Berlin is steeped in History. It became the capital of the newly founded Germany in 1871 and since then has been centre of practically all of Germany's major historical events. It had front row viewing of the 1918 revolution and was torn in half following the Second World war. Every brick contains a story.

Berlin's growth has not been a gradual steady one, at times it has grown in leaps, and at other times been set back in bounds. It began as two towns Berlin and Cologne which grew rapidly due to an old trade route being diverted to run through the two towns. Not long after joining the Hanseatic League of Baltic towns it was chosen as official residence of the Electors of Brandenburg in 1448. The town remained the home of every ruler of Germany until 1945 when Nazi Germany collapsed.

It's population was cut by half due to the 30 Years War which ended in 1648. Berlin was the Royal capital of Prussia and because of this it became an important economic, political and cultural centre. Berlin's population grew greatly from 30,000 in 1700 to 430,000 in 1850. In January 1710 after a new growth of residential suburbs, Berlin, Cologne and the new suburbs were combined to make one town - Berlin.

Berlin became the capital of Imperial Germany in 1871. Berlin's industrialisation and the fact that it was capital meant that the population grew from 1.1 million in 1880 to 2 million in 1905.

In 1902 Berlin's first underground railway was opened. By 1903, 30 million passengers a year were being transported by it. Berlin became an attractive prospect for artists, scientists and many of the unemployed people of Germany.

The First World war halted Berlin's upward escalation. But the Great War couldn't stop Berlin for long. After the war the Weimar republic was set up there. And in

1920 Berlin took an administrative leap. It's population was brought to 4 million following the incorporation of 8 towns, 59 rural areas and 27 landed estates into Greater Berlin.

Berlin became the largest industrial town in Europe. It was witnessing a Golden age(1920-1933), but 13 years of flourishing ended when Adolf Hitler became Chancellor in 1933. The cities population make-up changed quite dramatically, this was mainly because virtually all Jews disappeared. The Nazi era and the Second World War had an effect that was quite similar to that of the 30 Year War on Germany's population. By 1945 the population of Berlin almost halved to 2.8 million after almost 600,000 dwellings had been destroyed.

After the Second World War, Berlin became a city powered by 4 countries, the Western allies (U.K., U.S.A. and France). The Deutschmark's introduction in to the Allied zone helped lead to the division of Germany in 1949. Physically the city remained one until 1961.

During the night of 12/13 of August 1961 the wall was erected. This was a quite understandable declaration that was done to stop East Germans from pouring in to the West and depriving the G.D.R. from much needed man power and brain power. Despite the human costs of the wall it brought economic stability that meant that the two German states could organise their relationship on a more permanent basis. It seemed by the 1980's that Berlin could well remain a divided city indefinitely. In autumn 1989 Hungary opened it's border with Austria. Thousands of East Germans could now leave the West via Hungary. This prompted huge street demonstrations in Leipzig which quickly spread to the other cities in Berlin.

On the 4th of November 1989 around one half million people gathered on Alexanderplatz to voice their protests. On the 9th of November the rumour spread that the Berlin Wall had been opened. We are not fully certain this was a true fact but it was made one that night by the people of Berlin. People demanded to be let through the wall and the army with no definite instructions simply lifted the barrier. There was a mood of euphoria and mass hysteria which were broadcasted around the world on radio and television. This feeling of enthusiasm lasted for weeks. The destruction of the infamous wall began that same night. Bits of the wall were chipped and kept as bits of souvenirs. Separation was over and freedom for the people of the East became a reality.

Berlin was not supposed to be capital of either part while Germany was divided. But by the 1980's the words "Hauptstadt der DDR" had made its way on to post cards and motorways; the words meaning Capital of the G.D.R. But after unification in 1991 the Federal Parliament decided that the capital and seat of government of the newly united Germany would be Berlin and not Bonn. This greatly effected Bonn economically. This decision also worried other countries. Choosing Berlin as Capital meant confronting Germany's imperial and Nazi past and raised worries in other countries about Germany's future role. The East needed Berlin as capital so they could feel part of the new unified Germany. If the capital had of been Bonn, which is so far west, the people of the East would just feel the west had taken over from the Russians.

After the decision had been made to shift the capital to Berlin, it was agreed by civic and federal authorities that the old centre of Berlin should be revived. Private investors were quicker of the mark for this. Berlin had a lot of building to catch up on. Berlin was given a huge opportunity to rebuild, a chance few cities get in peacetime. What we are now witnessing is a hyper-speed version of what in most countries it has taken 50 years to do. This chance of large scale rebuilding and restoration was always going to be controversial, but Berlin could not afford to pass up such an opportunity. Berlin as a capital would now draw many tourists per day and this meant not only repair to its transport system but also extension and modernisation. Buildings plans were specific, 3 storey dwellings, but the intended number changed to five and as many as 7 five storey tenement houses were densely packed onto expensive sites. This drastic change was merely a result of underestimating the magnet force of a capital.

A fascinating experiment had begun in the heart of Europe. Building developments which in other countries took up to fifty years to complete are being accelerated.

If all goes to plan , by 2002, the long laceration through the city left by the Wall will have been healed completely.

In 1998 one-third of Berlin's tax bill went towards paying off interest on building subsidies. Since unification nearly 300,00 jobs in Berlin have disappeared. as in Germany as a whole, the large majority were in the East(250,000), with only 50,000 in the West. Now unemployment is sinking in the East and rising in the West. Making Berlin the capital only created 16,000 new jobs, whereas 125,00 people are employed by the building programme.

Plans were made to merge Berlin with Brandenburg, this would have been wise economically for Berlin but not Brandenburg. The people of Brandenburgs fear was that their financial resources would be milked dry paying off building debts for Berlin. Older people voted for the merger but younger people against it, but the majority on both sides voted against. Brandenburg did not want Berlin to enjoy a special status once again because this time it would have been at their expense.