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112-450: The hall was originally a venue for concerts, banquets and sporting events, but is now used only for training and competition in various sports. In preparation for the 1952 Summer Olympics the building was expanded on the northern side. During the Olympics gymnastics , wrestling , boxing and weightlifting events as well as the basketball finals were held at the venue. In June 1966

224-735: A 2016 terrorist attack linked to ISIL , a truck was deliberately driven into a Christmas market next to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church , leaving 13 people dead and 55 others injured. In 2018, more than 200,000 protestors took to the streets in Berlin with demonstrations of solidarity against racism, in response to the emergence of far-right politics in Germany . Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) opened in 2020, nine years later than planned, with Terminal 1 coming into service at

336-501: A Slavic-derived name: Pankow , Steglitz-Zehlendorf , Marzahn-Hellersdorf , Treptow-Köpenick , and Spandau . Of Berlin's ninety-six neighborhoods, twenty-two bear a Slavic-derived name: Altglienicke , Alt-Treptow , Britz , Buch , Buckow , Gatow , Karow , Kladow , Köpenick , Lankwitz , Lübars , Malchow , Marzahn , Pankow , Prenzlauer Berg , Rudow , Schmöckwitz , Spandau , Stadtrandsiedlung Malchow , Steglitz , Tegel and Zehlendorf . The earliest human settlements in

448-475: A camp for Sinti and Romani people (see Romani Holocaust ), and the Stalag III-D prisoner-of-war camp for Allied POWs of various nationalities. During World War II, large parts of Berlin were destroyed during 1943–45 Allied air raids and the 1945 Battle of Berlin . The Allies dropped 67,607 tons of bombs on the city, destroying 6,427 acres of the built-up area. Around 125,000 civilians were killed. After

560-662: A center of the Enlightenment , but also, was briefly occupied during the Seven Years' War by the Russian army. Following France's victory in the War of the Fourth Coalition , Napoleon Bonaparte marched into Berlin in 1806 , but granted self-government to the city. In 1815, the city became part of the new Province of Brandenburg . The Industrial Revolution transformed Berlin during

672-753: A city district separate from Brandenburg. In the early 20th century, Berlin had become a fertile ground for the German Expressionist movement. In fields such as architecture, painting and cinema new forms of artistic styles were invented. At the end of the First World War in 1918, a republic was proclaimed by Philipp Scheidemann at the Reichstag building . In 1920, the Greater Berlin Act incorporated dozens of suburban cities, villages, and estates around Berlin into an expanded city. The act increased

784-507: A combined state of Berlin and Brandenburg is different from other state fusion proposals. Normally, Article 29 of the Basic Law stipulates that a state fusion requires a federal law. However, a clause added to the Basic Law in 1994, Article 118a, allows Berlin and Brandenburg to unify without federal approval, requiring a referendum and a ratification by both state parliaments. In 1996, there

896-510: A continental hub for air and rail traffic and has a complex public transportation network . Tourism in Berlin makes the city a popular global destination. Significant industries include information technology, the healthcare industry , biomedical engineering , biotechnology , the automotive industry , and electronics . Berlin is home to several universities such as the Humboldt University of Berlin , Technische Universität Berlin ,

1008-562: A gymnast who was competing in his fifth consecutive Olympic games, swore the Olympic oath on behalf of the athletes. There were 4,925 athletes from 69 countries, with the Soviet Union making its Olympic debut and Germany participating for the first time since World War II . A total of 149 events were held in 17 different sports. The most-medalling athletes of the Games were Viktor Chukarin of

1120-567: A mass battle after being dissatisfied with the referee's work. Field hockey was included in the Helsinki Olympic Games in the range of sports on the condition that a maximum of 12 teams register for the Games. In the end, 16 teams applied for the competition, from which the International Field Hockey Federation selected 12 countries to participate in the competition venue. Eventually, four countries dropped out of

1232-417: A microclimate, with heat stored by the city's buildings and pavement . Temperatures can be 4 °C (7 °F) higher in the city than in the surrounding areas. Annual precipitation is 570 millimeters (22 in) with moderate rainfall throughout the year. Snowfall mainly occurs from December through March. The hottest month in Berlin was July 1834, with a mean temperature of 23.0 °C (73.4 °F) and

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1344-424: A monumental ensemble. The National Socialist regime embarked on monumental construction projects in Berlin as a way to express their power and authority through architecture . Adolf Hitler and Albert Speer developed architectural concepts for the conversion of the city into World Capital Germania ; these were never implemented. NSDAP rule diminished Berlin's Jewish community from 160,000 (one-third of all Jews in

1456-429: A personal competition for foil in the program. There were 250 men and 37 women from 32 countries. Italy, Hungary and France were, as usual, the best fencing countries and took all the gold medals. A total of six countries reached medals. The Mangiarot brothers Edoardo and Dario took a double victory over the film. Hungarian swordsmen won a triple victory over the preserve. The Modern pentathlon Olympic competitions

1568-564: A second Olympic village was established in Espoo , Otaniemi . Joseph Stalin allowed Soviet athletes to enter the 1952 Summer Olympics because he was sure that they would win the most medals. However, American athletes secured more gold and total medals and Stalin afforded more resources for the advancement of elite athletes in the Soviet Union in the build-up to the 1956 Summer Olympics . The 1952 Games were also threatened with cancellation due to

