17-520: The Weidendammer Bridge is a 73-metre-long (240 ft) bridge where the Friedrichstraße crosses the Spree river in the central Mitte district of Berlin , Germany . It is notable for its ornate wrought iron railings, lanterns, and Imperial eagles . In 1685, a wooden drawbridge was built on the site in the course of the creation under Elector Frederick William I of Hohenzollern of
34-524: A new western suburb of the city, Dorotheenstadt . Named after nearby willow ( Weiden ) trees on the riverbank, it was demolished for a cast iron construction erected in 1824, one of the first in Central Europe . Too small after the exponential population growth of Berlin as the capital of the German Empire , it was again replaced by the current bridge built between 1895 and 1896. During
51-538: A six-building, $ 800 million, multi-use complex developed by Tishman Speyer , among others. The buildings have a city-imposed height limit of about 100 feet. A number of well-known architects contributed to the plans, including Jean Nouvel , who designed the Galeries Lafayette department store ( Quartier 207 ); Pei Cobb Freed & Partners , who planned Quartier 206 ; and Oswald Mathias Ungers , who created Quartier 205 . Philip Johnson created parts of
68-592: Is a major culture and shopping street in central Berlin , forming the core of the Friedrichstadt neighborhood and giving the name to Berlin Friedrichstraße station . It runs from the northern part of the old Mitte district (north of which it is called Chausseestraße) to the Hallesches Tor in the district of Kreuzberg . This downtown area is known for its expensive real estate market and
85-589: Is a round plaza (or circus) at the southern tip of the Friedrichstadt neighborhood of Kreuzberg district, Berlin . It marks the southern end of Friedrichstraße . Until 1970 both Lindenstraße and Wilhelmstrasse led into it. In 1947 it was renamed after the publicist Franz Mehring (1846–1919). Mehringplatz is one of three prominent squares laid out about 1730 in the course of the city's Baroque extension under King Frederick William I of Prussia , along with Pariser Platz (former Karree ) and Leipziger Platz ( Octagon ). Due to its circular shape, Mehringplatz
102-463: Is three blocks east of the parallel Wilhelmstraße , the historic heart of the old government quarter ( German : Regierungsviertel ) until 1945. Friedrichstraße was badly damaged during World War II and only partly rebuilt during the division of Berlin. The section in West Berlin was partly rebuilt as a residential street; in the late 1960s, the remains of the former Belle-Alliance-Platz at
119-537: The Battle of Berlin , the Weidendammer Bridge was one of the few Spree crossings that had not been destroyed. On the night of 1 May 1945, a Tiger tank from the 11th SS Panzergrenadier Division Nordland spearheaded an attempt to storm the bridge to allow hundreds of German soldiers and civilians to escape across it. Lovers are known to lock padlocks engraved with their names onto the wrought-iron work on
136-523: The West Berlin subway line U6 . The station served as a transfer point for these lines, and trains stopped there, although all other stations on these lines in East Berlin were sealed-off ghost stations ( Geisterbahnhof ), where trains passed through under guard without stopping. At Friedrichstraße station, West Berlin passengers could transfer from one platform to another but could not leave
153-673: The American Business Center at Checkpoint Charlie, a $ 751 million five-building complex of offices, shops and apartments developed by Ronald Lauder and Central European Media Enterprises . The redevelopment received mixed reviews. During the Cold War and division of Berlin, the Friedrichstraße underground station , despite being located in East Berlin , was utilized by two intersecting West Berlin S-Bahn lines and
170-605: The East German Plattenbau -based construction was stopped and subsequently demolished; only a few buildings that were already complete and occupied were spared. The completed Berlin Casino building located at the corner of Leipziger Straße was torn down in 1994. Friedrichstraße was rebuilt in the 1990s, and at the time it was the city's largest construction project; work continues north of Friedrichstraße station. From 1992 until 1996, construction works took place for
187-594: The bridge, and at times, these locks are removed by the authorities. 52°31′20″N 13°23′17″E / 52.52222°N 13.38806°E / 52.52222; 13.38806 This article about a Berlin building or structure is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a bridge in Germany is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Friedrichstra%C3%9Fe Friedrichstraße ( German pronunciation: [ˈfʁiːdʁɪçˌʃtʁaːsə] ) (lit. Frederick Street )
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#1732780937409204-537: The campus of the Hertie School of Governance . Due to its north-southerly direction, it forms important junctions with the east-western axes, most notably with Leipziger Straße and Unter den Linden . The U6 U-Bahn line runs underneath. During the Cold War it was bisected by the Berlin Wall and was the location of Checkpoint Charlie . As central Berlin's traditional shopping street, Friedrichstraße
221-541: The end of the Friedrichstraße, renamed Mehringplatz , were completely demolished and replaced with a concrete housing and office development designed by Hans Scharoun . Despite its central location, this area remains relatively poor. In the East Berlin section, plans were put into place to widen the street to four lanes as was done to the Leipziger Straße ; the Hotel Unter den Linden (demolished 2006) and
238-535: The erection of the Friedenssäule (" Peace Column ") with a statue of Victoria by Christian Daniel Rauch in 1843. The area was completely devastated in World War Two, particularly in an air raid on 3 February 1945 and the Battle of Berlin which followed. In the 1960s, Mehringplatz was redeveloped as a pedestrian zone that would anchor a large social housing area according to the realization of
255-462: The original Lindencorso (demolished 1991) were the only structures built during this time with the wider profile of the street in mind. The Grand Hotel Berlin , East Germany's top 5-star hotel, was built across from the Hotel Unter den Linden in 1987. Further plans were drawn up for a rebuilding of the street, and construction was well underway at the time of German reunification in 1990, when
272-523: The station without the appropriate papers. The section of the station open to West Berlin lines was heavily guarded and was sealed off from the smaller part of it serving as a terminus of the East Berlin S-Bahn and as a station for long-distance trains. In 2020, a section of Friedrichstraße was closed off for motorized traffic during a five-month trial period with the intent to revitalize urban space. Belle-Alliance-Platz Mehringplatz
289-468: Was initially named Rondell ; but on 22 October 1815, it was renamed Belle-Alliance-Platz after the Battle of La Belle Alliance , an alternative name for the Battle of Waterloo that was then popular in Prussia . Rondell was the southern entrance to Berlin via Hallesches Tor , a gate on the newer city wall on the outbound road to Halle . The circus was refurbished during the 1830s, including
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