170-583: Potsdamer Platz ( German: [ˈpɔtsdamɐ plats] , Potsdam Square ) is a public square and traffic intersection in the center of Berlin , Germany, lying about 1 km (1,100 yd) south of the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag ( German Parliament Building), and close to the southeast corner of the Tiergarten park. It is named after the city of Potsdam , some 25 km (16 mi) to
340-481: A Woolworths store on its ground floor, a major travel company housed on the floor above, and a restaurant offering fine views over the city from the top floor, the economic situation of the time meant that it would not be followed by more buildings in that vein: no further redevelopment in the immediate vicinity of Potsdamer Platz occurred prior to World War II, and so Columbushaus would always seem out of place in that location. Nevertheless, its exact position showed that
510-622: A brief armistice . During the armistice, the monarchs of Russia and Prussia met Crown Prince Charles John of Sweden at Trachenberg Castle in Silesia . Charles John, a former French Marshal of the Empire (previously known as Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte), outlined a strategy for defeating Napoleon that, with added details from the Austrians following their joining of the Coalition on 12 August 1813, became known as
680-548: A "square" has a wider meaning. There are public squares of the type described above but the term is also used for formal open spaces surrounded by houses with private gardens at the centre, sometimes known as garden squares . Most of these were built in the 18th and 19th centuries. In some cases the gardens are now open to the public. See the Squares in London category. Additionally, many public squares were created in towns and cities across
850-493: A French counterattack. Russo-Prussian General Württemberg was notable for his extreme bravery directing his troops under fire. At this point, Napoleon ordered General Drouot to form a grand battery of 150 guns on Gallows hill. This was done and the guns blasted the exposed Russian II Corps, forcing the Prussian battalions supporting it to take cover. The hole had now been opened as Napoleon wished and at this point, Marshal Murat
1020-603: A bakery from which the café was a 1796 offshoot. It had occupied various locations including (from 1812 till 1880), a site in front of the Berlin City Palace , before moving to Potsdamer Platz in the latter year. A major player on the Berlin café scene, Josty attracted writers, artists, politicians and international society: it was one of the places to be seen. The writer Theodor Fontane , painter Adolph von Menzel , and Dadaist Kurt Schwitters were all guests; Karl Liebknecht ,
1190-626: A catastrophic defeat at the hands of von Bülow and Charles John at the Battle of Dennewitz . With an intact Army of the North threatening from the direction of Berlin, and Blücher's army moving toward the Elbe , Napoleon was compelled to withdraw westward. He crossed the Elbe with much of his army between late September and early October, and organized his forces around Leipzig , to protect his crucial supply lines and oppose
1360-481: A concert venue until concerns were raised about increased traffic problems in the already congested streets, it was ruled that it should serve a gastronomic purpose only. Altogether it could accommodate 4,000 guests at a time, 1,100 of these in its main hall alone. Many of the total of 14 banquet and beer halls had a Wagnerian theme – indeed, the very name of the complex was taken from the Wagner opera Das Rheingold ,
1530-409: A dome rising 35 m above the pavement at the north (Stresemannstrasse) end, it contained the world's largest restaurant – the 2,500-seat Café Piccadilly, plus a 1,200-seat theatre and numerous offices. These included (from 1917 to 1927), the headquarters of Universum Film AG (aka UFA or Ufa), Germany's biggest film company. On 16 August 1914, less than three weeks after the start of World War I ,
1700-438: A drafting of the battle plan, with Marshals Prince Volkonsky of Russia, Johan Christopher Toll of Sweden and Karl Friedrich von dem Knesebeck of Prussia taking part in the planning. After the first plan was drafted, Schwarzenberg submitted it to the monarchs. However, Alexander complained about his incompetence in terms of battle planning upon seeing the plan for himself. Upon learning of Schwarzenberg's main plan – to call for
1870-433: A few years later. Being outside Berlin, and therefore not subject to the same planning guidelines, Potsdamer Platz grew in a piecemeal and haphazard way, unlike Leipziger Platz, which had been planned and built all at once by Johann Philipp Gerlach . Prussian architect Friedrich David Gilly proposed a unified redesign of the two squares in 1797, but it was never built. In 1815, his pupil, Karl Friedrich Schinkel , proposed
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#17328414347642040-474: A great many buildings in the area, especially Columbushaus, where they took over most of the upper floors. As if to emphasise their presence, they used the building to advertise their own weekly publication: a huge neon sign on its roof proclaimed DIE BRAUNE POST – N.S. SONNTAGSZEITUNG (The Brown Post – N.S. Sunday Newspaper), the N.S. standing for Nationalsozialist (National Socialist), i.e. Nazi. Probably Potsdamer Platz's most prominent landmark in
2210-661: A marketplace but were built in front of large palaces or public buildings to emphasise their grandeur, as well as to accommodate military parades and ceremonies, among others (for example the Place Royale in Brussels and the Koningsplein in Amsterdam ). Palace squares are usually more symmetrical than their older market counterparts. In Russia, central square ( Russian : центра́льная пло́щадь , romanised : tsentráĺnaya plóshchad́ )
2380-530: A new name, Pschorr-Haus . At 8.00 p.m. on 29 October 1923, Germany's first radio broadcast was made from a building ( Vox-Haus ) close by in Potsdamer Strasse. Standing alongside the Weinhaus Rheingold's Potsdamer Strasse entrance, this five-storey steel-framed edifice had been erected as an office building in 1907-8 by architect and one-time Berlin inspector of buildings Otto Stahn (1859–1930), who
2550-483: A number of different names including Conditorei Friediger , Café Wiener , Engelhardt Brau and Kaffee Potsdamer Platz (sometimes appearing to have two or more names simultaneously), before its eventual destruction in World War II . Among the many beer palaces around Potsdamer Platz were two in particular which contained an extensive range of rooms and halls covering a large area. The Alt-Bayern in Potsdamer Strasse
2720-670: A particle in a proper noun. Like the Italian piazza and the Portuguese praça , the plaza remains a center of community life that is only equaled by the market-place. A plaza de toros is a bullring . Shopping centers may incorporate 'plaza' into their names, and plaza comercial is used in some countries as a synonym for centro comercial i.e. "shopping center". In the United Kingdom, and especially in London and Edinburgh ,
2890-472: A plaza can mean one of several things: Today's metropolitan landscapes often incorporate the plaza as a design element, or as an outcome of zoning regulations, building budgetary constraints, and the like. Sociologist William H. Whyte conducted an extensive study of plazas in New York City : his study humanized the way modern urban plazas are conceptualized, and helped usher in significant design changes in
3060-429: A replica of the tower was erected, just for show, close to its original location by Siemens, to celebrate the company's 150th anniversary. The replica was moved again on 29 September 2000, to the place where it stands today. The traffic problems that had blighted Potsdamer Platz for decades continued to be a big headache, despite the new lights, and these led to a strong desire to solve them once and for all. By now Berlin
3230-698: A room that came to be named after him – the Kaisersaal . The other was the Hotel Excelsior , also 600 rooms but superior provision of other facilities made it the largest hotel in Continental Europe, located in Stresemannstrasse opposite the Anhalter Bahnhof and connected to it by a 100-metre-long subterranean passageway complete with a parade of underground shops. Two other hotels which shared
3400-485: A row of new single-storey shops was erected along Potsdamer Straße. Out on the streets, even the flower-sellers, for whom the area had once been renowned, were doing brisk business again. The area around Potsdamer Platz had also become a focus for black market trading. Since the American, British and Soviet Occupation Zones converged there, people theoretically only had to walk a few paces across sector boundaries to avoid
3570-539: A secondary attack on the bridge between Leipzig and Lindenau to be led by Blücher and Gyulay , and a main attack astride the Pleiße River to be led by General Merveldt , Hessen-Homburg and the Prussian Guard, he insisted that this was a disastrous tactic as it would not permit the Coalition armies to outflank and encircle Napoleon's army and destroy it. Alexander thought the plan would potentially allow Napoleon to break
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#17328414347643740-484: A single sector. The northern front was defended by Marshals Michel Ney and Auguste de Marmont , and the eastern front by Marshal Jacques MacDonald . The artillery reserve and parks, ambulances, and baggage stood near Leipzig, which Napoleon made his supply base for the battle. The bridges on the Pleisse and White Elster rivers were defended by infantry and a few guns. The main battery stood in reserve, and during battle