1680-491: A second. As a result, the company received the prestigious Croix du Mérite Olympique award for their efforts. In 1950 cable television was tried for the first time in Finland, in the 1952 Olympics people could watch TV sending from the stadium through coaxial cable to Stockmann department store window. Helsinki paved tens of kilometers of roads, and a myriad of houses were painted. The city's first traffic lights were installed at

1792-413: A small margin, largely based on support in former West Berlin , Brandenburg voters disapproved of the fusion by a large margin. It failed largely due to Brandenburg voters not wanting to take on Berlin's large and growing public debt and fearing losing identity and influence to the capital. Berlin is in northeastern Germany, in an area of low-lying marshy woodlands with a mainly flat topography , part of

1904-609: A successor to the German Olympic Committee , which had been dissolved during World War II, had not yet been established, but all these countries already participated in the Helsinki Games, as did Saarland . The Cold War affected the participation of both the United States and the Soviet Union in the Games. The participation of the United States in the Games was decided only after the country had received an assessment of

2016-462: A total of 159 participants in eight men's and women's only races, coming from 21 countries. Canoeing was a celebration in Finland, as four of the nine sports went to the host country. In addition, the Finns took one silver and a bronze. The double gold medalists were Kurt Wires and Yrjö Hietanen who won the kayak duo's 1,000 and 10,000 meters. In the only women's sport, the 500-meter kayak unit, gold

2128-460: Is an iconic landmark of Berlin and Germany; it stands as a symbol of eventful European history and of unity and peace. The Reichstag building is the traditional seat of the German Parliament. It was remodeled by British architect Norman Foster in the 1990s and features a glass dome over the session area, which allows free public access to the parliamentary proceedings and magnificent views of

2240-629: Is still amongst the most famous matches. On the political level, the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and the Yugoslav leader Josip Tito split in 1948 , which resulted in Yugoslavia being excluded from the Communist Information Bureau . The origin of the conflict was Tito's refusal to submit to Stalin's interpretations and visions of politics and in process becoming a Soviet satellite state . Before

2352-420: Is the third smallest state in the country in terms of area. Berlin is surrounded by the state of Brandenburg , and Brandenburg's capital Potsdam is nearby. The urban area of Berlin has a population of over 4.5 million and is therefore the most populous urban area in Germany. The Berlin-Brandenburg capital region has around 6.2 million inhabitants and is Germany's second-largest metropolitan region after

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2464-640: The Forum Fridericianum along with, the Berlin State Opera , Charlottenburg Palace , Gendarmenmarkt , Alte Kommandantur , as well as the City Palace . The tallest buildings in Berlin are spread across the urban area, with clusters at Potsdamer Platz , City West , and Alexanderplatz . Over one-third of the city's area consists of green and open-space, with the Großer Tiergarten , one of

2576-843: The Berlin University of the Arts and the Free University of Berlin . The Berlin Zoological Garden is the most visited zoo in Europe. Babelsberg Studio is the world's first large-scale movie studio complex and the list of films set in Berlin is long. Berlin is also home to three World Heritage Sites : Museum Island , the Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin , and the Berlin Modernism Housing Estates . Other landmarks include

2688-559: The Berlin Wall around West Berlin, and events escalated to a tank standoff at Checkpoint Charlie . West Berlin was now de facto a part of West Germany with a unique legal status, while East Berlin was de facto a part of East Germany. John F. Kennedy gave his " Ich bin ein Berliner " speech on 26 June 1963, in front of the Schöneberg city hall, located in the city's western part, underlining

2800-1055: The Brandenburg Gate , the Reichstag building , Potsdamer Platz , the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe , and the Berlin Wall Memorial . Berlin has numerous museums , galleries, and libraries. [REDACTED] Margraviate of Brandenburg 1237–1618 [REDACTED] Brandenburg-Prussia 1618–1701 [REDACTED]   Kingdom of Prussia 1701–1867 [REDACTED] North German Confederation 1867–1871 [REDACTED]   German Empire 1871–1918 [REDACTED]   Weimar Republic 1918–1933 [REDACTED]   Nazi Germany 1933–1945 [REDACTED]   Allied-occupied Germany 1945–1949 [REDACTED]   West Germany 1949–1990 [REDACTED]   East Germany 1949–1990 [REDACTED]   Germany 1990–present Berlin lies in northeastern Germany. Most of

2912-676: The Burgundians followed. In the 7th century Slavic tribes, the later known Hevelli and Sprevane , reached the region. In the 12th century the region came under German rule as part of the Margraviate of Brandenburg , founded by Albert the Bear in 1157. Early evidence of middle age settlements in the area of today's Berlin are remnants of a house foundation dated 1270 to 1290, found in excavations in Berlin Mitte . The first written records of towns in

3024-500: The German revolutions of 1848–1849 . During the Gründerzeit , an industrialization-induced economic boom triggered a rapid population increase in Berlin. 1920s Berlin was the third-largest city in the world by population. After World War II and following Berlin's occupation, the city was split into West Berlin and East Berlin , divided by the Berlin Wall . East Berlin was declared

3136-746: The Helsinki Seagulls men's basketball team. The hall is listed by Docomomo as a significant example of modern architecture in Finland. 1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( Finnish : Kesäolympialaiset 1952 ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( Finnish : XV olympiadin kisat ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 , were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki , Finland. After Japan declared in 1938 that it would be unable to host

