Berlin city guide — source and editorial notes Checked 12 October 2026. Original authored prose uses American English. Geography, population and administration https://www.berlin.de/en/history/8476760-8619314-the-medieval-trading-center.en.html https://www.visitberlin.de/en/founding-berlin-1183-queen-luise-1810 1237 is the first written mention of Cölln, not a claim that settlement began that year. Berlin and Cölln were trading settlements on the Spree. https://www.berlin.de/en/history/8481401-8619314-greater-berlin-act.en.html Greater Berlin incorporated surrounding towns in 1920. https://www.visitberlin.de/en/lindenufer The Spree meets the Havel in Spandau. https://www.statistik-berlin-brandenburg.de/presse/2026/73-bevoelkerungsfortschreibung-2025-berlin/ Population: 3,700,577 at the end of 2025, official population estimate. This is distinct from the population register's higher count. https://www.berlin.de/sen/finanzen/vermoegen/geld-und-kreditgeschaeft/state-of-berlin---investor-presentation---september-2025.pdf?ts=1757408308 City-state status, twelve boroughs, area approximately 892 square kilometers. https://www.visitberlin.de/de/stadtteile-berlin https://www.visitberlin.de/de/kieze Official boroughs are distinguished from localities and informal Kieze. https://www.visitberlin.de/de/hufeisensiedlung https://www.visitberlin.de/en/hackesche-hofe Tenements, housing reform and courtyard buildings. https://www.bpb.de/themen/migration-integration/anwerbeabkommen/43261/gastarbeiter-niederlassungsprozesse-und-regionale-verteilung/ Labor recruitment and the establishment of Turkish communities in West Berlin. History and remembrance https://www.visitberlin.de/en/berlins-history https://www.visitberlin.de/en/four-power-status-and-reconstruction-berlins-1945-1950s Prussian and imperial capital, four-power occupation, blockade and airlift. https://www.topographie.de/ueber-den-ort The former Gestapo, SS and Reich Security Main Office site. https://www.stiftung-berliner-mauer.de/de/ https://www.berlin.de/en/museums/3109351-3104050-gedenkstaette-berliner-mauer.en.html https://about.visitberlin.de/en/press/press-releases/berlin-wall-history-glance Border history, Bernauer Straße memorial and East Side Gallery. The memorial's border-system interpretation and the gallery's post-1989 murals are presented as distinct experiences. https://www.stiftung-denkmal.de/en/memorials/memorial-to-the-murdered-jews-of-europe/ The memorial commemorates the Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Architecture, collections and culture https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1239/ Modernist housing reform and the Hufeisensiedlung. The guide does not repeat the outdated claim that the UNESCO ensemble necessarily has six components. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/896/ Museum Island's five museums and the significance of the ensemble. https://www.jmberlin.de/en/libeskind-building The Jewish Museum's axes and voids. https://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/en/stories/why-is-the-audience-seated-behind-the-orchestra/ The Philharmonie's centrally placed orchestra and terraced seating. https://www.visitberlin.de/en/kulturforum https://about.visitberlin.de/sites/default/files/MAM/asset/2019-03/BERLIN_365-24-Magazin_2019_EN.pdf Post-reunification vacant spaces and electronic music. https://www.visitberlin.de/en/history-homosexuality-berlin https://www.visitberlin.de/en/nollendorfplatz-winterfeldtplatz Schöneberg's queer history, persecution and contemporary community. https://www.visitberlin.de/en/nightlife-districts-berlin Venue conditions vary; visitors should check admission and photography rules. Food and outdoor life https://www.visitberlin.de/en/street-food-berlin https://www.visitberlin.de/en/berlins-currywurst https://www.visitberlin.de/en/doner-kebab Turkish culinary roots and Berlin's handheld döner culture are distinguished. The guide does not treat disputed single-inventor claims as settled fact. https://www.visitberlin.de/de/berliner-bierkultur https://www.visitberlin.de/en/warschauer-brucke-corner-shop Berliner Weisse and Spätkauf. Not all Spätis are open around the clock. https://www.tempelhoferfeld.de/en/ https://www.tempelhoferfeld.de/en/participate-get-involved/participation-model/ The airfield's public use and the 2014 protection referendum. https://www.visitberlin.de/de/parks-gaerten-berlin Tiergarten, Grunewald and Berlin's green spaces. Practical information checked against operators https://www.bvg.de/en/tourists/faq-tourists https://www.bvg.de/en/tourists/transportation-tariff-zones https://www.bvg.de/en/tourists/arrival-and-departure/berlin-brandenburg-airport AB covers Berlin; BER lies in C. Center-to-airport travel requires ABC coverage or an appropriate extension. Paper tickets requiring validation must be stamped, and digital tickets must be active before the journey. Prices and changing airport timetables are not hard-coded. https://www.bundestag.de/en/visittheBundestag/dome/registration-245686 Dome visits require registration and compliance with identification and security rules. Availability and closures can change. https://www.smb.museum/en/museums-institutions/pergamonmuseum/plan-your-visit/ https://www.smb.museum/en/museums-institutions/pergamonmuseum/refurbishment/ As of October 2026, the Pergamon Museum is closed. Partial reopening is planned for 4 June 2027, not a promise that the whole museum will be open. Seasonal travel advice is general guidance, not a weather forecast. Maps and photographs See /data/berlin-boundaries-license.txt for the official ALKIS WFS source, license and reproducible simplification. Sight pins identify a building or specific point on a larger site, not necessarily a visitor entrance. Thirteen distinct Wikimedia Commons photographs have exact returned image URLs, file-page links, photographer and license credits in src/lib/cities/berlin-photos.json. Captions describe the actual photographs. Explicit Wikipedia subjects accompany every map place and quiz question.