Unter den Linden
|
A view of Unter den Linden, showing the linden trees for which it is named |
Unter den Linden (in
English:
Under the Lindens), is a street in the centre of
Berlin, the capital of
Germany. It is named for its
linden or lime trees (also known in North America as basswood trees) which line the grassed pedestrian mall between the two carriageways. Unter den Linden runs east-west from the
Brandenburg Gate in the west to the
Schlossbrücke (Castle Bridge) over the River
Spree in the east. The major north-south street crossing Unter den Linden is
Friedrichstrasse.
Unter den Linden is at the heart of the historic section of Berlin dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. Buildings along the street include (from west to east) the
Hotel Adlon, the Russian Embassy (formerly the Soviet Embassy), the
Berlin State Library, the
Berlin State Opera,
Humboldt University,
St. Hedwig's Catholic Cathedral, the
former Crown Prince's Palace, the
Neue Wache war memorial, the The
Arsenal (now the Historical Museum) and the
Alte Kommandantur. These buildings are shown on the map below (click to enlarge).
|
Unter den Linden, Berlin, showing the main points of interest along the street |
Also on the street are well-known statues of
Frederick the Great,
Alexander von Humboldt,
Wilhelm von Humboldt and a number of Prussian generals.
A boulevard of linden trees was planted from 1647 extending from the electoral palace to the gates of the city by
Friedrich Wilhelm, "The Great Elector", who wanted to beautify the route from his castle to his hunting park, the
Tiergarten. By the 19th century, as Berlin grew and expanded to the west, Unter den Linden became the best known and grandest street in Berlin. The section west of the
Brandenburg Gate, going through the Tiergarten Park, is called now
Strasse des 17. Juni, having previously been called Charlottenburger Strasse. During the last days of
World War II the most of the linden trees were destroyed or cut down for firewood. The trees were replanted in the 1950s.
Image:PICT4062.JPG|The eastern end of the Unter den Linden, at the Schlossbrücke (Castle Bridge), with the Fernsehturm (television tower) and the Berliner Dom in the distance.Image:PICT4063.JPG|Looking west along Unter den Linden from the Schlossbrücke. The linden trees which give the street its name do not begin until further west.Image:PICT4066.JPG|The Berlin State Opera, one of many public buildings in the classical style along the Unter den Linden. Most were heavily damaged in World War II and have been extensively rebuilt.Image:PICT4064.JPG|The Arsenal (now the Historical Museum), is the oldest building on Unter den Linden, built between 1695 and 1706.Image:PICT4065.JPG|The Neue Wache (New Watchhouse), considered by many to by Karl Friedrich Schinkel's masterpiece, built in 1817, now the National War Memorial.Image:PICT4067.JPG|Statue of General Gerhard von Scharnhorst, one of a number of such statues along Unter den LindenImage:PICT4080.JPG|Part of the campus of Humboldt University, which extends across both sides of Unter den LindenImage:PICT4086.JPG|The statue of Frederick the Great in the middle of Unter den Linden, facing westImage:PICT4088.JPG|St. Hedwig's Catholic Cathedral on Bebelplatz, south of Unter den LindenImage:PICT4092.JPG|The entrance to the Berlin State LibraryImage:Pict4100.jpg|The Adlon Hotel, which has been completely rebuilt on the site of the prewar hotel, on Pariser Platz near the Brandenburg GateImage:PICT4102.JPG|The Brandenburg Gate, once the western entrance to Berlin, now the symbol of the city, marks the western terminus of Unter den Linden*
Webcam: Live-View of the Street "Unter den Linden" with Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany
