Economist.com Cities Guide: Berlin Briefing - December 2005

News this month

Castles in the air

The end is near for one of the most controversial icons of cold-war Berlin. The demolition of the Palast der Republik, the concrete and steel 1970s building which once housed the East German parliament and was a cultural centre for the communist state, is due to start in January. The Palast has been the subject of vociferous debate since it was closed for asbestos removal in 1990. Judged as too expensive, and too ugly, to warrant renovation, Germany's parliament voted to destroy the building in 2003. But supporters of the Palast hold that it should be preserved as an important relic of the city's one-time ideological division. In late November, 1,400 leftists, architects and artists demonstrated in support of the building in the city centre, which they want to continue using as a venue for cultural events. More protest rallies are planned in the run-up to the demolition date.

Still, it seems plenty of Berliners have no love for the Palast. After years of standing empty, the rusting steel structure, with its graffiti-scrawled walls and broken windows, is seen by many as simply an eyesore, and one poll in a local newspaper found that 67% of the respondents wanted it torn down. The question now is what will replace it. The only official proposal so far is a contentious scheme to spend €670m ($785m) rebuilding a baroque Prussian palace that once stood on the site, before it was badly damaged in the second world war and then destroyed by East Germany's government in 1953, in what many Berliners regard as a fit of anti-imperial ideological fury.

Flights of fancy

The Palast is not the only Berlin icon whose future is uncertain. The Tempelhof airport enjoys a warm place in the hearts of Berliners, thanks not only to its convenient central location but also its role in the 1948-9 Berlin airlift, when flights into the airport became the city's lifeline. But the airport—one of the world's oldest, having opened in 1923, and a rare surviving example of Nazi-era architecture—has been losing money for years. It squandered €16m in 2003 alone. So Berlin's government plans to shut it down in 2006, despite the fact that the airlines which use Tempelhof are fighting the decision in the courts. Should their cases fail, by 2010, all flights to and from Berlin should be using the planned new hub at Schönefeld, in the city's east (closure of Tegel, Berlin's third airport, is also scheduled).

Now the question is what to do with Tempelhof. In November Berlin's government launched a Europe-wide competition for proposals for the airport's future. This has lent some hope to those who want to keep the site as an airport, as the bidding criteria encourage proposals for using the area for private or business flights. At any rate, the plan will not involve tearing down the terminal buildings. The competition closes on December 19th.

Cutting edge

Berlin enjoys its reputation as a centre of creativity. But there has long been a gap in the city's calendar—it has lacked a proper fashion week worthy of the name, to put it alongside London, Paris and other European centres. All this is due to change in January, when the city will host a full week of events for the first time, with four big fashion trade fairs, scores of catwalk shows and a host of the usual champagne-drenched parties, between January 27th-31st.

Despite the many chi-chi boutiques around Mitte in particular, the fashion industry itself has, until recently, steered clear of Berlin. Instead it has concentrated on western Germany, with regular trade fairs in the Rhineland city of Dusseldorf and the affluent cities of Munich and Hamburg. But 2003 marked a turning point, when the massive streetwear tradeshow Bread&Butter moved from Dusseldorf to Berlin. Three other important trade fairs have followed, along with smaller events.

Past master

The long restoration of one of Berlin's most impressive museums is finally finished. The Bodemuseum on Mitte's rapidly regenerating Museum Island opened its doors to the public for a preliminary viewing in early December. The permanent exhibits are scheduled to move in this coming summer. Work on the building took over five years to complete and cost €152m. Government ministers welcomed the restoration as an important step in boosting Berlin’s status as a cultural centre.

The neo-classical building, completed in 1904, helped turn-of-the-century Berlin earn the handle “Athens on the Spree”. After suffering heavy damage in the second world war, the museum was scheduled for demolition in the late 1940s. It was saved only when Berliners came out on the streets in protest.

Sprechen Sie Englisch?

The BVG, Berlin’s local transport network, is taking the needs of Berlin's visitors seriously. In December it published an English phrasebook for its staff. With the city’s massive rise in tourism (Berlin is now Europe’s third most-popular tourist destination after London and Paris, with a record 13m overnight stays in 2004) and Germany's hosting of the football World Cup in 2006, the BVG's bosses are worried that transport workers are not up to the job of explaining to visitors how to get round the city.

Seven thousand copies of the 80-page booklet and accompanying CD have been distributed to bus drivers and ticket-office staff. However in view of the fact that more than half of the BVG’s staff, with an average age of 48, learnt Russian rather than English in school under the former East German communist government, it is doubtful whether a phrasebook alone will do the job. With this in mind, students in one Berlin secondary school have volunteered to offer individual tutoring.

Catch if you can

December 2005

Christmas markets

Until January 1st 2006

Roasted almonds, mulled wine, gingerbread, toffee apples, Bratwurst grilled over an open fire: these are just some of the joys of Germany’s Christmas markets. Also expect local handicrafts, glittering fairy lights, candles, ceramics, antique toys and other festive ware and fare. Each of Berlin’s boroughs boasts at least one Weihnachtsmarkt, which has its own distinctive tradition. There are over 40 across the whole city.

One of the prettiest is on the Gendarmenmarkt, between the French and the German churches, where evening performances add to the atmosphere. Younger revellers may enjoy the snow slope and the ice rink at Potsdamer Platz (open until January 8th), or the giant wheel at the market on the Schlossplatz, Unter den Linden. Away from the middle of the city, the Spandauer Weihnachtsmarkt in Spandau’s beautiful old town is Europe's largest.

Looking further ahead, Germany’s largest open-air New Year’s Eve party takes place along the Strasse des 17 Juni (between the Brandenburg Gate and the Siegessäule). Dress warmly.

See the sites for Berlin's Christmas markets and New Year in Berlin.

More from the Berlin cultural calendar