Difference between revisions of "Berlin"
Jeremiah4-22 (talk | contribs) m |
(changing awkward wording) |
||
| Line 7: | Line 7: | ||
Central yearly events are the Love Parade with techno music and the Cristopher Street Day Parade. Another typical characteristic of Berliners is their so-called "Berliner Schnauze", prompt and sharp comments or replies. For outsiders it is often mistaken as rudeness. | Central yearly events are the Love Parade with techno music and the Cristopher Street Day Parade. Another typical characteristic of Berliners is their so-called "Berliner Schnauze", prompt and sharp comments or replies. For outsiders it is often mistaken as rudeness. | ||
| − | A remarkable political event was | + | A remarkable political event was the current mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit, publicly announcing in his election campaign that he is gay. <ref>article in NY Times [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/23/world/europe/23wowereit.html?ei=5090&en=fab18328b0dbeafe&ex=1316664000&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all]</ref> |
===References=== | ===References=== | ||
Revision as of 19:07, May 11, 2007
Berlin is the capital of Germany, and formerly of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Margravate of Brandenburg.
During the Cold War it was divided into an Eastern and a Western part. Both were considered to be under the control of the four WWII Allies. However, in fact, the USSR and East Germany, the German Democratic Republic, made East Berlin to the capital of East Germany, whereas the Western Allies (USA, UK, France) and West Germany, the Federal Republic Germany, insisted on the allied status of all sectors of Berlin and made Bonn to the preliminary capital of West Germany. A wall between the two parts was built by East Germany in order to stop people escaping from East Berlin to West Berlin for economic as well as political reasons.
Berlin is well-known for its liberal attitude and its large "alternative scene". During cold war time, numerous young men from West Germany moved to West-Berlin, in order to dodge the draft to the army. They founded numerous communities, mainly in the city district "Kreuzberg". It is also the district with a strong community of Turkish.
Central yearly events are the Love Parade with techno music and the Cristopher Street Day Parade. Another typical characteristic of Berliners is their so-called "Berliner Schnauze", prompt and sharp comments or replies. For outsiders it is often mistaken as rudeness.
A remarkable political event was the current mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit, publicly announcing in his election campaign that he is gay. [1]