The Top 50 Interesting Facts about Berlin

Berlin is known worldwide as the capital of Germany. This city has a unique and vast history and still stands tall, excelling in various aspects and shines in glory. This city is located in the heart of North-Eastern, Germany. The rivers Spree and Havel are located around Berlin, giving Berlin all the beauty and aesthetics a city could possess.

Berlin was the capital city of Prussia, and from 1871, it exists as the capital of unified Germany. It has survived World War 2 and has managed with so much resilience and power. There are so many interesting facts about Berlin, ranging from tourism to culinary.

Related link: https://www.icytales.com/nazism-in-germany-the-rise-and-fall-the-third-reich/

Here are the 50 interesting facts about Berlin that’ll blow your mind.

Geographical Facts about Berlin

Berlin naturally has distinct geographical features that make us astound.

1. Berlin is nine times the size of Paris, which makes it one of the largest cities in Europe. When compared with the population density of Paris, Berlin has the only 1/5^th of its density, which is 4000 people per square kilometer as to 21000 people per square kilometer in Paris.
2. Berlin strangely has approximately the same width as London and the same length as Naples in Italy.
3. Berlin is considered as Germany’s greenest city with over 44% of forest cover, waterways, rivers and green areas
4. The Ringbahn in Berlin has the shape of Basset hounds. The fact that people of Berlin are dog lovers is evident in the city’s geographical features itself.

Tourism- Major Economy Generator of Berlin

Tourism gives a place the most number of migrant floating population. Berlin is one of the unique cities in the world where tourism is significant because of its exceptional history, culture, and other prominent characteristics, and here are some more interesting facts about Berlin .

1. The border crossing point between East and West Berlin that plays a vital role in the history of Berlin is still available for tourist visits called the “Checkpoint Charlie.”
2. Brandenburg Gate is considered as Germany’s symbol of peace. It was commissioned by Prussian king Friedrich William 2 in the 18th century. Since 1990, this monumental building stands as the symbol of the reunification of Germany.

Related link: https://www.icytales.com/events-that-changed-the-path-world-history/

3. Berlin is known to have 9 castles which is a large number for any city in the world.- Schloss Charlottenburg, Kopenicker Schloss, Schloss Schonhausen, and six other former mansions are known as “Little castles.”

4. Originally called Lietzenburg palace, it was renamed as Charlottenburg palace after the younger sister Sophie Charlotte of King George 1 of Great Britain. It is interesting to note that many members of the Prussian royal family were buried in this palace, including Wilhelm-1, the first German emperor.

5. Berlin has three opera houses which house 4400 opera attendees. This city has more than 150 theatres and halls for every event.

6. The Berlin zoo is the most visited in Europe. It has 1380 different animal species.

7. Berlin accommodates 3 UNESCO Heritage sites, which are the famous Museum Island, Sansoussi Palace, and Parks in Potsdam and the modernism housing estates.

8. The city has over 200 museums, which are more than the number of rainy days annually in Berlin.

9. The famous shopping street Kurfurstendamm (Popularly known as Ku’Damm) has no house numbers from 1 to 10.

10. Berlin is home to the largest trade fair of the travel industry in the world, International Tourism Convention that is held every March. Other world-class festivals include International Green week for food, agriculture, and gardening industries, International Radio Exhibition that s kept in September every year for consumer electronics and home appliances.

Culture and Events- Creating the Vibe of Berlin

Another interesting fact about Berlin is its culture. The culture of a city has great significance as it binds the history and the present life together for the future. Berlin’s culture is distinguished from the rest of Germany and Europe due to its rich, varied history of separation, war, and unification. The literature stands as a memoir of Berlin’s resilience to its past challenges.