3910-481: A sort to resume. The U-Bahn and S-Bahn were partially operational again from 2 June 1946, fully from 16 November 1947 (although repairs were not completed until May 1948) and trams by 1952. Part of the Haus Vaterland reopened in 1948 in a much simplified form. The new East German state-owned retail business H.O. ( Handelsorganisation , meaning Trading Organisation), had seized almost all of Wertheim's former assets in
4080-428: A star-shaped intersection deemed the transport hub of the entire continent. These were: As well as the stations and other facilities and attractions already mentioned, in the immediate area was one of the world's biggest and most luxurious department stores: Wertheim . Founded by German merchant Georg Wertheim (1857–1939), designed by architect Alfred Messel (1853–1909), opened in 1897 and extended several times over
4250-523: A strong artillery battery and blew the Poles out of the position. The Poles suffered heavy casualties during their furious defense and set fire to both the manor and the mill during their retreat. General Kleist , moving along the Pleiße, attacked Poniatowski and Marshal Augereau in the village of Markkleeberg . The Austrians repaired a bridge and took a school building and manor. The French counterattacked, throwing
4420-479: A summer garden, winter garden and roof garden, an enormous restaurant and several smaller eating areas, its own laundry, a theater and concert booking office, its own bank, whose strongrooms were underground at the eastern end of the building, and a large fleet of private delivery vehicles. In the run-up to Christmas Wertheim was transformed into a fairytale kingdom, and was well known to children from all over Germany and far beyond. In Stresemannstrasse, and paralleling
4590-517: A time. The Café Vaterland had remained largely untouched, but the 1,200-seat theatre was now a 1,400-seat cinema. The rest of the building had been turned into a large number of theme restaurants, all served from a central kitchen containing the largest gas-fueled cooking plant in Europe. These included: Rheinterrasse, Löwenbräu ( Bavarian beer restaurant), Grinzing ( Viennese café and wine bar), Bodega (Spanish winery), Csarda (Hungarian), Wild West Bar (aka
4760-675: A very large government presence, with many German imperial departments, Prussian state authorities and their various sub-departments, came into the area, taking over 26 former palaces and aristocratic mansions in Leipziger Platz, Leipziger Strasse and Wilhelmstraße. Even the Reichstag itself, the German Parliament , occupied the former home of the family of composer Felix Mendelssohn (1809–47) in Leipziger Strasse before moving in 1894 to
4930-467: A wedge-shaped structure located in the angle between Potsdamer Strasse and Linkstrasse (literally "Left Street"), and with entrances in both streets. Wine merchant Friedrich Karl Christian Huth, whose great-grandfather had been kellermeister (cellar-master) to King Friedrich II back in 1769, had founded the firm in 1871 and taken over the former building in Potsdamer Straße on 23 March 1877. His son,
5100-402: A wine restaurant on the ground floor, and wine storage space above, so it had to take a lot of weight. It was thus given a strong steel skeleton, which would stand the building in very good stead some three decades after its completion. Famous for its fine claret, numerous members of European society were made welcome there as guests. A total of 15 chefs were employed there, and Alois Hitler Jr.,
5270-460: Is a back formation, since krásnaja (the term for "red") also means "beautiful" in archaic and poetic Russian, with many cities and towns throughout the region having locations with the name "Red Square." Gwanghwamun Plaza ( Korean : 광화문광장) also known as Gwanghwamun Square) is a public open space on Sejongno , Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It against the background of A Gwanghwamun Gate(Korean: 광화문). In 2009, Restoration of Gwanghwamun Gate made
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5440-654: Is a cognate of Italian piazza and French place (which has also been borrowed into English). The term is used across Spanish-speaking territories in Spain and the Americas, as well as in the Philippines . In addition to smaller plazas, the Plaza Mayor (sometimes called in the Americas as Plaza de Armas , "armament square" where troops could be mustered) of each center of administration held three closely related institutions:
5610-464: Is a common term for an open area in the heart of the town . In a number of cities, the square has no individual name and is officially designated Central Square , for example Central Square (Tolyatti) . The most famous central square is the monumentally-proportioned Red Square which became a synecdoche for the Soviet Union during the 20th century; nevertheless, the association with "red communism"
5780-584: Is known in the Southwestern United States , is a common feature within the boundaries of the former provincial kingdom of Santa Fe de Nuevo México . They are a blend of Hispano and Pueblo design styles, several of which continue to be hubs for cities and towns in New Mexico , including Santa Fe Plaza , Old Town Albuquerque , Acoma Pueblo 's plaza, Taos Downtown Historic District , Mesilla Plaza , Mora , and Las Vegas Plaza . In U.S. English ,
5950-477: Is often a well , monument , statue or other feature. Those with fountains are sometimes called fountain squares . The term "town square" (especially via the term "public square") is synonymous with the politics of many cultures, and the names of a certain town squares, such as the Euromaidan or Red Square , have become symbolic of specific political events throughout history. The city centre of Adelaide and
6120-760: Is referred to as The Piazza. In the Low Countries , squares are often called "markets" because of their usage as marketplaces . Most towns and cities in Belgium and the southern part of the Netherlands have in their historical centre a Grote Markt (literally "Big Market") in Dutch or Grand-Place (literally "Grand Square") in French (for example the Grand-Place in Brussels and
6290-697: The Grote Markt in Antwerp ). The Grote Markt or Grand-Place is often the location of the town hall , hence also the political centre of the town. The Dutch word for square is plein , which is another common name for squares in Dutch-speaking regions (for example Het Plein in The Hague ). In the 17th and 18th centuries, another type of square emerged, the so-called royal square (French: Place royale , Dutch: Koningsplein ). Such squares did not serve as
6460-566: The Welthauptstadt (World Capital) Germania , to be realised by his architect friend Albert Speer (1905–81). Under these plans the immediate vicinity of Potsdamer Platz would have got off fairly lightly, although the Potsdamer Bahnhof (and the Anhalter Bahnhof a short distance away) would have lost their function. The new North-South Axis , the linchpin of the scheme, would have severed their approach tracks, leaving both termini stranded on
6630-528: The Anhalter Bahnhof was the Berlin terminus of a line running as far as Jüterbog and extended to Dessau , Kothen and beyond. Both termini began life modestly, but to cope with increasing demand, both went on to much bigger and better things, a new Potsdamer Bahnhof, destined to be Berlin's busiest station, opening on 30 August 1872 and a new Anhalter Bahnhof, destined to be the city's biggest and finest, on 15 June 1880. This latter station benefitted from
6800-487: The Arizona Bar) (American), Osteria (Italian), Kombüse ( Bremen drinking den – literally "galley"), Rübchen ( Teltow , named after the well-known turnip dish Teltower Rübchen , made with turnips grown locally in the small town of Teltow just outside Berlin), plus a Turkish café and Japanese tearoom; additionally there was a large ballroom. Up to eight orchestras and dance bands regularly performed in different parts of
6970-566: The Battle of the Nations , was fought from 16 to 19 October 1813 at Leipzig , Saxony . The Coalition armies of Austria , Prussia , Sweden , and Russia , led by Tsar Alexander I and Karl von Schwarzenberg , decisively defeated the Grande Armée of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte . Napoleon's army also contained Polish and Italian troops, as well as Germans from the Confederation of
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7140-724: The Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (Berlin Transport Services) company. At the Potsdamer Platz up to 11 policemen at a time had tried to control all this traffic but with varying success. The delays in tram traffic increased and the job was very dangerous for the policemen. The Berliner Straßenbahn-Betriebs-GmbH started researches to control the traffic on the main streets and places in 1924. Berlin traffic experts visited colleagues in Paris, London and New York. They had to organize
7310-688: The Cold War era when the Berlin Wall bisected its location. Since German reunification , Potsdamer Platz has been the site of major redevelopment projects. The history of Potsdamer Platz can be traced to 29 October 1685, when the Tolerance Edict of Potsdam was signed, whereby Frederick William , Elector of Brandenburg-Prussia from 1640 to 1688, allowed large numbers of religious refugees, including Jews from Austria and Huguenots expelled from France, to settle on his territory to repopulate it following
