Berlin in 1912
"Berlin, the capital of the German Empire and the residence of the imperial family, is the most modern of European capitals. In the rapidity of its growth it resembles an…
From: 1912 C.E. To: 1912 C.E.
Location: Berlin, Germany
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
From Germany by the Rev. J.F. Dickie, 1912.
Berlin, the capital of the German Empire and the residence of the imperial family, is the most modern of European capitals. In the rapidity of its growth it resembles an American rather than a continental city. Within its municipal boundaries a little over two million inhabitants reside, but Greater Berlin has nearly four millions. The growth of some of the suburbs is phenomenal. For example, Charlottenburg, with a population of twenty thousand in 1890, numbers nearly three hundred thousand in this year of grace. This simply means that Berlin has overleaped its boundaries and poured its surplus population into the neighbouring town. The day is not far distant when all the suburbs will be absorbed. Greater Berlin will then be under one central municipal rule, and will cover an extensive area.
The Unter den Linden is the great historic street and the centre of the city. From the Brandenburg gate, past the statue of Frederick the Great to the Royal Palace, there are few streets in the world to be named beside it. The Brandenburg gate is 200 feet high, and is surmounted by the chariot of Victory, which Napoleon removed to Paris, but which was restored to its former site at the close of the war. What has not this historic gate seen? Defeat and triumph, the black plumes of death and the orange blossoms of the royal brides, the tramp of great battalions crowned with the glories of war, and the huzzas with which foreign sovereigns are welcomed, are all associated with this mighty portal.
The noteworthy buildings and the interesting sights of Berlin are either on the Linden itself or in its neighbourhood. The French Embassy, the palaces of Blucher, Radziwill, and Henkel of Donnersmark, the Royal Academy of Arts, and the Hotel Adlon, are ranged under the shadow of the great gateway. On each side of the street some of the Prussian ministries are housed, although Wilhelmstrasse, where the British Embassy is found, is the Downing Street of Berlin. The Chancellor, the Foreign Secretary, and the Imperial Secretaries have their official residences along this diplomatic domain.
Continuing our ramble on the Linden, we arrive at the intersection of Friedrichstrasse and Unter den Linden, which is the central point of the bustling life of the great capital. There is an unobstructed outlook from the Brandenburg gate to the Palace, and from the bridge that crosses the Spree along the whole length of Friedrichstrasse to the Hallesches gate. On the one corner crowds are inside and outside of Krantzler's, sipping coffee or ice-cream, and watching the ever-changing scene. Across the way the Cafe Bauer with its mural paintings and its polyglot company holds its doors open day and night.
Beyond this historic cafe the Linden is occupied by the court jewellers and leading banking-houses on the one side; on the other stands the new building where the Prussian Royal Academy and the Royal Library are housed. Close beside them is the University, whose centenary was celebrated in October. It has poorer buildings and less attractive classrooms than any third-rate college; yet it is in the front rank among the educational institutions of the world. It has had, and still has, among its instructors a galaxy of great men, who have given it high standing and made it illustrious. The statues of William and Alexander von Humboldt, of Helmholz, Mommsen, and Treitschke, are set in front of the halls where their fame was won.
Across the street we see the Palace of Emperor William I.—Old Father William, as Punch felicitously named him on his ninetieth birthday. At its historic window he showed himself daily to the guards as they passed, and saluted them and the crowds of sightseers, who came to view the daily spectacle and cheer the venerable ruler of the Empire.
The Zeughaus—the Arsenal, as we call it in English—has an immense collection of cannon, of mediaeval suits of mail, of modern weapons, and everything that is dear to the heart of a great military nation. On its walls are frescoes of the history of Prussia, and of its famous battles from Fehrbellin to Sedan, and statues in bronze of its military rulers from the Great Elector to Emperor Frederick III. It is as a military Valhalla, where Keith, Ziethen, Seydlitz, Dessau, Blucher, Manteuffel, Bismarck, Moltke, and Von Roon are commemorated, and the fame of the "Red Prince," Frederick Carl, and "Unser Fritz" extolled.
Most interesting is the collection of orders, decorations, and the famous three-cocked hat found by Blucher's soldiers in the tent of the “Little Corporal" after his defeat at Waterloo. The sword of honour presented to Blucher by the City of London is appropriately placed beside the spolia opima that fell to the lot of old Marshal "Forward."
Now we pass the Palace where Emperor and Empress Frederick had their dwelling. At one of the windows a nurse was commanded to hold the present Emperor, when he was only four months old, and draw his attention to the funeral procession of Alexander von Humboldt in May 1859, that he might be able to say he had witnessed the passing of the most illustrious scholar of Germany.
On the fourth window of the second story of this Palace a horseshoe is fastened. Thereby hangs a tale. It happened that the father of the “Red Prince" had been commanded by Frederick William III. to dine with him on a certain evening. When the hour drew near his princess informed him that she could not be ready in time, and that she must be fifteen minutes late. Knowing his father's extreme punctuality he set out alone, promising to send the carriage back for the princess.
