Berlin
古都柏林
古老而又美丽的德国首都——柏林早在13世纪时已成为贸易集镇，17世纪发展成为地方性的政治、经济和文化中心。第二次世界大战前它是德国首都和最大城市。战后，东、西柏林分道扬镳、各自发展。1990年德国统一，柏林结束了一个城市、两种制度的局面，重新成为德国的首都。柏林扼东西欧交通要道，往北距离波罗的海、往南距离捷克均不到200千米。
柏林经济、文化事业均非常发达。鸟瞰柏林，其周围被森林、湖泊、河流环抱，城市仿佛沉浸在一片绿色海洋中。施普雷河从南面缓缓流过市区。亚历山大广场电视塔，四周环以现代化的旅馆、商店、会议厅、教师会馆等大型建筑，气魄雄伟、造型美观。库尔费斯腾达姆商业街长3千米，商店、服饰店、画廊鳞次栉比。着名的菩提树街，是欧洲最着名的林阴大道。此外，用乳白色花岗岩筑成的勃兰登堡门、有800年历史的圣母教堂、市政厅、博物馆岛上的古老建筑群、“水晶宫”共和国官、洪堡大学等亦十分着名。古老的夏洛特堡宫周围分布着埃及博物馆、古董博物馆、史前早期博物馆和应用美术馆等重要文化建筑，其内收藏着许多珍贵文物和艺术品。古老的威廉皇帝纪念教堂直侧建有八角形的新教堂。1957年落成的银色、屋顶呈蚌壳状的会议大厅是现代建筑的代表作之一。
柏林还是世界重要的文化学术交流场所之一，建有现代化的国际会议中心。两年一度的柏林国际电影节也吸引着世界级影星和电影爱好者的关注。
柏林是德国娱乐节目最丰富的城市，柏林有三家歌剧院，德意志歌剧院、柏林国家歌剧院、考米歇歌剧院，它们都具有一流的水准。其中柏林国家歌剧院的乐队、合唱、芭蕾、舞台艺术配合谐调，剧院外观优美、气氛高雅，是德国三大国家歌剧院之一。 柏林几乎每个星期都有节日、文艺会演和博览会。虽然并非都是盛大的节日，但却是这个城市的传统。夏季和秋季的艺术文化节，曾给分裂中心的柏林带来光彩，如今又给柏林人和来自西部和东部的观光客带来欢乐。除了在节日、文艺会演和博览会上娱乐外，柏林文化活动日程表每天至少要占2个报纸版面，因此让人很难选择。3家大歌剧院、31家剧院、29个小艺术舞台、15个小型歌舞剧场，小酒吧、迪厅、夏日里无数的露天舞台都足以让旅行者充分感受柏林的艺术氛围。
柏林爵士音乐节是每年一度的爵士音乐盛会，举行于每年11月1日到11月4日吸引了来自世界各地的爵士音乐爱好者参加。包括有精彩的爵士表演和创传统爵士音乐和现代爵士音乐的比较等。每年2月6日到2月17日举行的柏林国际电影节(International Film Festival)是欧洲第一流的国际电影节之一。1978年起，为了和法国的戛纳国际电影节竞争，提前至2月底到3月初举行，为期两周。柏林联欢周(Berliner Festwochen)柏林文化盛会的最高点，1951年开始至今，已有将近半个世纪历史。它的规模，在各大城当中，也是其他地区少见的大手笔，给柏林带来了国际性高质量的艺术表演，其中歌剧和交响乐是重头戏。
Berlin is the capital of Germany and its largest city， with 3，426，000 inhabitantsinhabitant n.居民， 居住者 (as of January 2005)； down from 4.5 million before World War II. Before World War II Berlin was the thirdlargest city in the World after London and New York. It is also the secondlargest city in the European Union， according to official city boundary populations， after London. From 1949 to 1990 it was divided into East Berlin and West Berlin.
Berlin， built on sand， is located on the rivers Spree and Havel in the northeast of Germany. It is enclosed by the German state (Bundesland) of Brandenburg， and constitutes a state of its own.
“Ich bin ein berliner！” This famous phrase from John F Kennedy is sometimes translated as “I am a jelly doughnut！” It has been argued that there was laughter in the audience after the statement， and that a resident of Berlin is not referred to as a Berliner， but many say that this is based on a 1988 article in the New York Times that actually misreportedmisreport vt 误报；谎报 the facts. Many insist that Kennedy，s phrase means “I am at one with the people of Berlin！”
Tourist attractions
Even though Berlin does have a number of impressiveimpressive adj.给人深刻印象的， 感人的 buildings from earlier centuries， the city，s appearance today is mainly shaped by the key role it played in Germany，s history in the 20th century. Each of the national governments which had their seat in Berlin - the 1871 German Empire， the Weimar Republic， Nazi Germany， East Germany， and now the reunified Germany - initiated ambitiousambitious adj.有雄心的， 野心勃勃的 construction programs， each with its own distinctive character. Berlin was devastated by bombing raids during World War II， and many of the old buildings that escaped the bombs were eradicated in the 1950s and 1960s in both West and East. Much of this destruction was caused by overambitious architecture programs， especially to build new residential or business quarters and main roads. It would not be an exaggerationexaggeration n.夸张， 夸大之词 to say that no other city in the world offers Berlin，s unusual mix of architecture， especially 20th century architecture. The city，s tense and unique recent history has left it with a distinctive array of sights.
Not much is left of the Berlin Wall. The East Side Gallery in Friedrichshain near the Oberbaumbrücke over the Spree preserves a portion of the Wall. By looking at the architecture it is still possible to tell if one is in the former eastern or western part of the city. In the eastern part， many Plattenbauten can be found， reminders of Eastern Bloc ambitions to create complete residentialresidential adj.住宅的， 与居住有关的 areas with fixed ratios of shops， kindergartens and schools. Another difference between former east and west is in the design of little red and green men on pedestrian crossing lights (Ampelmnnchen in German)； the eastern versions received an optout during the standardisation of road traffic signs after reunification， and have survived to become a popular iconicon n.图标， 肖像， 偶像 in tourist products.
Berlin is a good choice for a visit in this country. If you are a newcomer to the area or haven，t visited for a while， the information provided on this and related pages will prove invaluable in assisting you to make your holiday or business venture here， as simple as a stroll down your local street back home.
A city on the cuttingedge and the capital city of Germany， Berlin has often been in the spotlightspotlight n.聚光灯 on the world stage over the past 100 years. Having reestablished itself as one of Europe，s primary cities and the reunified Germany，s capital， Berlin brimsbrim n.(杯， 碗等)边， 边缘， (河)边 vt.注满， 使满溢 vi.满溢 with optimism.
Located in the northeast of Germany with a population of around 3.5 million， it，s a hive of activity and growth. Despite this， one third of Berlin is still covered by woodland， parks and waterways and nature seeps in； around every other bend.
Fast becoming a city of the future， Berlin has managed to preserve its rich history well. Having earned its fame through being the home of the Berlin Wall and therefore the focus of the bitter cold war between East and West， Berlin is now home to the largest construction project Europe has seen since the Second World War. All this makes the city one of the most exciting and varied in Europe.
It sits in the middle of the region known from medieval times as the Mark of Brandenburg， now the Bundesland (federal state) of Brandenburg. The city spills north and south of the Spree River. Unlike most other large German cities， Berlin is a partly planned capital， with streets and boulevardsboulevard n.〈美〉林荫大道 organized in a clear manner.