~ Berlin is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Germany and one of the sixteen Länder. It is located in the northeast of Germany, a scant 70 kilometers from the border with Poland. It is crossed by the rivers Spree and Havel. With a population of 3.4 million inhabitants, Berlin is the most populous city country and the fifth largest urban agglomeration among European Union countries ~ ~ Founded in 1237 as Cölln, Berlin was successively the capital of the Kingdom of Prussia (1701-1918), the German Empire (1871-1918), of the Weimar Republic (1919-1933) and the Third Reich (1933-1945). After the Second World War, the divided city It was, the part east of the city became the capital of East Germany, while that the Western Region of the town became an enclave of the country ~ ~ It is one of the most influential cities in the political arena of the European Union and 2006 was chosen by UNESCO Creative City. In 2009 the city received the award Prince of Asturias Concord ~ • Geography • ~ The exact location of the City of Berlin is 52 º 31 '12 "latitude north, 13 º 24 '36 "east longitude. The urban extension east-west direction is about 45 km, and a north-south about 38 km. The area of the city is approximately 892 km ². Berlin is completely surrounded by the State Brandenburg and is located east of the Federal Republic of Germany, approximately 70 kilometers west of the border with Poland. The city is a conurbations of the Federal Republic ~ ~ Berlin is located in a region formed during the ice age in the Urstromtal (old course) in Warsaw and Berlin, between the highlands of Barnim Teltow Y. The center of Berlin is at the narrowest point of the river Spree On their way through the Urstromtal. In Spandau, the western district of Berlin, the Spree flows into Havel River, which flows through western Berlin in a north-south. The course of the Havel a tiny landscape resembles a Marine, being its major widenings the Lake Tegel and Wannsee Großer ~ [Location of Germany in Europe, and Berlin in Germany] • History • ~ The history of Berlin itself is the history of Germany itself, and as we know it today. Two towns founded around the year 1200, Berlin and Cölln, joined in 1307 forming a single city of 7,000 inhabitants still called the Berlin ~ ~ The city entered into history in 1415 when he was elected state capital Brandenburg, then one of the many States that composed the mosaic Holy Roman Empire ~ ~ In 1759, East Prussia was in the hands of the Russians had taken Berlin in the framework of the Seven Years War. Russia withdrew in 1762 DUE TO that in the Death of the Empress, his successor, Peter III, who admired Frederick the Great of Prussia, signed a peace treaty ~ ~ As part of the kingdom of Brandenburg Prussia, Berlin became the capital of German Empire (in 1871) When Prussia achieve the unification of Germany after first defeating Austria in the Seven Weeks' War (1866) and then finish with the French Second Empire defeat his army in the Franco-Prussian War. Since then a considerable population increase experiment, from 824.484 inhabitants in 1871, a 1,888,313 in 1900 to 4,024,165 in 1925. The city became a cultural reference, architectural and financial center in the world ~ ~ Capital of Nazi Germany, Berlin in 1939 reached its maximum population with 4,338,756 inhabitants. The Führer Adolf Hitler planned urban works of great Span a cargo of Albert Speer and the renaming of how this Germany, which did not go due out at the beginning of the Second World War During which the Party Los mayor was destroyed by bombing air made by the British RAF and the USAF, the air of United States, which added the Battle of Berlin against the Soviet Army represented by Gegam Murov (of Armenian origin). One result has bombing and miles of ground battles killed civilians. After the defeat of the Nazi regime Berlin was divided into four sectors under the administration of the Allies ~ [Creation of the German Empire in 1871] ~ In 1948, the three western sectors (West Berlin) were regrouped under Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), to which the Soviet Union responded with blocking its sector and the City of Creation of the Democratic Republic German (GDR) in 1949, with its capital in East Berlin. This blockade failed thanks the airlift continued for Western forces since the RFA ~ ~ In 1961, the GDR built the Berlin Wall called to separate the two parts of the city, and indeed to isolate West Berlin from East Germany, to to halt the emigration of Germans from east to west. The wall, which had a total of 144 km, was one of the best known symbols of the Cold War and the Partition of Germany. Many people died in the attempt to overcome the harsh supervision of the border guards of the GDR As they headed to the western sector. The exact number of victims is Subject to dispute and are not known with certainty. Different figures versions ranging between 86 and 238 dead ~ ~ Many West Berliners also left the city feeling of insecurity or for economic reasons: the most isolated city in the territory of Soviet influence, although massively subsidized, could not SAME Providing the opportunities that the rest of the country, contributing to the decrease the number of people ~ ~ The Berlin Wall fell on 9 November 1989, to accept the government of the GDR's free movement of citizens between the two parts of the city. After almost a GDR disappeared years, in fact annexed to Germany, which in 1990 moved its capital of Bonn, Berlin, thereby giving EU membership to the population of the defunct Republic ~ [Potsdamer Platz (1945)] • Remodeling of the city • ~ Today Berlin is a large lot under construction. Cranes dominate the landscape of the city, many buildings have been renovated, historic sites as the Potsdamer Platz and emblematic buildings like the Reichstag, have recovered its former glory. The best architects in the world built or rebuilt a range of public and private buildings. It is expected that by 2015 Building becomes a Royal Palace in the city destroyed during the World War II. This project involves the creation of a large cultural and commercial center within the new building, whose facade will be an exact copy of the original ~ [The German Reichstag] • Economy • ~ After reunification in 1990, substantial subsidies previously received by West Berlin were gradually eliminated. The industrial base of the former East Berlin, fell dramatically within a decade, giving Place an unemployment rate of almost 20% and the stagnation of rates GDP growth until 2005. In 2006, nominal GDP experienced Berlin a growth rate of 1.5% (2.7% in Germany). Since then the rate Unemployment fell steadily from 13% (Sept/2008) but is German being above average (8.4% / Sept/2007) and the EU ~ ~ Of the thirty companies that comprise the German DAX index, Siemens AG and Deutsche Bahn have their headquarters in Berlin. Among the 20 largest employers in Berlin are the railway company Deutsche Bahn (DB), the airline Air Berlin (the second largest airline behind Lufthansa of Germany), the company of the famous Charité University Hospital, the local transport company BVG public, the Service Provider and Piepenbrock Dussmann. Bayer Schering Pharma and Berlin Chemie son large pharmaceutical companies based in the city. The venues in Germany from Universal Music and Sony Music are found in Berlin. Local television stations, national and international, as RBB, MTV Europe, VIVA, TVB, FAB, Sat.1 and N24, have their headquarters in the city ~ ~ Berlin Adlershof is one of the 15 largest technology parks worldwide. Research and development are of great economic importance, and the region Berlin-Brandenburg is situated between the top three Innovating Regions in the EU ~ ~ The growing tourism sector encompasses 581 hotels with 87,800 beds and around 15.9 million overnight stays, making Berlin the third most visited city in the European Union ~ [Potsdamer Platz and headquarters of the Deutsche Bahn] ~ I hope to offer a great recreation of this fantastic city. I like who have shared all the criticisms and mistakes you can see for themselves better in the future, greetings and thanks for visiting Berlin.