7480-508: The Confederation of the Rhine , totalling 225,000 troops. The Coalition had around 380,000 troops along with 1,500 guns, consisting of 145,000 Russians, 115,000 Austrians, 90,000 Prussians, and 30,000 Swedes. This made Leipzig the largest battle of the Napoleonic wars, surpassing Borodino , Wagram , Jena and Auerstedt , Ulm , and Dresden . The Grande Armée , under the command of Napoleon,
7650-740: The Grande Armée virtually destroyed by the time it returned from Russia. To make matters even worse for Napoleon, in June 1813, the combined armies of Portugal , Spain , and the United Kingdom , under the command of the Duke of Wellington , had decisively routed the French at the Battle of Vitoria in the Peninsular War , and were now advancing towards the Pyrenees and into France itself. With this string of defeats,
7820-615: The Sixth Coalition kept up its momentum, dissolving the Confederation of the Rhine and invading France early the next year. Napoleon was forced to abdicate and was exiled to Elba in May 1814. The French Emperor Napoleon I attempted to force Emperor Alexander I of Russia into rejoining his unpopular Continental System by invading Russia on 24 June 1812 with around 685,000 troops, and eventually entered Moscow in late 1812, following
7990-615: The Spartacus Communist movement leader read a lot here and even made some key political speeches from the pavement terrace, while author Erich Kästner wrote part of his 1929 bestseller for children, Emil und die Detektive ( Emil and the Detectives ), on the same terrace and made the café the setting for an important scene in the book. Despite the prestige associated with its name, Café Josty closed in 1930. It then went through an odyssey of re-openings, closures and relaunches under
8160-518: The Thirty Years' War (1618–48). Several new districts were founded around the city's perimeter, just outside the old fortifications. The largest of these was Friedrichstadt , just south west of the historic core of Berlin, begun in 1688 and named after the new elector, Frederick William III, who became King Frederick I of Prussia . Its street layout followed the Baroque -style grid pattern much favoured at
8330-713: The Trachenberg Plan . In accordance with the Trachenberg Plan, three Coalition armies were formed, the Army of Silesia of 95,000 men under the command of Gebhard von Blücher , the Army of North Germany of 120,000 (including Swedish garrisons in Stralsund ) under Crown Prince Charles John, and the Army of Bohemia , the primary allied army in the field with 225,000 men, under the command of Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg . A fourth army
8500-449: The cathedral , the cantabile or administrative center, which might be incorporated in a wing of a governor's palace , and the audiencia or law court. The plaza might be large enough to serve as a military parade ground. At times of crisis or fiestas , it serves as the gathering space for large crowds. Diminutives of plaza include plazuela and the latter's double diminutive plazoleta , which can be occasionally used as
8670-411: The piazze of Italy are central to most towns and cities. Shops, businesses, metro stations, and bus stops are commonly found on piazzas, and in multiple locations also feature Roman Catholic Churches , such as in places known as the Piazza del Duomo , with the most famous perhaps being at Duomo di Milan , or government buildings, such as the Piazza del Quirinale adjacent from the Quirinal Palace of
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#17328414347648840-568: The Allied lines. The northern front opened with the attack by General Langeron's Russian corps on the villages of Groß-Wiederitzsch and Klein-Wiederitzsch in the centre of the French northern lines. This position was defended by General Dąbrowski 's Polish division of four infantry battalions and two cavalry battalions. At first sign of the attack, the Polish division attacked. The battle wavered back and forth with attacks and counterattacks. General Langeron rallied his forces and finally took both villages with heavy casualties. The northern front
9010-423: The Allies, closely following the Trachenberg Plan , systematically defeated his marshals with weaker corps, while exhausting Napoleon's corps with chases across Germany. The French Imperial cavalry was similarly insufficient, making it difficult for Napoleon to keep his eyes on his lines of communications or even scout enemy positions, a fact which influenced the outcome of the Battle of Großbeeren and others during
9180-453: The Army of Bohemia engaged Napoleon at the Battle of Dresden on 27 August where the French won a crushing victory. However, close adherence to the Trachenberg Plan led to Coalition victories at Großbeeren , Kulm , Katzbach , and Dennewitz . Meanwhile, Charles John had begun a concerted propaganda campaign in Germany, drawing on his experience as Minister of War during the French Revolution, to stoke German nationalist feeling and calling on
9350-514: The Austrians out of the school and back over the river. French attacks on the manor only resulted in mounting casualties for the French and Poles. The Russian 14th Division began a series of flanking attacks that forced the Poles out of Markkleeberg. Poniatowski stopped the retreat and the advancing Russians. Catching four battalions of the Prussian 12th Brigade in the open, Poniatowski directed attacks by artillery and cavalry until they were relieved by Russian hussars. Poniatowski retook Markkleeberg, but
9520-474: The Bavarians proclaimed neutrality following Charles John's victory over Ney at Dennewitz. After these defeats and defections the French emperor could not capitalize on his victory at Dresden. Thinly-stretched supply lines spanning into now somewhat hostile territory, coupled with Bavaria's switching of sides against the French just eight days prior to Leipzig, made it almost impossible to replace his army's losses of 150,000 men, 300 guns, and 50,000 sick. With
9690-446: The Café Piccadilly was given a new name – the more patriotic-sounding Café Vaterland. However, in 1927–8 the architect and entrepreneur Carl Stahl-Urach (1879–1933) transformed the whole building into a gastronomic fantasy land, financed and further elaborated upon by new owners the Kempinski organisation. It reopened on 31 August 1928 as the Haus Vaterland, offering "The World in One House," and could now hold up to 8,000 guests at
9860-504: The Coalition battle line at one point and then concentrate his forces in the gap created and the weakened sectors. This would possibly give Napoleon a chance to regain the strategic initiative in Germany. Frederick William III attempted to opine to Alexander but could do nothing so he treated the discussion as if it was none of his concern. Later events in the battle proved the Russian emperor's judgments correct. The action he had ordered Blücher to take met with great success north of Leipzig and
10030-501: The French advantage in terms of casualties, the first day ended in a draw. Moreover, the odds seemed to be shifting in the Allies' favor, for while Napoleon could only anticipate the arrival of Jean Reynier's 14,000 men to raise his strength to barely 200,000 troops and 900 cannon, the Allies were awaiting the appearance of Charles John's 70,000 men and a similar number under Bennigsen, and these reinforcements would bring their total strength to over 300,000 and 1,500 guns. Looking back on
10200-400: The French armies were in retreat on all fronts across Europe. Anti-French forces joined Russia as its troops pursued the remnants of the virtually destroyed Grande Armée across Central Europe. The allies regrouped as the Sixth Coalition, comprising Prussia, Russia, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, the United Kingdom, as well as smaller German states whose citizens and leaders were no longer loyal to
10370-552: The French emperor. Napoleon hurried back to France and managed to mobilize another large army, but severe economic hardship and news of defeats had led to war-weariness and growing unrest among France's population. Despite disastrous campaigns in Spain and Russia in 1812, France was still able to rebuild another massive army for Napoleon. Though this new army was large in numbers, it was mostly made up of raw and young French conscripts , many of whom had no desire to fight in Napoleon's wars. Yet Napoleon, with this new massive army, had
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#173284143476410540-531: The German campaign. The Coalition army was organized into four army-level commands: the Army of Bohemia under Karl von Schwarzenberg, the Army of Silesia under Blücher, the Army of Poland under Levin August von Bennigsen and the combined Prussian, Russian, and Swedish Army of the North under Crown Prince Charles XIV John . The Swedes also had under their command a company of the British Rocket Brigade armed with Congreve rockets , led by Captain Richard Bogue . Despite being outnumbered, Napoleon planned to take
10710-489: The Grand Hotel Belle Vue, on the corner of Bellevuestrasse and Königgrätzer Strasse, thus enabling one revolutionary new building to struggle through to reality despite considerable financial odds. Columbushaus was the result of a plan by the French retail company Galeries Lafayette , whose flagship store was the legendary Galeries Lafayette in Paris, to open a counterpart in Berlin, on the Grand Hotel Belle Vue's former site, but financial worries made them pull out. Undaunted,
