Yesterday I decided to wander around the Nickolaiviertel. This part of Berlin Mitte is all about Berlins roots and has some very interesting, oppositional architecture.
The ancient Stadtmauer (town wall) from 1250 opposite the impressive art nouveau Courthouse from 1904. Around the corner you’ll find the modern Waterworks building and just across the road the convincingly medieval looking Nikolaieviertel. However only really old thing in this attractive district is the 1230 Nikolaikirche (church) all the rest was built in the 1980s by the East German government to celebrate Berlin’s 750th birthday.
Just a short stroll from there the old transportation and commercial hub of East Berlin – the Alexanderplazt . A cold concrete square, oozing the 1960s socialist look, with the Fernsehturm towering over it all.
out of the s-bahn and I found this “lego” tower
a bit of the old Stadtmauer (1250)
hidden behind the arch is “Zur Letzten Instanz” (To The Last Authority … roughly translated) a historic restaurant
the 1904 art noveau courthouse in the Littenstrasse
the house number
inside the foyer is awe inspiring
around the corner what remain of the Franzikaner Klosterkirche (Franciscan Monastery Church) … Bismark went to school here
an angel remains
this is how the other half lives …
a memorial to the first ever anti-war museum
up on a church
Altes Stadthaus (Old City Hall)
a doorknob somewhere on the way
The Berliner Dom from afar
the Waterworks
when you look up you see this … not sure what it is but it looks like plastic lace
a house on the other side of the road
another doorknob
by the Spree (river through Berlin)
the archway into the Nikolaikirche
the Berlin Bear
a fountain
another bear
and two Berliner icons just across the way … the 1968 Fernsehturm ( TV Tower) at 368m Germany’s tallest structure (I think) and the Rotes Rathaus where the Berlin Senate sits
inside the Rotes Rathaus
inside the Rotes Rathaus
walking past the always present Fernsehturm on my way to the Alexanderplatz
and everywhere building sites
on the Alexander Platz, the “main” square in Berlin … shopping, transportation, cafes create a noisy lively atmosphere … even if the cold 60s cement charm really isn’t much to look at
at the corner a 60s highrise adorned with socialistic art … all in mosaic
jensinewall 