3248-715: The Karl-Marx-Allee heads east, an avenue lined by monumental residential buildings, designed in the Socialist Classicism style. Adjacent to this area is the Rotes Rathaus (City Hall), with its distinctive red-brick architecture. In front of it is the Neptunbrunnen , a fountain featuring a mythological group of Tritons , personifications of the four main Prussian rivers, and Neptune on top of it. The Brandenburg Gate

3360-663: The Rhine-Ruhr region, and the fifth-biggest metropolitan region by GDP in the European Union . Berlin was built along the banks of the Spree river, which flows into the Havel in the western borough of Spandau . The city incorporates lakes in the western and southeastern boroughs, the largest of which is Müggelsee . About one-third of the city's area is composed of forests, parks and gardens , rivers, canals, and lakes. First documented in

3472-592: The Sino-Japanese War Japan announced they were giving up the 1940 games, and four days later the IOC offered the Games to Helsinki, which agreed to take over, although there was little time left to prepare for the Games. World War II broke out on 1 September 1939, with the German – Soviet invasion of Poland , which also drew Britain and France to war. Despite the aggression, the Organizing Committee of

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3584-646: The Wayback Machine and still impacts urban planning decisions. Walter Momper, the mayor of West Berlin, became the first mayor of the reunified city in the interim. City-wide elections in December 1990 resulted in the first "all Berlin" mayor being elected to take office in January 1991, with the separate offices of mayors in East and West Berlin expiring by that time, and Eberhard Diepgen (a former mayor of West Berlin) became

3696-690: The end of World War II in Europe in May 1945, Berlin received large numbers of refugees from the Eastern provinces. The victorious powers divided the city into four sectors, analogous to Allied-occupied Germany the sectors of the Allies of World War II (the United States, the United Kingdom, and France) formed West Berlin , while the Soviet Union formed East Berlin . All four Allies of World War II shared administrative responsibilities for Berlin. However, in 1948, when

3808-453: The 13th century and at the crossing of two important historic trade routes , Berlin was designated the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1417–1701), Kingdom of Prussia (1701–1918), German Empire (1871–1918), Weimar Republic (1919–1933), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). Berlin served as a scientific, artistic, and philosophical hub during the Age of Enlightenment , Neoclassicism , and

3920-685: The 1920s, enthusiasm for one's own Olympics grew, and after the 1920 Antwerp Olympics , Finnish sports leaders began planning to build a stadium in Helsinki in 1920. Finland's main sports organizations and the City of Helsinki founded the Stadion Foundation in 1927 to get the stadium to Helsinki. In the same year, Ernst Edvard Krogius , who represented Finland on the International Olympic Committee (IOC), announced Finland's willingness to host

4032-523: The 1940 Olympics in Tokyo due to the ongoing Second Sino-Japanese War , Helsinki had been selected to host the 1940 Summer Olympics , which were then cancelled due to World War II . Tokyo eventually hosted the games in 1964. Helsinki is the northernmost city at which a summer Olympic Games have been held. With London hosting the 1948 Olympics, 1952 is the most recent time when two consecutive summer Olympic Games were held entirely in Europe. The 1952 Summer Olympics

4144-513: The 1952 Games. At the IOC Congress in Stockholm on 21 June 1947, Helsinki was chosen as the host city, leaving behind the bids of Amsterdam , Los Angeles , Minneapolis , Detroit , Chicago and Philadelphia . Helsinki's strengths included the fairly completed venues built for the 1940 Games. After confirmation that Helsinki would host the Games, the "XV Olympia Helsinki 1952" was established as

4256-515: The 1952 Games. The United States won the most gold and overall medals at these Olympics. Inspired by the success of the Swedish 1912 Olympics , Finnish sports fans began to arouse the idea of their own Olympic Games: for example, Erik von Frenckell publicly presented his dreams of the Finnish Olympic Games at the opening of the 1915 Töölön Pallokenttä . As the Olympic success continued in

4368-399: The 1952 Olympic Games a complete success. The Olympic flame was lit by running heroes Paavo Nurmi (to the stadium) and Hannes Kolehmainen (to the stadium tower). When Paavo Nurmi was announced to arrive at the stadium, athletes from the participating countries deviated from the formation to see the legend better. Only the lines of the Soviet Union and Finland remained in the line. After

4480-423: The 19th century; the city's economy and population expanded dramatically, and it became the main railway hub and economic center of Germany. Additional suburbs soon developed and increased the area and population of Berlin. In 1861, neighboring suburbs including Wedding , Moabit and several others were incorporated into Berlin. In 1871, Berlin became capital of the newly founded German Empire . In 1881, it became

4592-496: The 20th century. 17% of Berlin's buildings are Gründerzeit or earlier and nearly 25% are of the 1920s and 1930s, when Berlin played a part in the origin of modern architecture . Devastated by the bombing of Berlin in World War II many of the buildings that had survived in both East and West were demolished during the postwar period. After the reunification, many important heritage structures have been reconstructed , including

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4704-770: The Federal Republic of Germany was founded in West Germany and eventually included all of the American, British and French zones, excluding those three countries' zones in Berlin, while the Marxist–Leninist German Democratic Republic was proclaimed in East Germany . West Berlin officially remained an occupied city, but it politically was aligned with the Federal Republic of Germany despite West Berlin's geographic isolation. Airline service to West Berlin