10880-418: The Huguenots fleeing religious persecution in France, and their descendants, had also been living around the trading post and cultivating local fields. Noticing that traffic queues often built up at the Potsdam Gate due to delays in making the customs checks, these people had begun to offer coffee, bread, cakes and confectionery from their homes or from roadside stalls to travelers passing through, thus beginning
11050-418: The Italian president. The Piazza San Marco in Venice and Piazza del Popolo in Rome are among the world's best known. The Italian piazzas historically played a major role in the political developments of Italy in both the Italian Medieval Era and the Italian Renaissance. For example, the Piazza della Signoria in Florence remains synonymous with the return of the Medici from their exile in 1530 as well as
11220-449: The Middle Ages to today. Squares located opposite a Palace or Castle ( German : Schloss ) are commonly named Schlossplatz . Prominent Plätze include the Alexanderplatz , Pariser Platz and Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, Heldenplatz in Vienna, and the Königsplatz in Munich. A large open square common in villages, towns and cities of Indonesia is known as alun-alun . It is a Javanese term which in modern-day Indonesia refers to
11390-408: The Nazi government. When the city was divided into sectors by the occupying Allies at the end of the war, the square found itself on the boundary between the American, British and Soviet sectors. Despite all the devastation, commercial life reappeared in the ruins around Potsdamer Platz within just a few weeks of war's end. The lower floors of a few buildings were patched up enough to allow business of
11560-457: The Potsdamer Bahnhof has not been documented. Meanwhile, the North-South Axis would have cut a giant swathe passing just to the west of Potsdamer Platz, some 5 km long and up to 100 m wide, and lined with Nazi government edifices on a gargantuan scale. The eastern half of the former Millionaires' Quarter, including Stüler's Matthiaskirche, would have been totally eradicated. New U-Bahn and S-Bahn lines were planned to run directly beneath almost
11730-405: The Potsdamer Bahnhof on its eastern side, was another great magnet for shoppers and tourists alike – a huge multi-national-themed eating establishment: the Haus Vaterland . Designed by architect Franz Heinrich Schwechten (1841–1924), who was also responsible for the Anhalter Bahnhof and the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church , it was erected in 1911–12 as the Haus Potsdam. 93 m in length and with
11900-484: The Prussians out of Wachau and the French recovered the village. Liebertwolkwitz was a large village in a commanding position, defended by Marshal MacDonald and General Lauriston with about 18,000 men. General von Klenau 's Austrian IV Corps attacked with 24,500 men backed up by Pirch 's 10th Brigade (4,550) and Zieten 's 11th Brigade (5,365). The Austrians attacked first, driving the French out of Liebertwolkwitz after hard fighting, only to be driven out in turn by
12070-431: The Rhine (mainly Saxony and Württemberg ). The battle was the culmination of the German Campaign of 1813 and involved 560,000 soldiers, 2,200 artillery pieces, the expenditure of 400,000 rounds of artillery ammunition, and 133,000 casualties, making it the largest battle of the Napoleonic Wars , and the largest battle in Europe prior to World War I . Decisively defeated, Napoleon was compelled to return to France while
12240-555: The Saxon-Polish lines at the Pleiße River. Repulsed, the Austrians then moved to attack nearby Dölitz, down a road crossed by two bridges and leading to a manor house and a mill. Two companies of the 24th Regiment ousted the small Polish garrison and took the position. A prompt counterattack by the Saxons and Poles ejected the Austrian troops and the battle seesawed until the Austrians brought up
12410-462: The Soviets from making unauthorised incursions into the American and British zones. These measures were only partially successful: after further skirmishes in which shots were fired, barbed wire entanglements were stretched across some roads, a foretaste of things to come. Public square A town square (also a plaza , public square or urban square ) is an open public space commonly found in
12580-605: The Tiergarten, a large wooded park formerly the Royal Hunting Grounds, gave his name to Lennéstraße , a thoroughfare forming part of the southern boundary of the park very close to Potsdamer Platz, and transformed a muddy ditch to the south into one of Berlin's busiest waterways, the Landwehrkanal . Meanwhile, country peasantry were generally not welcome in the city, and so the gates also served to restrict access. However,
12750-451: The Tiergarten. The development was piecemeal, but in 1828 this area just to the west of Potsdamer Platz, sandwiched between the Tiergarten and the north bank of the future Landwehrkanal, received royal approval for a more purposeful metamorphosis into a residential colony of the affluent, gradually filling with palatial houses and villas. These became the homes of civil servants, officers, bankers, artists and politicians among others, and earned
12920-909: The UK as part of urban redevelopment following the Blitz . Squares can also be quite small and resemble courtyards, especially in the City of London . In some cities, especially in New England , the term "square" (as its Spanish equivalent, plaza ) is applied to a commercial area (like Central Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts ), usually formed around the intersection of three or more streets, and which originally consisted of some open area (many of which have been filled in with traffic islands and other traffic calming features). Many of these intersections are irregular rather than square. The placita (Spanish for "little plaza"), as it
13090-692: The United States, to refer to a verandah or front porch of a house or apartment, such as at George Washington's historic home Mount Vernon . Several countries, especially around the Mediterranean Sea, feature Italian-style town squares. In Gibraltar, one such town square just off Gibraltar 's Main Street , between the Parliament Building and the City Hall officially named John Mackintosh Square
13260-566: The actions of the Russian Guard were decisive in halting the all-out French attack on Gulden Gossa in the south. On the other hand, the actions of the Austrians along the Pleiße River, part of Schwarzenberg's initial plan, ended in failure. However, not willing to plan the battle by himself as he had done during his disastrous defeat at Austerlitz almost a decade earlier, Alexander had Schwarzenberg draft another battle plan based on his thoughts and views. Schwarzenberg then drafted another plan that
13430-508: The adjacent suburb of North Adelaide , in South Australia, were planned by Colonel William Light in 1837. The city streets were laid out in a grid plan , with the city centre including a central public square, Victoria Square , and four public squares in the centre of each quarter of the city. North Adelaide has two public squares. The city was also designed to be surrounded by park lands , and all of these features still exist today, with
13600-414: The architect, Erich Mendelsohn (1887–1953), erected vast advertising boards around the perimeter of the site, and the revenue generated by these enabled him to proceed with the development anyway. Columbushaus was a ten-storey ultra-modern office building, years ahead of its time, containing Germany's first artificial ventilation system, and whose elegance and clean lines won it much praise. However, despite
13770-490: The area as the location for a National Memorial Cathedral, to be known as the Residenzkirche , but this was never built either, due to lack of funds. However, Schinkel did get to rebuild the gate in 1823–1824, replacing what was little more than a gap in the customs wall with a much grander affair consisting of two matching Doric-style stone gate-houses, like little temples, facing each other across Leipziger Strasse. The one on
13940-559: The area the nickname "Millionaires' Quarter" although its official designation was Friedrichvorstadt (Friedrich's Suburb), or the Tiergartenviertel (Tiergarten Quarter). Many of the properties in the neighborhood were the work of architect Georg Friedrich Heinrich Hitzig (1811–81), a pupil of Schinkel who also built the original "English Embassy" in Leipziger Platz, where the vast Wertheim department store would stand, although Friedrichvorstadt's focal point and most notable building
14110-671: The battle. During this time, Napoleon sent Merveldt, who had been captured two days earlier, back to the Allies on parole. Merveldt was given a letter to Alexander I, Francis I, and Frederick William III in which Napoleon offered to surrender to the Allies the fortresses he held along the Oder and Vistula, on the condition that the Allies allow him to withdraw to a position behind the Saale. He added that, if approved, they should sign an armistice and undertake peace negotiations. However, all three monarchs declined
14280-548: The beginnings of the Runden Platz (Round Platz), a huge circular public space at the point where the North-South Axis and Potsdamer Straße intersected. Additionally, the southern edge of the Tiergarten was to be redefined, with a new road planned to slice through the built-up area immediately to the north of Columbushaus (although Columbushaus itself would remain unscathed); this road would line up with Voßstraße , one block to