1. Berlin has the most significant contemporary art gallery scene in entire Europe, comprising around 300 galleries.
2. It houses the most extended open gallery in the world as well, known as the East Side Gallery. This gallery is also the longest surviving stretch of the Berlin Wall with a length of 1316 kilometers. This wall holds the artwork of 118 artists from 21 countries.
3. Reichstag, one of the most visited landmarks in Germany, also known for the infamous fire of 1933, hosted the legendary reunification of Germany in October 1990.
4. Berlin hosts an average of 1500 events every single day.
5. The “Berlinale,” one of the largest film festivals in Europe, turned 68 years old in 2019.
6. Every weekend, Berlin’s clubs witness 40,000 to 50,000 dancers. Every single station of Berlin’s train network has at least a night club nearby.
7. Berlin has over 80 Christmas markets during November and December. Nevertheless, Berlin is known for its shopping streets and markets.
8. Berlin has the most extensive Chinese garden in Europe. It is part of the Marzahn’s leisure park. This park has an ensemble of ten yards in the world. Other gardens include Korean, Balinese, Middle Eastern, English Landscape, etc.
9. The New Year’s Eve party between Victory column and Brandenburg gate enjoys cult status internationally because it has around 1 million visitors across the globe.

The Unique Life in Berlin

The life of a city is its people. People of Berlin are multi-cultural, multi-lingual and they also give Berlin their multi-faceted identity. This makes city life in Berlin more vibrant and colorful. This is also one of the interesting facts about Berlin.

1. Berlin had the highest resident population in 1942, which is 4478102. Currently, it inhabits a population of more than 3.7 million.
2. Berlin is the most multi-cultural city in Germany, constituting of people from 190 countries. 7,25,500 people in Berlin hold foreign passports.
3. Another interesting fact about Berlin is that over 80,000 of Berlin’s population is Vegan. There are around 90 restaurants, cafes, and ice cream parlors exclusively for vegans.
4. Berlin is a city for dog lovers. In 2013, there were 110,000 dogs, which grew to 122,000 in 2016. The year 2017 alone witnessed the registration of 105,000 dogs

Interesting and Fascinating Architecture in Berlin

Any city’s architecture evolves along with the city. It is the city’s history that gives shape to its architecture. Berlin’s distinguished architecture shines with grit and glory due to its prominent history.

1. The tallest structure of Berlin, Fersehturm, or the TV Tower has a height of 368 meters. It is also one of the most photographed places in Berlin.
2. The Holocaust memorial, which withholds some tragic memories, Germany has faced too 17 years to be constructed. It has an area of 19,000 square kilometers, covering 2711 concrete slabs or “stelae.” It was first inaugurated on May 10, 2005.
3. Every year it costs 35 million Euros for the city corporation to clean Graffiti. Graffiti has become the color of Berlin’s walls. No matter how much the city management spends to clean the Graffiti, it always reappears.

Flora- Painting “Green” Berlin

Berlin, which is already known as one of the greenest cities in Europe, is home to some unique floral species as well. They play a significant role in the ecosystem’s balance in this magnificent city.

1. The highest tree in Berlin is a European Larch. It was planted in the Tegel forest in 1795. It stands tall with a magnificent height of 45 meters.
2. The oldest tree in Berlin is an English Oak tree, which is also present in the Tegel forest. It is 900 years old, with a trunk circumference of 6.65 meters. It is called the Dicke- Marie tree (Fat Marie tree).

Traffic Facts- The Buzz in Berlin

Berlin is one of the busiest cities in the world is flooded with options of transport every few minutes. The facts about Berlin’s transport systems will make you overflow with amazement.

1. One of the interesting facts about Berlin is that the traffic in this city has one public transport stop with every 500 meters radius.
2. The city has 2100 bridges and 564 of cross- over water. Berlin beats Venice in this record of the number of Bridges. Another interesting fact is that the oldest bridge of Berlin, Jungfernbrucke, which is still used, was constructed in 1798.
3. Berlin has a long stretch of 180 kilometers of navigable waterways.
4. Berlin interestingly has the most extensive subway system while compared with Paris and London, whose subway systems cover 214 kilometers and 400 kilometers, respectively. The subway system covers 473 kilometers, and the tram lines are 120 kilometers.

Related link: https://www.icytales.com/things-you-must-know-before-travelling-around-europe-train/

5. Berlin is known to have got the first real central station with the building of Berlin  Hauptbahnhof. It is the largest station in Europe. Over 300000 passengers board 1300 regional and other long-distance trains daily from this place.

