ABSTRACT

The Tiergarten – literally ‘animal garden’ or ‘garden of beasts’ – sits at the physical and political centre of Berlin. It is generally acknowledged to be the oldest, largest and most important park in the city and often referred to as the ‘Central Park’ of Berlin. Originally a private park owned by monarchy, the Tiergarten was enclosed for hunting and subsequently made accessible to the public before being redesigned expressly for free public use. It has a 500-year history whereas ‘very few of the city’s older buildings predate 1850’ (Ladd 1997: 98). The history of Berlin, the history of Prussia and the history of Germany have unfolded around it. The park was the scene of public protests during the political unrest of 1848; the site for the Prussian Siegessäulle – ‘Victory Column’ – placed in 1873 and relocated in 1938; the setting for the Reichstag (Federal Assembly building) completed in 1894, destroyed by fire in 1933 and completely resurrected for the return of the federal government of the reunited Germany in 1999. The neo-classical Brandenburg Gate, at the eastern edge of the Tier garten, was completed in 1791. It was designed as a gate in the customs wall on the west side of the city but attained the status of a triumphal arch after Prussia’s defeat of Napoleon in 1814. It was retained when that wall was removed in the 1860s and remained a military setting for the unification of Germany in 1871, and during World Wars I and II. The Gate is a German monument and the enduring symbol of the city of Berlin (ibid: 74). From 1961 to 1989 it sat on the line of the Berlin Wall that divided the occupied city. During that period the Tiergarten was no more (or less) than a major recreation area at the eastern edge of the enclave of West Berlin.