4816-664: The Finnish side in Tornio . On the Finnish-Swedish border bridge, the torch was received by Ville Pörhölä , who brought it to Tornio sports ground  [ fi ] . The Olympic torch from Tornio, Greece, was connected to Pallastunturi on 6 July 1952 where it ignited the “midnight sun fire”. In reality, the Pallastunturi fire was lit with liquefied petroleum gas , because the night in July

4928-418: The Games, so anyone was able to take part in the Olympic tournament. The tournament started with two rounds before the Games opened, and the final match was held on July 24. India and Netherlands met in the Velodrome final with India winning its fifth consecutive gold under captaincy of Kunwar Digvijay Singh with a score of 6–1. Canoeing competitions were held Taivallahti 27–28 July. There were

5040-426: The Huguenot immigration. Many other immigrants came from Bohemia , Poland , and Salzburg . Since 1618, the Margraviate of Brandenburg had been in personal union with the Duchy of Prussia . In 1701, the dual state formed the Kingdom of Prussia , as Frederick III, Elector of Brandenburg , crowned himself as king Frederick I in Prussia . Berlin became the capital of the new Kingdom, replacing Königsberg . This

5152-481: The Museumsinsel U-Bahn station opened in 2021, which completed all new works on the U5. A partial opening by the end of 2020 of the Humboldt Forum museum, housed in the reconstructed Berlin Palace , was postponed until March 2021. On 16 September 2022, the opening of the eastern wing, the last section of the Humboldt Forum museum, meant the Humboldt Forum museum was finally completed. It became Germany's currently most expensive cultural project. The legal basis for

5264-413: The Nursing College in Meilahti. The athletes of the Soviet-led Eastern Bloc stayed in the Teekkarikylä in Otaniemi. The Finnish team lived on the premises of the Santahamina Army School (later the Cadet School, now the National Defence University ). The City of Helsinki prepared for the Olympics by building a new airport in Seutula (now Helsinki-Vantaan lentoasema ), 11-story Hotelli Palace, and

5376-406: The Olympic Games continued to be optimistic about the preparations for the Games. However, the Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, halted planning for the games. After the Winter War, the Organizing Committee decided to abandon the Games on 20 March 1940 due to the hostilities across Europe, the suspension of preparations caused by the Winter War, and the deplorable economic situation. At

5488-401: The Olympic Games. In basketball, the gold medal was won by the United States , who defeated Soviet Union in the final 36–25. The final match was relatively slow-paced, as the Soviet Union tried to keep up with the United States by freezing the game. The United States had already clearly beat the Soviet Union 86–58 earlier in the tournament. The bronze was won by Uruguay , who also organized

5600-455: The Olympic Pier in South Harbor . A large electric scoreboard was procured. It attracted international attention because it represented the top of its time in the scoreboard field both in terms of its system and its technology. OMEGA debuted the OMEGA Time Recorder in Helsinki. This all-new quartz clock not only timed the events but also printed out the results. This breakthrough technology allowed official Olympic times to be accurate to 1/100 of

5712-411: The Olympic flame was lit, the Archbishop Ilmari Salomies was due to say a prayer, but German Barbara Rotbraut-Pleyer, nicknamed “White Angel of the Games”, had jumped from the auditorium onto the track and ran straight to the speaker's seat. Organizers quickly removed Pleyer, who had time to say just a few words into the microphone. Pleyer's purpose was to proclaim a message of peace. Heikki Savolainen ,

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5824-400: The Soviet Union, billions of rubles were spent on coaching athletes in just one year. The Soviet Union planned to fly its athletes every day between Leningrad and Helsinki. Another option was for Soviet athletes to stay in the Soviet Porkkalanniemi garrison. However, Finland required that all competitors stay in the Olympic village . As a compromise solution for the Eastern Bloc athletes,

5936-477: The Soviet Union, who won four gymnastics Olympic gold medals, and Czechoslovakia 's Emil Zátopek , who won three track golds. The United States won the most gold and total medals, with 40 and 76. The host country, Finland , had 6 gold, 3 silver and 13 bronze medals. Shooting was competed in seven events, six of which (rifle sports) were conducted at the Malmi Shooting Range in moderately difficult wind conditions. Tough results were still fired in Helsinki, as

6048-410: The US support for West Berlin. Berlin was completely divided. Although it was possible for Westerners to pass to the other side through strictly controlled checkpoints, for most Easterners, travel to West Berlin or West Germany was prohibited by the government of East Germany. In 1971, a Four-Power Agreement guaranteed access to and from West Berlin by car or train through East Germany. In 1989, with

6160-421: The USSR squad, was forced to withdraw from the league by Joseph Stalin and later disbanded. Furthermore, Boris Arkadiev , who coached both USSR and CDKA, was stripped of his Merited Master of Sports of the USSR title. 23 teams entered basketball, ten of which made it directly to the actual tournament. The remaining 13 countries took the final six places in the Olympic tournament before the official opening of

6272-440: The Western Allies extended the currency reform in the Western zones of Germany to the three western sectors of Berlin, the Soviet Union imposed the Berlin Blockade on the access routes to and from West Berlin, which lay entirely inside Soviet-controlled territory. The Berlin airlift , conducted by the three western Allies, overcame this blockade by supplying food and other supplies to the city from June 1948 to May 1949. In 1949,