14450-399: The bloody, yet indecisive Battle of Borodino . However, Alexander refused to surrender even as the French occupied the city, which was set on fire by the time of its occupation. The campaign ended in complete disaster as Napoleon and his remaining forces retreated during the bitter Russian winter, with sickness, starvation, and the constant harrying by Russian Cossacks and partisans, leaving
14620-483: The building, plus a host of singers, dancers and other entertainers. It should be pointed out here though that not all of these attractions existed simultaneously, owing to changes in those countries that Germany was or was not allied to, in the volatile years leading up to and during World War II , a good example being the closure of the Wild West Bar following America's entry into the war as an enemy of Germany. Among
14790-587: The burning at the stake of Savonarola during the Italian Inquisition . The Italian term is roughly equivalent to the Spanish plaza , the French term place, the Portuguese praça, and the German Platz. Not to be confused, other countries use the phrase to refer to an unrelated feature of architectural or urban design, such as the "piazza" at King's Cross station in London or piazza as used by some in
14960-458: The busiest traffic center in all of Europe, and the heart of Berlin's nightlife . It had acquired an iconic status, on a par with Piccadilly Circus in London or Times Square in New York. It was a key location that helped to symbolize Berlin; it was known worldwide, and a legend grew up around it. It represented the geographical center of the city, the meeting place of five of its busiest streets in
15130-421: The city authorities would not allow the new line to breach the customs wall, still standing at the time, it had to stop just short, at Potsdamer Platz, but it was this that kick-started the real transformation of the area, into the bustling focal point that Potsdamer Platz became. Three years later a second railway terminus opened. Six hundred meters to the southeast, with a front facade facing Askanischer Platz ,
15300-608: The city became the capital of the new German Empire on 18 January 1871. Potsdamer Platz and neighbouring Leipziger Platz came into their own afterward. Now firmly in the centre of a metropolis whose population eventually reached 4.4 million, making it the third largest city in the world after London and New York, the area was ready to take on its most celebrated role. Vast hotels and department stores, hundreds of smaller shops, theatres, dance-halls, cafés, restaurants, bars, beer palaces, wine-houses and clubs, all started to appear. Some of these places became internationally known. Also,
15470-564: The closure of a short-lived third terminus in the area – the Dresdner Bahnhof , located south of the Landwehrkanal, which lasted from 17 June 1875 until 15 October 1882. A railway line once ran through Potsdamer Platz: a connecting line opened in October 1851 and running around the city just inside the customs wall, crossing numerous streets and squares at street level, and whose purpose
15640-538: The converging Coalition armies arrayed against him. He deployed his army around the city, but concentrated his force from Taucha through Stötteritz, where he placed his command. The Prussians advanced from Wartenburg , the Austrians and Russians from Dresden (which they had recently retaken, after the Battle of Kulm ), and the Swedes from the north. The French had around 160,000 soldiers along with 700 guns plus 15,000 Poles, 10,000 Italians, and 40,000 Germans belonging to
15810-460: The country folk were permitted to set up trading posts of their own just outside the gates, and the Potsdam Gate especially. It was hoped that this would encourage development of all the country lanes into proper roads; in turn it was hoped that these would emulate Parisian boulevards—broad, straight and magnificent, but the main intention was to enable troops to be moved quickly. Thus Potsdamer Platz
15980-460: The customs wall redundant, and so in 1866–7 most of it was demolished along with all the city gates except two – the Brandenburg Gate and the Potsdam Gate. The removal of the customs wall allowed its former route to be turned into yet another road running through Potsdamer Platz, thus increasing still further the amount of traffic passing through. This road, both north and south of the platz,
16150-452: The early 1930s there were so many diplomats living and working in the area that it came to be redesignated the "Diplomatic Quarter". By 1938, 37 out of 52 embassies and legations in Berlin, and 28 out of 29 consulates, were situated here. The first traffic light tower in Germany was erected at Potsdamer Platz on 20 October 1924 and went into service on 15. December 1924 in an attempt to control
16320-545: The entrance to Leipziger Platz (the Potsdam Gate), was the 400-room Hotel Fürstenhof , by Richard Bielenberg (1871–1929) and Josef Moser (1872–1963), erected in 1906–1907, also on the site of an earlier building. With its 200-metre-long main facade along Stresemannstrasse, the Fürstenhof was less opulent than some of the other hotels mentioned, despite its size, but was still popular with business people. The new U-Bahn station
16490-428: The event, a substantial amount of demolition did take place in Potsdamer Straße, between the platz itself and the Landwehrkanal, and this became the location of the one Germania building that actually went forward to a state of virtual completion: architect Theodor Dierksmeier 's Haus des Fremdenverkehrs (House of Tourism), basically a giant state-run travel agency . More significantly, its curving eastern facade marked
16660-506: The first day's fighting, both sides made mistakes. Napoleon had underestimated Allied aggressiveness and miscalculated the position of Blücher and the Army of Silesia, and his men had suffered a sharp repulse at Möckern as a consequence. As for the Allies, the chaotic nature of their initial attack at Wachau, coupled with the flanking of waiting French forces, nearly led to catastrophe. The Austrian II Corps, commanded by Merveldt, advanced towards Connewitz via Gautzsch and attempted to attack
16830-532: The first of the four parts of the cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen , although this name did hark back to the building's planned former role as a concert venue. Another building by the same architect but which still stands – the "Rosengarten" in Mannheim , has a remarkably similar main facade. Finally, on the corner between Potsdamer Strasse and the Potsdamer Bahnhof, stood Bierhaus Siechen , built by Johann Emil Schaudt (1874–1957), opened in 1910 and relaunched under
17000-423: The following 40 years, it ultimately possessed a floor area double that of the Reichstag, a 330-metre-long granite and plate glass facade along Leipziger Strasse, 83 elevators , three escalators , 1,000 telephones , 10,000 lamps, five kilometers of pneumatic tubing for moving items from the various departments to the packing area, and a separate entrance directly from the nearby U-Bahn station. It also contained
17170-494: The gate's front space as a public plaza. The square has been renovated to modern style has new waterways & rest Areas, exhibition Hall for Excavated Cultural Assets in 2022 Aug. The Spanish-language term for a public square is plaza ( [ˈplasa] or [ˈplaθa] depending on the dialectal variety). It comes from Latin platea , with the meaning of 'broad street' or 'public square'. Ultimately coming from Greek πλατεῖα (ὁδός) plateia (hodos) , it
17340-448: The head of the three alongside King Frederick William III of Prussia and Emperor Francis I of Austria, and a substantial staff supported the Coalition commanders. Alexander was also the supreme commander of the Coalition forces in the eastern front of the war, while Prince Karl von Schwarzenberg of Austria was the commander-in-chief of all Coalition forces in the German theatre. There was
17510-569: The heart of a traditional town , and which is used for community gatherings. A square in a city may be called a city square . Related concepts are the civic center , the market square and the village green . Most squares are hardscapes suitable for open markets , concerts , political rallies, and other events that require firm ground. They are not necessarily a true geometric square . Being centrally located, town squares are usually surrounded by small shops such as bakeries, meat markets, cheese stores, and clothing stores. At their center
17680-582: The height of the Kingdom of Prussia . Initially known as the Achteck (Octagon), on 15 September 1814 it was renamed Leipziger Platz after the site of Prussia's final decisive defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Leipzig , which brought to an end the Wars of Liberation that had been going on since 1806. The gate itself was redesignated Leipziger Tor (Leipzig Gate) around the same time, but reverted to its old name
17850-455: The intention of either inducing a temporary alliance or at least cessation of hostilities, or knocking at least one of the Great Powers (Prussia or Russia) out of the war and keeping Austria neutral. Napoleon sought to regain the offensive by re-establishing his hold in Germany, winning two hard-fought tactical victories, at Lützen on 2 May and Bautzen on 20–21 May. These victories led to