6. One interesting fact about the distance traveled every day by Berlin’s public transit system is that it is equivalent to 8.7 times around the Earth. This includes all the U-Bahn and buses together.

7. It is interesting to note that Berlin has the first traffic light in Europe. It exists from the year 1924. This traffic light will complete its 100th year in 2024. This is one of the most interesting facts about Berlin.

Know about another interesting traffic light in Germany that has only shown red signals since 1987 in the link below.

Related link: https://www.icytales.com/this-traffic-light-in-germany-has-been-red-since-1987/

Culinary Facts- The Taste of Berlin

Berlin houses a great culinary history because of the integration of cultures of Prussia, parts of Europe, and the cultures of its immigrants. These interesting facts about Berlin and its food will make you debate if they are lip-smacking or mouth-watering or both.

1. Berlin houses the largest departmental store in Europe called “Kaufhaus des Westens.” It is popularly known as “KaDeWe.” It was inaugurated in 1907, and it still serves 60,000 square meters of retail space and six floors. The gourmet food department of this store holds the record of being the largest in Europe.
2. One interesting fact about Berlin is that it is called food and entertainment capital. This is because you can find 6500 restaurants, 550 ice cream parlors, 2800 sandwich shops, 225 bars, clubs, and other food, drink venues.
3. Berlin has more Doner’ Kebab shops than Istanbul, which is the place of origin of Kebabs. It has 1600 shops selling Doner’ Kebabs. The dish is called Doner’ in Berlin because it was initially served with Kebab meat, salad and sauce grilled in flatbread.
4. The German Bundestag, a parliamentary building in Berlin, is the only administrative building in the world to have a restaurant that is open to the public. It is a rooftop restaurant that takes only advance registration.
5. Smoking was banned in the year 1894 in Berlin. It is one of the few cities where smoking in bars is still the norm.

Miscellaneous interesting facts about Berlin:

Interesting Facts about Beer in Berlin

The facts given below about Berlin’s beer culture will make you want to visit Berlin just to taste its unique and aromatic beer varieties.

1. Berliner Weibe, a bubble, slightly bitter beer, is the specialty of Berlin. Prepared with a mix of wheat and barley malt and fermented, it is traditionally served with woodruff syrup or a raspberry shot. It is a summer drink in Berlin.
2. Another interesting fact about Berlin’s beer culture is the capital of the craft beer scene in Germany. Over 30 breweries are present in Berlin that serves aromatic beer varieties from Pale Ale to IPA on tap.
3. The international Berlin beer festival is home to the most extensive beer garden in the world, with a stretch of 2.2 kilometers. This festival is celebrated with 2400 beer specialties from over 90 countries around the world.
4. There are 1000 ways to buy cheap beer in Berlin because Berlin has an active nightlife. Late-night stores and supplies provide beer even at 4 AM.

Interesting facts about Vending Machines in Berlin

It is interesting to know that Berlin’s vending machines also stand different from the vending machines of the rest of the world. Here are some interesting facts about Berlin’s vending machines.

1. Berlin’s posh shopping street Friedrichstrasse has a “Gold ATM.” At Galleries Lafayette, you can find this Gold Vending machine. The gold comes in bars weighing up to 250 grams.
2. If you are ever put through a situation of being shoeless due to all the excessive shopping in Berlin, a vending machine in Fritzclub by Postbahnhof bends Ballet flat shoes for 9 euros. Isn’t it interesting to lose your shoes just for this shoe vending machine?

Berlin is more than a city, an administrative capital of Germany. The city is defined by a variety of things from its history, architecture, transportation, tourism, food, and culture. Every city in the world has its own identity, but Berlin has a multi-faceted status, which makes it unique from the rest of the cities in the world.

These 50 interesting facts about Berlin definitely would have you image Berlin as one of the most unique, fascinating cities. There are a lot many exciting facts about this city, and Berlin is one such city that will keep creating its uniqueness.

Share any interesting facts about Berlin that make you want to visit this place.

Last Updated on September 8, 2023 by Himani Rawat