Amazing Berlin City - The Capital City of Germany - Berlin (/bərˈlɪn/; German pronunciation: [bɛɐ̯ˈliːn] ( listen)) is the capital city of Germany and one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.5 million people,[4] Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union.[5] Located in northeastern Germany on the River Spree, it is the center of the Berlin-Brandenburg Metropolitan Region, which has about 4.5 million residents from over 180 nations.

The origin of the name Berlin is uncertain. It may have its roots in the language of West Slavic inhabitants of the area of today's Berlin, and may be related to the Old Polabian stem berl-/birl- ("swamp").[26] Folk etymology connects the name to the German word for bear, Bär. A bear also appears in the coat of arms of the city.

The earliest evidence of settlements in the area of today's Berlin are a wooden rod dated from approximately 1192[27] and leftovers of wooden houseparts dated to 1174 found in a 2012 digging in Berlin Mitte.[28] The first written records of towns in the area of present-day Berlin date from the late 12th century. Spandau is first mentioned in 1197 and Köpenick in 1209, although these areas did not join Berlin until 1920.[29] The central part of Berlin can be traced back to two towns.

In 1989, with 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 the official German capital. In 1991, the German Parliament, the Bundestag, voted to move the seat of the (West) German capital from Bonn to Berlin, which was completed in 1999. Berlin's 2001 administrative reform merged several districts. The number of boroughs were reduced from 23 to twelve. In 2006 the FIFA World Cup Final was held in Berlin.

Berlin is situated in northeastern Germany, in an area of low-lying marshy woodlands with a mainly flat topography, part of 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.

Berlin has an oceanic climate (Cfb) according to the Köppen climate classification system.

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 a microclimate, with heat stored by the city's buildings. Temperatures can be 4 °C (7 °F) higher in the city than in the surrounding areas.

More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin

Berlin02: Wolfgang Staudt
https://www.flickr.com/photos/wolfgangstaudt/3802978769
Berlin04: Alexander Steinhof
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bagger2009/7431235916
Berlin06: Nico Trinkhaus
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ntrinkhaus/14762049156
Berlin07: Alexander Steinhof
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bagger2009/7605057628
Berlin12: Harald Hoyer
https://www.flickr.com/photos/hhoyer/7095646885
Berlin20: Montecruz Foto
https://www.flickr.com/photos/libertinus/5006224652
Berlin28: Daniel Mennerich
https://www.flickr.com/photos/danielmennerich/5637973154
Berlin31: Marco Förster
https://www.flickr.com/photos/organic2000/8331097221
Berlin32: Stadtlichtpunkte
https://www.flickr.com/photos/91186697@N05/8289763496
Berlin34: Loïc Lagarde
https://www.flickr.com/photos/loic80l/7993224819