18020-457: The intention of knocking Prussia out of the war as soon as possible, Napoleon sent Marshal Nicolas Oudinot to take the Prussian capital of Berlin with an army of 60,000. Oudinot was defeated at the Battle of Großbeeren , by the Swedes and Prussians of the Army of the North, just south of the city. Another attempt was made at Berlin on 6 September 1813, this time with Ney in command of 58,000 troops. However, Ney's command disintegrated following
18190-472: The kings of Bavaria and Saxony , whose armies he had commanded in 1805 and 1809, to repudiate their French alliances. His efforts met with success as the Saxon and Westphalian armies had begun exhibiting signs of mutiny throughout late August and September, with Saxon units defecting to the Coalition at Großbeeren and Dennewitz and Westphalian troops deserting in increasing numbers. Additionally, in early September
18360-424: The late 1920s and early 1930s, especially around 1928–9, when the creative fervour was at its peak. On the cards was an almost total redevelopment of the area. One design submitted by Wagner himself comprised an array of gleaming new buildings arranged around a vast multi-level system of fly-overs and underpasses, with a huge glass-roofed circular car-park in the middle. Unfortunately the worldwide Great Depression of
18530-521: The line itself being extended north and east on 1 October 1908. In 1939 the S-Bahn followed, its North-South Link between Unter den Linden and Yorckstraße opening in stages during the year, the Potsdamer Platz S-Bahn station itself opening on 15 April. By the second half of the 19th century, Berlin had been growing at a tremendous rate for some time, but its growth accelerated even faster after
18700-442: The location of his palace, in 1660. After Frederick II became king in 1740, the road was significantly improved, and became known as Potsdamer Straße ; the gate became Potsdamer Tor (Potsdam Gate). Just inside the gate was a large octagonal area, created at the time of Friedrichstadt's expansion in 1732-4 and bisected by Leipziger Strasse; this was one of several parade grounds for the thousands of soldiers garrisoned in Berlin at
18870-465: The major hotels at or near Potsdamer Platz were two designed by the same architect, Otto Rehnig (1864–1925), and opened in the same year, 1908. One was the 600-room Hotel Esplanade (sometimes known as the "Grand Hotel Esplanade"), in Bellevuestrasse. Charlie Chaplin and Greta Garbo were guests there, and Kaiser Wilhelm II himself held regular "gentlemen's evenings" and other functions there in
19040-470: The major stations, allowed the connecting line to be scrapped in 1871, although the Ringbahn itself was not complete and open for all traffic until 15 November 1877. Potsdamer Platz was served by both of Berlin's two local rail systems. The U-Bahn arrived first, from the south; begun on 10 September 1896, it opened on 18 February 1902, with a new and better sited station being provided on 29 September 1907, and
19210-500: The majority of the 9,000 Allied and 7,000 French casualties, and the French lost another 2,000 prisoners. In the western front, the Austrian III Corps under General Gyulay attacked the suburb of Lindenau and had success at first, forcing Marshal Ney to divert General Bertrand 's IV Corps to hold the position. But soon the French held, the fighting later ground down into a stalemate, and the Austrians were driven back not far from
19380-451: The making of plazas. They can be used to open spaces for low-income neighborhoods, and can also the overall aesthetic of the surrounding area boosting economic vitality, pedestrian mobility and safety for pedestrians. Most plazas are created out of a collaboration between local non-profit applicants and city officials which requires approval from the city. Throughout North America, words like place , square , or plaza frequently appear in
19550-588: The mid-1930s, the sign first appears in photographs dated 1935 but was gone again by 1938. On an even darker note, those Nazi concerns included the Gestapo , who set up a secret prison in an upper part of the building, complete with interrogation and torture rooms. Meanwhile, in another part of the building, the Information Office of the Olympic Games Organising Committee was housed. Here much of
19720-799: The names of commercial developments such as shopping centers and hotels. Battle of Leipzig Dissolution of the Rhine Confederation Army of Silesia Army of the North (1813-1814) Army of Bohemia Russo-Prussian Reserve Southern Wing Corps-Group Wittgenstein Army of Poland (1813) Northern Sector Lindenau Leipzig Sector Eastern Sector Southern Sector 16–17 October: 257,000 1,400 guns 18–19 October: 365,000 16–17 October: 177,000 700 guns 18–19 October: 195,000 54,000–80,000 Official allied estimates: 60,000–79,000 325 guns The Battle of Leipzig , also known as
19890-408: The needed decisive results. Seemingly, though somewhat reluctantly, convinced, Alexander soon agreed to his plan, and he then ordered him to tell the other commanders to follow the plan. The French had gained slight victories at Lindenau and Wachau , and sustained a reverse at Möckern . The Allies had lost approximately 30,000 men, including 2,000 prisoners, the French about 25,000 in all. Despite
20060-549: The newly created German Democratic Republic but, unable to start up the giant Leipziger Platz store again (it was too badly damaged), it opened a new Kaufhaus (department store) on the ground floor of Columbushaus. An office of the Kasernierte Volkspolizei (literally "Barracked People's Police") – the military precursor of the Nationale Volksarmee (National People's Army), occupied the floor above. Meanwhile,
20230-536: The next street ( Prinz-Albrecht-Straße ), also by Colditz, that had been built for the Preußischer Landtag (the Prussian Lower House), in 1892–9. Potsdamer Platz was also the location of Germany's first electric street lights , installed in 1882 by the electrical giant Siemens , founded and based in the city. The heyday of Potsdamer Platz was in the 1920s and 1930s. By this time it had developed into
20400-446: The north of Leipziger Platz. Here Albert Speer erected Hitler's enormous new Reichskanzlei building, and yet even this was little more than a dry run for an even larger structure some distance further away. Meanwhile, the Nazi influence was no less evident at Potsdamer Platz than anywhere else in Berlin. As well as swastika flags and propaganda everywhere, Nazi-affiliated concerns occupied
20570-421: The north side served as the customs house and excise collection point, while its southern counterpart was a military guardhouse, set up to prevent desertions of Prussian soldiers , which had become a major problem. The new gate was dedicated on 23 August 1824. Schinkel's proposal to add a garden was not implemented, but in 1828 a plan by gardener and landscape architect Peter Joseph Lenné went ahead. He redesigned
20740-550: The number of lines had soared to 35 by 1908 and ultimately reached 40, carrying between them 600 trams every hour, day and night. Services were run by a large number of companies. After 1918 most of the tram companies joined. In 1923, at the peak of the Hyperinflation the tram traffic was stopped for two days and a new communal company called Berliner Straßenbahn-Betriebs-GmbH was founded. Finally in 1929 all communal traffic companies (Underground, Tram and Buses) were unified into
20910-520: The offensive between the Pleiße and the Parthe rivers. The position at Leipzig held several advantages for his army and his battle strategy. The rivers that converged there split the surrounding terrain into four separate sectors. Holding Leipzig and its bridges, Napoleon could shift troops from one sector to another far more rapidly than the Allies could, who had difficulty moving such large numbers of troops into
21080-405: The offer. The Allies launched a huge assault from all sides, this time completely encircling Napoleon's army. In over nine hours of fighting, in which both sides suffered heavy casualties, the French troops were slowly forced back towards Leipzig. The Allies had Blücher and Charles John to the north, Barclay de Tolly and Bennigsen, and Prince von Hesse-Homburg to the south, as well as Gyulay to
21250-553: The other hand, the Allies were strengthened by the arrival of 145,000 troops divided into two armies, one commanded by Bennigsen from the Army of Bohemia's first line and the other, the Army of the North which consisted mainly of Swedish troops, commanded by Charles John. It was soon evident that the Allies would encircle Napoleon and his army, and he knew that not retreating from the battle would mean capitulation for his entire army, which by this time were starting to run out of supplies and ammunition. So Napoleon began to examine whether
21420-487: The planning of the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympic Games took place. As was the case in most of central Berlin, almost all of the buildings around Potsdamer Platz were turned to rubble by air raids and heavy artillery bombardment during the last years of World War II. The three most destructive raids (out of 363 that the city suffered), occurred on 23 November 1943, and 3 and 26 February 1945. Things were not helped by
21590-550: The platz was starting to be opened out: the former hotel had mostly stood on a large flagged area laid out in front of it, indicating that the new building curved away from the existing street line; this would have enabled future street widening to take place. Columbushaus was completed and opened in January 1933, the same month that the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) came to power. Hitler had big plans for Berlin, to transform it into