6384-436: The area of Berlin from 66 to 883 km (25 to 341 sq mi). The population almost doubled, and Berlin had a population of around four million. During the Weimar era , Berlin underwent political unrest due to economic uncertainties but also became a renowned center of the Roaring Twenties . The metropolis experienced its heyday as a major world capital and was known for its leadership roles in science, technology, arts,

6496-403: The area of modern Berlin are dated around 60,000 BC. A deer mask, dated to 9,000 BC, is attributed to the Maglemosian culture . In 2,000 BC dense human settlements along the Spree and Havel rivers gave rise to the Lusatian culture . Starting around 500 BC Germanic tribes settled in a number of villages in the higher situated areas of today's Berlin. After the Semnones left around 200 AD,

6608-419: The area of present-day Berlin date from the late 12th century. Spandau is first mentioned in 1197 and Köpenick in 1209. 1237 is considered the founding date of the city. The two towns over time formed close economic and social ties, and profited from the staple right on the two important trade routes , one was known as Via Imperii , and the other trade route reached from Bruges to Novgorod . In 1307

6720-587: The bourgeois Finnish Sports Federation  [ fi ] (SVUL) and the leftist Finnish Workers' Sports Federation (TUL), Martola, on the other hand, got a former officer to lead the organization of the practical arrangements. Other members of the Organizing Committee were Yrjö Enne  [ fi ] , Väinö A. M. Karikoski  [ fi ] , Urho Kekkonen , Ernst Krogius , William Lehtinen , Aarne K. Leskinen  [ fi ] , Eino Pekkala , Väinö Salovaara and Erik Åström . In 1948–1949, Karikoski, Kekkonen, Krogius and Lehtinen resigned from

6832-480: The capital of East Germany, while Bonn became the West German capital. Following German reunification in 1990, Berlin once again became the capital of all of Germany. Due to its geographic location and history, Berlin has been called "the heart of Europe". The economy of Berlin is based on high tech and the service sector , encompassing a diverse range of creative industries , startup companies , research facilities, and media corporations. Berlin serves as

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6944-433: The central lawn, and the chairman of the organizing committee, Erik von Frenckell, spoke in Finnish, Swedish, French and English. President of the Republic J. K. Paasikivi gave the opening speech, which was the shortest in Olympic history and contained a mistake: it was not the "Fifteenth Olympic Games", but the XV Olympic Games and the 12th World Olympics, due to the 1916, 1940 and 1944 races had been canceled. The speech

7056-448: The cities and villages in northeastern Germany bear Slavic languages -derived names. Typical Germanization for place name suffixes of Slavic origin are -ow, -itz, -vitz, -witz, -itzsch and -in , prefixes are Windisch and Wendisch . The name Berlin has its roots in the language of the West Slavs , and may be related to the Old Polabian stem berl-/birl- ("swamp"). Of Berlin's twelve boroughs , five bear

7168-403: The city lost half of its population. Frederick William , known as the "Great Elector", who had succeeded his father George William as ruler in 1640, initiated a policy of promoting immigration and religious tolerance. With the Edict of Potsdam in 1685, Frederick William offered asylum to the French Huguenots . By 1700, approximately 30 percent of Berlin's residents were French, because of

7280-512: The coldest was January 1709 , with a mean temperature of −13.2 °C (8.2 °F). The wettest month on record was July 1907, with 230 millimeters (9.1 in) of rainfall, whereas the driest were October 1866, November 1902, October 1908 and September 1928, all with 1 millimeter (0.039 in) of rainfall. Berlin's history has left the city with a polycentric metropolitan area and an eclectic mix of architecture. The city's appearance today has been predominantly shaped by German history during

7392-596: The committee, and Lauri Miettinen  [ fi ] , Arno Tuurna  [ fi ] and Yrjö Valkama were elected to replace them. In the spring of 1952, Ente was replaced by Arvi E. Heiskanen  [ fi ] and as completely new members by Mauno Pekkala and Aaro Tynell . Erik von Frenckell was the chairman of the organizing committee and the other members were Armas-Eino Martola (competition director), Yrjö Valkama (sports director), Olavi Suvanto (maintenance director), Akseli Kaskela, Aarne K. Leskinen and Niilo Koskinen  [ fi ] . In addition,

7504-403: The competition. In 1930, preparations for the 1936 Games, which was accelerated by the launch of a design project for the Olympic Stadium . However, Helsinki was not a candidate in the first round in 1931, and Berlin won the competition, but Helsinki immediately registered as a candidate for the 1940 Games. Those games were awarded to Tokyo in 1936, and two years later with the outbreak of

7616-462: The competition. The voters had identified the composing style of Uuno Klami and Aarre Merikanto , among others. The only Finnish composer who congratulated Linjamaa was Jean Sibelius , who did not take part in the anthem. The Olympic torch was transported by land from Olympia to Athens from where fire's journey continued in a miner's lamp donated by the Saar Olympic Committee on a SAS plane to Aalborg , Denmark . The glass cover surrounding

7728-409: The country) to about 80,000 due to emigration between 1933 and 1939. After Kristallnacht in 1938, thousands of the city's Jews were imprisoned in the nearby Sachsenhausen concentration camp . Starting in early 1943, many were deported to ghettos like Łódź , and to concentration and extermination camps such as Auschwitz . Berlin hosted the 1936 Summer Olympics for which the Olympic stadium

7840-399: The deteriorating world situation. The Korean War had begun in 1950, which also caused concern in the organizing committee. At Von Frenckell's suggestion, the organizing committee decided to take out Lloyd's of London war insurance. Most of the venues for the competitions were completed prior to the 1940s in anticipation of successful bid attempts, but some expansion and refurbishment work