As the coach returned, the drivers urged the horses and were driving furiously. As they ascended the incline in front of the Palace, one of the horse-shoes struck so hard against the stones that it was loosened, and flew through the window. It fell with a crash upon the dining-table right in front of the king. The monarch turned pale, fearing that a shot had been fired at him. The prince said it afforded another topic of conversation than the lateness of the princess. King William caused it to be nailed to the window sash, where it can still be seen from the street.
Crossing the bridge that is adorned with symbolic statues of a warrior, we stand before the Royal Palace, the residence of the German Emperor. This is the heart of Berlin, and the heart of the Empire. It is most appropriately built on an island formed by two arms of the Spree. It faces the site of the old fishing village of Coin on the one side, and the site of the old fishing village of Berlin on the other. It is thus a connecting link between the two rival fishing villages of five hundred years ago, and the great metropolis of the new German Empire. It is a vast pile of buildings of various epochs and divers styles of architecture, having no less than seven hundred rooms. It is full of objects of interest, including many noteworthy portraits and historic paintings. It has a Red Eagle Chamber and a Black Eagle Chamber, where the highest orders of knighthood are conferred.
Its famous White Salon is the scene of the great state banquets. The royal bridal processions wend their way through the long gallery to the Royal Chapel in the cupola of the Palace, and in the ballroom the marriage festivities still culminate in the famous Hohenzollern torch-dance.
What a history this Palace could tell of the five hundred years of the Hohenzollern line! Beginning as petty princelings in the Burg on the heights of Swabia, they became burgraves of Nuremberg, then electors of Brandenburg. Two hundred years ago Frederick I. was crowned King of Prussia, and on the 18th of January 1871 Emperor William of Germany was acclaimed in the Palace of Versailles. It is a great history. It tells of a noble race of men rising by the force and power of their individuality to the highest pinnacle of dignity and imperial rule.
Among them all there is none greater than the present Emperor. As a recent London journal has said: “Three monarchs have made Germany what it is. The Great Elector laid deep and broad the foundation of the greatness of the Hohenzollern line. Frederick the Great made it a military power of the first rank, and the present Emperor William II. has made it a great naval power, that ranks with Britain and America."
Near the Palace stands the Cathedral, somewhat in the style of St. Paul's in London. The National Gallery, the old and new Museums, and the Emperor Frederick Museum all cluster round the "Lustgarten" near the Palace. Together they form a great treasury of ancient and modern art. The Opera House and the chief Catholic church are close at hand. The Luther statue stands in front of the Marien Church, the oldest ecclesiastical building in the city. Many of the old churches of the city are in this neighbourhood, although, like the ancient London churches, they are now in a very thinly populated district.
The City Hall—the Red House, as it is called—is a noble brick structure, which has become so inadequate to the needs of the municipal government that a new and splendid stone structure has been erected to afford room for the ever-increasing demands of the city administration. Much praise is due to the Town Council, guided as it is so wisely and well by Chief Burgomaster Kirschner, and his associate Burgomaster Dr. Reike. It is generally admitted that Berlin is the best-governed city in the world, with Glasgow and Toronto as its chief rivals.
Behind the City Hall, from the Milldam to the Fisher's Bridge, we could imagine ourselves to be in some Baltic seaport. Great warehouses line the wharves, and barges are being loaded and unloaded, to the chorus of such oaths as German sailors can find in a language that is so poverty-stricken in its profanity. Besides this, there is another harbour in Hansa Platz, and the north harbour near the region of industrial Berlin. Here the great electrical works and the foundries give employment to a great army of toilers. No fewer than 350,000 are needed for the industries of this great city.
Returning to the Brandenburg gate, we spend a few minutes in admiring the statues of Emperor and Empress Frederick. It is extremely gratifying to all British visitors to find that this Empress, the first descendant of the royal house of Hanover who came back to the Fatherland, should have her monument set up in a place so prominent. It stands just outside the gate, where the Thiergarten begins.
A few paces farther we reach the Avenue of Victory, lined with statues of the Hohenzollems from Albert the Bear to Emperor William the Great. Thence we make our way through the centre of this splendid park to the Mausoleum at Charlottenburg. Here King Frederick William III. and his beautiful Queen Louise sleep their last sleep; here also Emperor William I. and Empress Augusta were laid to rest as they desired.
At the entrance the gigantic figure of the archangel Michael keeps watch and ward over the sleeping dead. The wonderfully subdued light that streams through the stained-glass windows invests this sepulchre with an attractive loveliness. The recumbent figures seem bathed in an atmosphere of sweet peace. Sweet calm and serene, here they rest in God, who were His instruments in troublous times and in triumphant days! The soul of the visitor is stirred as if he were present at some memorial service.
Berlin is singularly mindful of those who have deserved well of the city and of the empire. Wilhelm's Platz is adorned with the statues of great warriors like Keith and Ziethen. Close to the Palace are those of Frederick the Great and old Emperor William. The great trio, Bismarck, Moltke, and Von Roon, have found their place in front of the house of the Imperial Parliament. Schiller graces the square in front of the Royal Theatre. Goethe and Wagner share with Queen Louise the honour of greeting the multitudes who crowd the pathways of the famous Thiergarten. That of the Great Elector on the castle bridge is perhaps the most artistic of them all.
Dickie, J.F. Germany. Adam and Charles Black. 1912.
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