21760-489: The position. By the time Napoleon arrived on the battlefield along with the Young Guard and some Chasseurs, Merveldt found that the avenue of advance was well covered by the French battery and some skirmishers who had occupied the houses there and did not permit the Austrians to deploy their artillery in support of the attack. Merveldt himself in an unlucky turn was wounded and captured by the French after he went straight into
21930-426: The positions in reserve and for a quick counter-attack against any fallen position. Blücher commanded Langeron's Russian and Yorck 's Prussian corps against Marmont's VI Corps. When the battle hung in the balance, Marmont ordered a cavalry charge, but his commander refused to attack. Later, an attack by Prussian hussars caused serious losses to the French defenders. The battle lasted well into the night. Artillery caused
22100-599: The respective police officials. Meanwhile, friction between the Western Allies and Soviets was steadily rising. The Soviets even took to marking out their border by stationing armed soldiers along it at intervals of a few metres, day and night, in all weathers. Since there was not, as yet, a fixed marker, the borders were prone to abuse, which eventually resulted (in August 1948), in white lines in luminous paint appearing across roads and even through ruined buildings to try to deter
22270-476: The roads and bridges of Lindenau could be used to withdraw his troops, or at the very least to secure a bridgehead crossing on the Pleiße River. However, he was not yet in the mood for withdrawing as he thought to achieve one more great victory for France. He also thought that a strong, formidable rear guard in Leipzig itself could repulse any Allied assault, which could buy him and his forces more time to withdraw from
22440-473: The same architect, in this case Ludwig Heim (1844–1917), were the 68-room Hotel Bellevue (sometimes known as the "Grand Hotel Bellevue"), built 1887–8, and the 110-room Palast Hotel , built 1892–3 on the site of an earlier hotel. These stood on either side of the northern exit from Potsdamer Platz along Ebertstraße. The Bellevue was well known for its Winter Garden. Meanwhile, facing the Palast Hotel across
22610-465: The sheer volume of traffic passing through. This traffic had grown to extraordinary levels. Even in 1900, more than 100,000 people, 20,000 cars, horse-drawn vehicles and handcarts, plus many thousands of bicycles, passed through the platz daily. By the 1920s the number of cars had soared to 60,000. The trams added greatly to this. The first four lines had appeared in 1880, rising to 13 by 1897, all horse-drawn, but after electrification between 1898 and 1902
22780-630: The site of the May Fourth Movement , the Proclamation of the People's Republic of China , the 1976 Tiananmen Incident , the 1989 Tiananmen Square Protests , and all Chinese National Day Parades . The German word for square is Platz , which also means "Place", and is a common term for central squares in German-speaking countries. These have been focal points of public life in towns and cities from
22950-504: The south west, and marks the point where the old road from Potsdam passed through the city wall of Berlin at the Potsdam Gate . Initially, the open area near the city gate was used for military drills and parades. In the 19th into the 20th century, it developed from an intersection of suburban thoroughfares into the most bustling traffic intersection in Europe. The area was totally destroyed during World War II and then left desolate during
23120-464: The squares maintained as mostly green spaces. In Mainland China, People's Square is a common designation for the central town square of modern Chinese cities, established as part of urban modernization within the last few decades. These squares are the site of government buildings, museums and other public buildings. One such square, Tiananmen Square , is a famous site in Chinese history due to it being
23290-625: The stepbrother of the future Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler , was a waiter there in the 1920s, before he opened his own restaurant and hotel at Wittenbergplatz , in the western part of the city. Café Josty was one of two rival cafés (the other being the Astoria , later Café Eins A ), occupying the broad corner between Potsdamer Strasse and Bellevuestrasse. The Josty company had been founded in 1793 by two Swiss brothers, Johann and Daniel Josty, who had emigrated to Berlin from Sils in Switzerland and set up
23460-551: The term "maidan" across Eastern Europe and Central Asia, including Ukraine, in which the term became well-known globally during the Euromaidan . A piazza ( Italian pronunciation: [ˈpjattsa] ) is a city square in Italy , Malta , along the Dalmatian coast and in surrounding regions. Possibly influenced by the centrality of the Forum (Roman) to ancient Mediterranean culture,
23630-496: The time, and was based on two main axes: Friedrichstraße running north–south, and Leipziger Strasse running east–west. All the new suburbs were absorbed into Berlin around 1709–10. In 1721-3 a south-westwards expansion of Friedrichstadt was planned under the orders of King Frederick William I , and this was completed in 1732-4 by architect Philipp Gerlach (1679–1748). In this expansion, a new north–south axis emerged: Wilhelmstrasse . In 1735–1737, after Friedrichstadt's expansion
23800-464: The time, triggered by the Wall Street Crash of 1929 , meant that most of the plans remained on the drawing board. However, in Germany this depression was virtually a continuation of an economic morass that had blighted the country since the end of World War I , partly the result of the war reparations the country had been made to pay, and this morass had brought about the closure and demolition of
23970-404: The tower cabin. A solitary policeman sat in a small cabin at the top of the tower and switched the lights around manually, until they were automated in 1926. Yet some officers still remained on the ground in case people did not pay any attention to the lights. The tower remained until October 1937, when it was removed to allow for excavations for the new S-Bahn underground line. On 26 September 1997,
24140-434: The tradition of providing food and drink around the future Potsdamer Platz. Larger and more purpose-built establishments began to take their place, and they in turn were superseded by bigger and grander ones. The former district of quiet villas was by now anything but quiet: Potsdamer Platz had taken on an existence all its own whose sheer pace of life rivalled anything within the city. By the mid-1860s direct taxation had made
24310-425: The traffic, define traffic rules and select a solution to control the traffic. In New York, Fifth Avenue they found traffic light towers designed by Joseph H. Freedlander in 1922 which can be regarded as a model for the Berlin tower. The Potsdamer Platz five-sided 8.5 m high traffic tower was designed by Jean Kramer , a German architect. The traffic lights were delivered by Siemens & Halske and mounted on top of
24480-663: The two large open squares of kraton compounds. It is typically located adjacent a mosque or a palace. It is a place for public spectacles, court celebrations and general non-court entertainments. In traditional Persian architecture, town squares are known as maydan or meydan. A maydan is considered one of the essential features in urban planning and they are often adjacent to bazaars, large mosques and other public buildings. Naqsh-e Jahan Square in Isfahan and Azadi Square in Tehran are examples of classic and modern squares. Several countries use
24650-631: The vast new edifice near the Brandenburg Gate, erected by Paul Wallot (1841–1912). Next door, the Herrenhaus, or Prussian House of Lords (the Upper House of the Prussian State Parliament), occupied a former porcelain factory for a while, before moving to an impressive new building erected on the site of the former Mendelssohn family home in 1899–1904 by Friedrich Schulze Colditz (1843–1912). This building backed on to an equally grand edifice in
24820-543: The very close proximity of Hitler's Reich Chancellery, just one block away in Voßstraße, and many other Nazi government edifices nearby as well, and so Potsdamer Platz was right in a major target area. Once the bombing and shelling had largely ceased, the ground invasion began as Soviet forces stormed the centre of Berlin street by street, building by building, aiming to capture the Reich Chancellery and other key symbols of
24990-566: The village of Gohlis . In the end, the numbers and determination of the Russians prevailed and the Poles retreated to Pfaffendorf. Blücher, who was made a field marshal the day before, ordered General Lanskoi's Russian 2nd Hussar Division to attack General Arrighi 's III Cavalry Corps. As they had the day before, the Allied cavalry proved to be superior, driving the French away with great losses. The French received only 14,000 troops as reinforcements. On
25160-580: The village. However, for the French, there was also a negative strategic consequence for this minor success. IV Corps was needed by Napoleon for his attacks on the main Austro-Russian armies positioned at the south, and since they did not take part in the attack as they were that time engaging the Austrians in Lindenau, his attack failed. There were only two actions on 17 October, one an attack by Russian General Sacken on General Dąbrowski's Polish division at