7952-430: The end of October, and flights to and from Tegel Airport ending in November. Due to the fall in passenger numbers resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic , plans were announced to close BER's Terminal 5, the former Schönefeld Airport , beginning in March 2021. The connecting link of U-Bahn line U5 from Alexanderplatz to Hauptbahnhof, along with the new stations Rotes Rathaus and Unter den Linden, opened on 4 December 2020,

8064-692: The end of the Cold War and pressure from the East German population, the Berlin Wall fell on 9 November and was subsequently mostly demolished. Today, the East Side Gallery preserves a large portion of the wall. On 3 October 1990, the two parts of Germany were reunified as the Federal Republic of Germany, and Berlin again became a reunified city. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the city experienced significant urban development Archived 16 December 2023 at

8176-494: The first elected mayor of a reunited Berlin. On 18 June 1994, soldiers from the United States, France and Britain marched in a parade which was part of the ceremonies to mark the withdrawal of allied occupation troops allowing a reunified Berlin (the last Russian troops departed on 31 August, while the final departure of Western Allies forces was on 8 September 1994). On 20 June 1991, the Bundestag (German Parliament) voted to move

8288-400: The great call of concord and peace among the nations of the world. I am particularly pleased to be sending you this advance greeting because, as a young man, I was myself an enthusiastic gymnast and athlete. And I have retained throughout my life a deep interest in athletics and sports of all kinds. I am convinced that the Finnish people, loving sport as they do, will spare no effort to make

8400-509: The head of the central office Kallio Kotkas  [ fi ] and the head of information Eero Petäjäniemi  [ fi ] were involved in the competition organization. The international political atmosphere was tense when the Helsinki Olympics were held. When the IOC held its meeting in Vienna in 1951, many difficult topics were on the agenda. The Cold War was under way, and

8512-405: The hot pitch used to fix the hall's roof caught fire. The ensuing blaze almost destroyed the whole building but was eventually extinguished with the help of 175 firemen and the army, the latter of which kept the gathered crowds out of the way. In 1975 the hall was moved to Helsinki city ownership and got its current name. It is the home arena of the basketball team Torpan Pojat and more recently

8624-513: The humanities, city planning, film, higher education, government, and industries. Albert Einstein rose to public prominence during his years in Berlin, being awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921. In 1933, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power . Hitler was inspired by the architecture he had experienced in Vienna , and he wished for a German Empire with a capital city that had

8736-545: The intersection of Aleksanterinkatu and Mikonkatu in October 1951. The Palace Hotel and Vaakuna Hotel  [ fi ] among others, were completed for the needs of the guests. However, due to the relatively low number of hotels in the city, tent villages were built for tourists in Lauttasaari and Seurasaari , among others. However, the preparations for accommodation turned out to be considerably oversized; at its best,

8848-454: The lamp was designed by the artist Sakari Tohka  [ fi ] . The Olympic torch itself was designed by the artist Aukusti Tuhka  [ fi ] . From Denmark, the torchlight continued by running, cycling, riding, rowing and paddling to Copenhagen , from where the fire was transported by ferry to Sweden to Malmö . The journey of the torch across Sweden was carried to Haparanda by 700 messengers, from where it continued to

8960-507: The largest and most popular parks in Berlin, located in the centre of the city. The Fernsehturm (TV tower) at Alexanderplatz in Mitte is among the tallest structures in the European Union at 368 m (1,207 ft). Built in 1969, it is visible throughout most of the central districts of Berlin. The city can be viewed from its 204-meter-high (669 ft) observation floor. Starting here,

9072-691: The low plateaus on both sides of the Spree Valley. Large parts of the boroughs Reinickendorf and Pankow lie on the Barnim Plateau, while most of the boroughs of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf , Steglitz-Zehlendorf , Tempelhof-Schöneberg , and Neukölln lie on the Teltow Plateau. The borough of Spandau lies partly within the Berlin Glacial Valley and partly on the Nauen Plain, which stretches to

9184-911: The lowest is the Spektesee in Spandau, at 28.1 meters (92 ft) elevation. Berlin has an oceanic climate ( Köppen : Cfb ) bordering on a humid continental climate ( Dfb ). This type of climate features mild to very warm summer temperatures and cold, though not very severe, winters. Annual precipitation is modest. Frosts are common in winter, and there are larger temperature differences between seasons than typical for many oceanic climates . Summers are warm and sometimes humid with average high temperatures of 22–25 °C (72–77 °F) and lows of 12–14 °C (54–57 °F). Winters are cold with average high temperatures of 3 °C (37 °F) and lows of −2 to 0 °C (28 to 32 °F). Spring and autumn are generally chilly to mild. Berlin's built-up area creates

9296-418: The match, both Tito and Stalin sent telegrams to their national teams, which showed just how important it was for the two head of states. Yugoslavia led 5–1, but a Soviet comeback in the last 15 minutes resulted in a 5–5 draw. The match was replayed, Yugoslavia winning 3–1. The defeat to the archrivals hit Soviet football hard, and after just three games played in the season, CSKA Moscow , who had made up most of

