All Posts
Tour Route
Berlin Myths
Tourist Tips
Before & After
German Language
Living in Berlin
Berlin History

Before & After

How Berlin has transformed from past to present

The Brandenburg Gate today, floodlit at dusk seen from Pariser Platz

The Brandenburg Gate, Before and After: One Landmark, Berlin’s Whole Century

The Brandenburg Gate looks permanent, but it is really the survivor of Pariser Platz. Napoleon took its statue, 1945 left it damaged among the ruins, and for nearly thirty years it was locked inside the Berlin Wall death strip. Here is the Gate before and after each turning point, and what you can still read in the stone today.

Yusuf Ucuz

Jul 265 min read

The Reichstag in Berlin at sunset, its stone facade lit warm gold beneath the modern glass dome, with the German flag flying.

The Reichstag, Before and After: How One Building Holds Germany’s Whole Century

From the front the Reichstag looks like one stern old parliament with a modern glass hat. It is actually the most rebuilt, refought-over building in Germany: imperial showpiece, burnt-out shell, 1945 battlefield, Cold War dead end, and finally a working democracy. Here is the building before and after, the traces you can still find on the stone, and how to get inside the dome for free.

Yusuf Ucuz

Jul 256 min read

A colour photochrom looking through Hallesches Tor toward Belle-Alliance-Platz around 1900

Berlin Then and Now: How to See the City That Disappeared

Berlin rarely preserves an old street whole. It leaves a column, a curve or an empty space. Mehringplatz shows how to connect the clues.

Yusuf Ucuz

Jul 176 min read

Sunset over the former runway at Tempelhofer Feld in Berlin

Tempelhof Airport Berlin: Field, Tours and What to Do

A clear tourist guide to Tempelhof Airport Berlin and Tempelhofer Feld: field vs building, entrances, opening hours, tours, rules and the best first-visit plan.

Yusuf Ucuz

Jun 307 min read

Modern high-rise skyline at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin with the Kollhoff Tower and surrounding buildings

Potsdamer Platz Berlin: Wall Trace, Skyline and What to See Today

A practical Potsdamer Platz Berlin guide: read the Wall trace, modern skyline and before-and-after history without wasting the stop on the wrong things.

Yusuf Ucuz

Jun 306 min read

TV tower with a metallic sphere in a clear blue sky. Modern building edges frame the sides. A sense of stillness and architectural focus.

Berlin TV Tower Construction: Before, During, and After

How East Germany built the Berlin TV Tower from 1965 to 1969: Marienviertel, Sputnik design, Pope's Revenge, cost overruns and what to see today.

Yusuf Ucuz

Mar 2310 min read

Berliner Dom Before and After WWII: The Cathedral That Lost Its Crown

Berliner Dom before and after WWII: how the 1905 imperial cathedral lost its Memorial Church, survived wartime damage and became today's rebuilt landmark.

Yusuf Ucuz

Mar 59 min read

Hackescher Markt Before and After: From Rubble to Berlin's Coolest Neighborhood

Hackescher Markt before and after: Jewish Berlin, WWII damage, GDR neglect, restored Hackesche Hoefe, what to see today and why my tour ends here.

Yusuf Ucuz

Mar 59 min read

Museum Island Before and After WWII: The Destruction Nobody Expected

Museum Island before and after WWII: how Berlin's UNESCO museum island was damaged, divided and rebuilt from Altes Museum to Neues Museum and Pergamon.

Yusuf Ucuz

Mar 38 min read

Marienviertel information panel and open space near St. Mary's Church in Berlin

Berlin's Lost Neighborhood: What the GDR Demolished to Build a Socialist Utopia

Berlin's lost Marienviertel explains why the space near the TV Tower feels so open: Nazi plans, war damage, GDR demolition and a vanished medieval street plan.

Yusuf Ucuz

Feb 2810 min read

Alexanderplatz Then and Now: From Medieval Market to Modern Chaos

Alexanderplatz then and now: how Berlin changed from medieval market edge to Weimar hub, GDR showcase, 1989 protest stage and modern chaos.

Yusuf Ucuz

Feb 2610 min read