25330-531: The west. The Prussian 9th Brigade occupied the abandoned village of Wachau while the Austrians, with General Bianchi's Hungarians, threw the French out of Lößnig. The Austrians proceeded to give a demonstration of combined arms cooperation as Austrian cavalry attacked French infantry to give the Austrian infantry time to arrive and deploy in the attack on Dölitz, but the Young Guard threw them out. At this point, three Austrian grenadier battalions began to contest for
25500-520: The whole length of the axis, and the city's entire underground network reoriented to gravitate towards this new hub (at least one tunnel section, around 220 metres in length, was actually constructed and still exists today, buried some 20 metres beneath the Tiergarten, despite having never seen a train). This was in addition to the S-Bahn North-South Link beneath Potsdamer Platz itself, which went forward to completion, opening in stages in 1939. In
25670-404: The wine wholesale dealer William ("Willy") Huth (1877–1967), took over the business in 1904 and, a few years later, commissioned the replacement of the building by a new one on the same site. Running right through the block into Linkstrasse, this new Weinhaus Huth was designed by the architects Conrad Heidenreich (1873–1937) and Paul Michel (1877–1938), and opened on 2 October 1912, and contained
25840-407: The wrong side of it. All trains arriving in Berlin would have run into either of two vast new stations located on the Ringbahn to the north and south of the centre respectively, to be known as Nordbahnhof (North Station) and Südbahnhof (South Station), located at Wedding and Südkreuz . In Speer's plan the former Anhalter Bahnhof was earmarked to become a public swimming pool; the intended fate of
26010-408: Was a major centre of innovation in many different fields including architecture. In addition, the city's colossal pace of change (compared by some to that of Chicago), had caused its chief planner, Martin Wagner (1885–1957), to foresee the entire centre being made over totally as often as every 25 years. These factors combined to produce some far more radical and futuristic plans for Potsdamer Platz in
26180-624: Was also responsible for the city's Oberbaumbrücke over the River Spree . In 1920 the Vox-group had taken over the building and the following year commissioned its remodelling by Swiss architect Rudolf Otto Salvisberg (1882–1940), and then erected two transmitting antennae. Despite several upgrades between December 1923 and July 1924, the nearby Hotel Esplanade's formidable bulk prevented the transmitter from functioning effectively and so in December 1924 it
26350-400: Was being built at the same time as the hotel and actually ran through the hotel's basement, cutting it in half, thus making the construction of both into something of a technical challenge, but unlike the Wertheim department store (and contrary to several sources), the hotel did not enjoy a separate entrance directly from the station. The Weinhaus Huth , with its distinctive corner cupola, was
26520-471: Was complete, the Berlin Customs Wall was erected around the city's new perimeter. Potsdamer Platz would eventually develop around the gate at the west end of Leipziger Strasse, which turned south toward the hamlet of Schöneberg after leaving the city. This road, which had developed into part of a trading route running across Europe from Paris to St. Petersburg via Aachen , Berlin and Königsberg , became Elector Frederick William's route of choice to Potsdam,
26690-400: Was constituted as the Army of Poland, initially 30,000 men, but expanding to 70,000 by year's end, under the command of Count Benningsen . As outlined by the Trachenberg Plan, the Coalition armies would avoid battle with Napoleon, retreat whenever Napoleon himself advanced, and instead target the forces under the command of his marshals. Despite the injunction to avoid battle with the Emperor,
26860-490: Was dominated by the Battle of Möckern. This was a four phase battle and saw hard fighting from both sides. A manor, palace, walled gardens, and low walls dominated the village. Each position was turned into a fortress with the walls being loopholed for covered fire by the French. The ground to the west of the position was too wooded and swampy for emplacement of artillery. A dike ran east along the Elster River being four metres high. Marshal Marmont brought up infantry columns behind
27030-461: Was erected by architect Wilhelm Walther (1857–1917) and opened in 1904. After closing in 1914, it underwent a revamp before reopening in 1926 under the new name Bayernhof . Meanwhile, in Bellevuestrasse, sandwiched between Café Josty and the Hotel Esplanade but extending right through the block with a separate entrance in Potsdamer Strasse, was the Weinhaus Rheingold , built by Bruno Schmitz (1858–1916) and opened on 6 February 1907. Intended to be
27200-415: Was in a weakened state. The majority of his troops now consisted of teenagers and inexperienced men conscripted shortly after the near destruction of the Grande Armée in Russia. Napoleon conscripted these men to be readied for an even larger campaign against the newly formed Sixth Coalition and its forces stationed in Germany. While he won several preliminary battles, his army was being steadily depleted as
27370-489: Was largely designed to let everyone do as they pleased. The plan was as follows: Blücher's axis of advance was to be shifted northward to the Halle road, the Russian and Prussian guards and the Russian heavy cavalry was to be amassed at Rotha in general reserve. The Austrian grenadiers and cuirassiers would advance between the rivers. This strategy would ensure the encirclement of the French army in Leipzig and its vicinity, or at least inflict heavy losses upon them to assure
27540-401: Was named Königgrätzer Straße after the Prussian victory over Austria at the Battle of Königgrätz on 3 July 1866, in the Austro-Prussian War . The railway first came to Berlin in 1838, with the opening of the Potsdamer Bahnhof , terminus of a 26 km line linking the city with Potsdam, opened throughout by 29 October (in 1848 the line would be extended to Magdeburg and beyond). Since
27710-402: Was off and running. It was not called that until 8 July 1831, but the area outside the Potsdam Gate began to develop in the early 19th century as a district of quiet villas, for as Berlin became even more congested, many of its richer citizens moved outside the customs wall and built spacious new homes around the trading post, along the newly developing boulevards, and around the southern edge of
27880-453: Was sent in to drive out the allies and give Napoleon his breakthrough. They recaptured both Liebertwolkwitz and Wachau, but the allies countered with Russian Guard and Austrian grenadiers backed by Russian cuirassiers. The units lived up to their elite reputation, forming squares that blasted the French cavalrymen from their horses and overran the French artillery batteries. On the southern front, although Napoleon gained ground, he could not break
28050-407: Was superseded by a better sited new one, but Vox-Haus lived on as the home of Germany's first radio station, Radiostunde Berlin , founded in 1923, renamed Funkstunde in March 1924, but it moved to a new home in 1931 and closed in 1934. In addition, the former Millionaires' Quarter just to the west of Potsdamer Platz had become a much favoured location for other countries to site their embassies. By
28220-460: Was the work of another architect—and another pupil of Schinkel. The Matthiaskirche (St. Matthew's Church), built in 1844–6, was an Italian Romanesque -style building in alternating bands of red and yellow brick, and designed by Friedrich August Stüler (1800–65). This church, one of fewer than half a dozen surviving pre-World War II buildings in the entire area, forms the centrepiece of today's Kulturforum ( Cultural Forum ). Meanwhile, many of
28390-485: Was thrown out by two Prussian battalions. Austrian grenadiers then formed in front of Markkleeberg and drove the Poles and French out of the area with a flank attack. The Russian II Corps attacked Wachau near Leipzig with support from the Prussian 9th Brigade. The Russians advanced, unaware that French forces were waiting. The French took them by surprise on the flank, mauling them. The Prussians entered Wachau, engaging in street-to-street fighting. French artillery blasted
28560-404: Was to allow goods to be transported between the various Berlin stations, thus creating a hated traffic obstruction that lasted for twenty years. Half a dozen or more times a day, Potsdamer Platz ground to a halt while a train of 60 to 100 wagons trundled through at walking pace preceded by a railway official ringing a bell. The construction of the Ringbahn around the city's perimeter, linked to all
28730-409: Was to be deployed on the Gallows Height. This battery was to be commanded by the artillery expert Antoine Drouot . The western flank of the French positions at Wachau and Liebertwolkwitz was defended by Prince Józef Poniatowski and Marshal Pierre Augereau and his young French conscripts. The three monarchs of the Coalition powers were present in the field, with Emperor Alexander I of Russia at
28900-403: Was unleashed with 10,000 French, Italian, and Saxon cavalry. However, Murat's choice of massive columns for the attack formation was unfortunate for the French force, as smaller mobile formations of Russian, Prussian, and Austrian cavalry were able to successfully harass Murat's division, driving them back to their own artillery, where they were saved by the French Guard Dragoons . The Young Guard
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