9408-663: The meeting of the Finnish Olympic Committee on 20 April 1940, the Olympic Games in Finland were officially canceled. In the meantime, World War II had already expanded, with Germany occupying Denmark and fighting in Norway . Instead of the Olympic Games, Finland held a Memorial Competitions for Fallen Athletes  [ fi ] who died in the Winter War against Russia, at the opening of which actor Eino Kaipainen recited

9520-510: The occupancy rate of the 6,000-seat tent village in Lauttasaari had an occupancy of only 8 per cent. With the support of the Olympia 1952 committee, Finland's first mini golf courses were completed to entertain guests. The International Olympic Committee had declared in 1950 that it did not have an official Olympic anthem, but that the organizers could decide their own anthems. An anthem competition

9632-668: The organizing committee of the Games on 8 September 1947. Its members were the Finnish Olympic Committee, the Finnish State, the City of Helsinki and 26 various sports organizations. The mayor of Helsinki Erik von Frenckell was elected chairman of the committee, who at the time also chaired Finnish Football Association . Akseli Kaskela  [ fi ] , Olavi Suvanto  [ fi ] and Armas-Eino Martola were elected Vice-Chairs. Among them, Kaskela and Suvanto were elected on political grounds as representatives of

9744-449: The poem Silent Winners written by Yrjö Jylhä  [ fi ] . The memorial competitions were held on the initiative of the sports journalist Sulo Kolkka  [ fi ] . At the end of World War II, London was awarded the 1948 Summer Olympics after the city was originally granted the 1944 Games, which were canceled due to the war. Helsinki continued its attempt to have the Games organized and registered as candidates for

9856-405: The political situation in Finland from its embassy in Helsinki. The Soviet Union was accepted as a member of the IOC in May 1951, and in December of the same year the country accepted the invitation to the competition, as the country's athletes were in medal condition. Although the Soviet leadership had previously considered the Games a bourgeois event, the Helsinki Games held propaganda value. In

9968-565: The seat of the German capital from Bonn to Berlin, which was completed in 1999, during the chancellorship of Gerhard Schröder . Berlin's 2001 administrative reform merged several boroughs, reducing their number from 23 to 12. In 2006, the FIFA World Cup Final was held in Berlin. Construction of the "Berlin Wall Trail" (Berliner Mauerweg) began in 2002 and was completed in 2006. In

10080-798: The situation between Israel and Arab countries , divided Germany had to be addressed as a team, and the Chinese Civil War , with the Chinese Communist Party winning, forming the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China government exiled to Taiwan . Four years earlier, Japan was not invited to the London Olympics from the losing states of the Second World War. The Olympic Committee of Israel had not yet been recognized, and

10192-475: The top four deer shooting broke world records. World records for knee position were also broken in free and small rifles. Shotgun shooting took place at the Huopalahti shooting range. Ten countries took medals from the shooting. Norway was the only country to win two gold medals, with the Soviet Union winning the most medals. Boris Andreyev was the only Soviet shooter to win two multiple medals. A Finnish winner

10304-485: The tournament, but Saarland and Mexico dropped out before the Games. Hungary Golden Team won the gold when it knocked down the Yugoslavia in the final with a score of 2–0. Sweden won a bronze medal. In the final, the Olympic Stadium had 58 553 paid spectators, the largest number of spectators in Finland watching a football match. The first meeting between the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia in football

10416-758: The town citizens against the building culminated in 1448, in the "Berlin Indignation" ("Berliner Unwille"). Officially, the Berlin-Cölln palace became permanent residence of the Brandenburg electors of the Hohenzollerns from 1486, when John Cicero came to power. Berlin-Cölln, however, had to give up its status as a free Hanseatic League city. In 1539, the electors and the city officially became Lutheran . The Thirty Years' War between 1618 and 1648 devastated Berlin. One third of its houses were damaged or destroyed, and

10528-468: The two towns formed an alliance with a common external policy, their internal administrations still being separated. Members of the Hohenzollern family ruled in Berlin until 1918, first as electors of Brandenburg, then as kings of Prussia , and eventually as German emperors . In 1443, Frederick II Irontooth started the construction of a new royal palace in the twin city Berlin-Cölln. The protests of

10640-451: The vast Northern European Plain which stretches all the way from northern France to western Russia. The Berliner Urstromtal (an ice age glacial valley ), between the low Barnim Plateau to the north and the Teltow plateau to the south, was formed by meltwater flowing from ice sheets at the end of the last Weichselian glaciation . The Spree follows this valley now. In Spandau, a borough in

10752-664: The west of Berlin, the Spree empties into the river Havel , which flows from north to south through western Berlin. The course of the Havel is more like a chain of lakes, the largest being the Tegeler See and the Großer Wannsee . A series of lakes also feeds into the upper Spree, which flows through the Großer Müggelsee in eastern Berlin. Substantial parts of present-day Berlin extend onto

10864-513: The west of Berlin. Since 2015, the Arkenberge hills in Pankow at 122 meters (400 ft) elevation, have been the highest point in Berlin. Through the disposal of construction debris they surpassed Teufelsberg (120.1 m or 394 ft), which itself was made up of rubble from the ruins of the Second World War. The Müggelberge at 114.7 meters (376 ft) elevation is the highest natural point and

10976-451: Was a carpenter by profession. Berlin Berlin ( / b ɜːr ˈ l ɪ n / , bur- LIN ; German: [bɛʁˈliːn] ) is Germany's capital and largest city by area and by population . With over 3.85 million inhabitants, it has the highest population within its city limits of any city in the European Union . The city is also one of the states of Germany , and

