capital, laying the foundations for the mechanics, engineers, technicians, and entrepreneurs who were to turn Berlin into an industrial powerhouse. The old defensive walls and moats were now useless, so they were torn down. A new customs wall was built further out, punctuated by 14 ornate gates. Inside the gates were parade grounds for Friedrich Wilhelm's soldiers: the Karree at the Brandenburg gate, the Oktagon at the Potsdam gate, the Wilhelmplatz on Wilhelmstrasse and several others.
In 1740, Frederick the Great began his 46-year reign. He was an enlightened monarch, who patronized Enlightenment thinkers like Moses Mendelssohn. By 1755 the population reached 100,000, including 26,000 soldiers.
Stagnation followed under the rule of Frederick William II, 1786–97. He had no use for the Enlightenment, but did develop innovative techniques of censorship and repression of political enemies.
File:Charles Meynier - Entrée de Napoléon à Berlin. 27 octobre 1806.jpg|thumb|Entry of Napoleon into Berlin in 1806, by Charles Meynier.
  • 1806: French troops marched into Berlin. Berlin was granted self-government and a far reaching military reform was started.
  • 1809: The first elections for the Berlin parliament took place, in which only the well-to-do could vote.
  • 1810: The Berlin University was founded. Its first rector was the philosopher Johann Gottlieb Fichte.
  • 1812: Jews were allowed to practice all occupations.
  • 1814: The French were defeated in the Sixth Coalition. Economically the city was in good shape. The population grew from 200,000 to 400,000 in the first half of the 19th century, making Berlin the fourth-largest city in Europe.
  • 1815: Battle of Waterloo with Prussian troops from Potsdam and Berlin participating. Berlin becomes part of the Province of Brandenburg.
  • 1827: Berlin is the capital of the Province of Brandenburg from 1827 to 1843.
  • 1848: As in other European cities, 1848 was a revolutionary year in Berlin. Frederick William IV managed to suppress the revolution. One of his reactions was to raise the income condition to partake in the elections, with the result that only 5% of the citizens could vote. This system would stay in place until 1918.
  • 1861: German Emperor Wilhelm I became the new king. In the beginning of his reign there was hope for liberalization. He appointed liberal ministers and built the city hall, Das Rote Rathaus. The appointment of Otto von Bismarck ended these hopes.