11088-473: Was a successful attempt to centralise the capital in the very far-flung state, and it was the first time the city began to grow. In 1709, Berlin merged with the four cities of Cölln, Friedrichswerder, Friedrichstadt and Dorotheenstadt under the name Berlin, "Haupt- und Residenzstadt Berlin". In 1740, Frederick II, known as Frederick the Great (1740–1786), came to power. Under the rule of Frederick II, Berlin became

11200-574: Was already celebrated in a miniature rifle when Vilho Ylönen had time to play on the radio Björneborgarnas marsch . However, in an hour-long countdown, the Norwegian Erling Asbjørn Kongshaug was declared the winner of the competition. The football tournament started even before the official opening, as the one-piece qualifiers took place on 15–16 July in Kotka, Lahti, Tampere, Turku and Helsinki. There were 27 countries registered for

11312-459: Was also a surprise. When the winner was announced on 17 March 1952, an unknown teacher Jaakko Linjama  [ fi ] was revealed behind the nickname, who had used Lyy's lyrics in his Olympic Hymn. The nicknames of the other contestants were not opened. This caused a stir, and Arijoutsi  [ fi ] , among others, doubted that the victory of the unknown would go to the honor of well-known composers. There were well-known members in

11424-411: Was an unsuccessful attempt of unifying the states of Berlin and Brandenburg. Both share a common history, dialect and culture and in 2020, there are over 225,000 residents of Brandenburg that commute to Berlin. The fusion had the near-unanimous support by a broad coalition of both state governments, political parties, media, business associations, trade unions and churches. Though Berlin voted in favor by

11536-480: Was built. During World War II , Berlin was the location of multiple Nazi prisons, forced labour camps, 17 subcamps of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp for men and women, including teenagers, of various nationalities, including Polish, Jewish, French, Belgian, Czechoslovak, Russian, Ukrainian, Romani, Dutch, Greek, Norwegian, Spanish, Luxembourgish, German, Austrian, Italian, Yugoslavian, Bulgarian, Hungarian,

11648-469: Was cloudy at that time and it was not possible to use the sun as a lighter. From Tornio, the torch traveled through Finland to Helsinki. It was transported by more than 1,200 people. Initially, the aim was to transport fire to Helsinki via the Soviet Union , but the matter was not settled through diplomacy by the deadline. The journey covered a total of 7,870 kilometres on the journey that began on 25 June and ended on 19 July 1952. The actual Olympic flame

11760-532: Was followed by the raising of the Olympic flag and the Olympic fanfare  [ fi ] composed by Aarre Merikanto . The President's speech was as follows: It gives me great pleasure to address a message of greeting to the young people of the world as they prepare for the fifteenth Olympic Games which are, once again, to be celebrated in a spirit worthy of the ideals of Baron de Coubertin . This happy cooperation between young people of all countries will serve

11872-486: Was granted only to American, British and French airlines. The founding of the two German states increased Cold War tensions. West Berlin was surrounded by East German territory, and East Germany proclaimed the Eastern part as its capital, a move the western powers did not recognize. East Berlin included most of the city's historic center. The West German government established itself in Bonn . In 1961, East Germany began to build

11984-417: Was held at Ahvenisto Hämeenlinna . A total of 51 competitors from 19 countries entered the sport. For the first time in Olympic history, the sport also included a team competition. Sweden, Hungary and Finland shared the medals. Sweden's Lars Hall won the individual competition, and Hungary was the best in the team competition. Before Hall, all Olympic winners of the sport have been officers . However, Hall

12096-424: Was held in Finland. In the spring of 1951, a poetry competition was announced, which was surprisingly won by an unknown teacher candidate, Niilo Partanen. Second and third came the well-known poets Toivo Lyy  [ fi ] and Heikki Asunta . These winning poems were allowed to be used in the composition competition. The selection of the 51 compositions by a jury chaired by Jouko Tolonen  [ fi ]

12208-466: Was lit for the Olympic Stadium . Olympic torch relay: The opening ceremony of the Helsinki Olympics was held on 19 July. Although the weather was rainy and chilly and the Olympic Stadium had no roof but on top of the main auditorium, the stadium was full with 70,435 spectators. The inaugural march had a record 5,469 people from 67 countries. After the march, the countries organized themselves into

12320-499: Was needed, including the construction of additional stands at the Olympic and Swimming Stadium. A residential area, Kisakylä (Olympic Village) was built south of Käpylä 's Koskelantie to accommodate competitors. The area, which was built close to the 1940 Olympics, was already the residence of the people of Helsinki at that time. Just below the opening, the competition area was completed for the use of visitors Kumpula Outdoor Swimming Pool . Female athletes got their own race village from

12432-483: Was taken by Sylvi Saimo , who was the first Finnish female gold medalist in the summer competitions. The second most successful country in kayaking was Sweden, which won one gold and three silver. Helsinki Olympics fencing competitions were held on the Espoo side of the Westend Tennis Hall . The men competed with Épée , sabre and foil in both personal competition and team competition. The women had only

12544-576: Was the last of the two consecutive Olympics to be held in Northern Europe, following the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo, Norway. They were also the Olympic Games at which the most world records were broken until they were surpassed by the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing . The Soviet Union , the People's Republic of China , Hong Kong , Indonesia , Israel , Thailand , and Saarland made their Olympic debuts at

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