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| © Berlinale 2012 |
The Berlinale is one of the biggest and leading film festivals. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, it is held every year in February, since 1978, in Berlin (Germany). The highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlinale is The Golden Bear (Goldener Bär). Another honored prize is the Silver Bear - an award for the best short film and for individual achievements in acting and direction. The festival is devided into the several sections. Among others are: Competition, Panorama, Forum, Generation, Berlinale Shorts and Retrospective. Since 2000 the Theatre at Potsdamer Platz (Berlinale Palast) is the house for the main events at the Berlinale.
10 days in Berlin is a good reason to not only dive into the cinema world but also is a good chance to discover the most interesting places in the German capital. Berlin has a wide range of places to visit. Beautiful squares and spectacular architecture of the central city, endless museums and galleries, exhibitions and clubs.
Things to do in Berlin
1. The Gendarmenmarkt
The Gendarmenmarkt is one of the most beautiful square in Berlin. With The Konzerthaus (a concert hall) in the middle of the square, and two magnificent Cathedrals - the French and German. In the center of the Gendarmenmarkt is set a statue of German poet Friedrich Schiller. Both Cathedrals built in the 1700's and reconstructed during 1780's. The German Cathedral was almost completely destroyed after World War II and was rebuilt from 1977 to 1988. Today the French Cathedral houses a Huguenot museum and the German Cathedral works as the Bundestag's museum about German parliamentary history. On the Gendarmenmarkt is a large number of restaurants, shops and hotels.
2. The Brandenburg Gate
The Brandenburg Gate, built from 1788 to 1791, is probably
the most well known symbol of Berlin and Germany. This landmark is located on the Unter den Linden, Pariser Platz 0117. The design of the Gate is based upon the gateway to the Acropolis in Athens (Greece). Atop the gate is the Quadriga - the sculpture of a chariot drawn by four horses driven by Victoria, the Roman goddess of victory. After Napoleon conquered Berlin in 1806, he took the Quadriga to Paris. But it stayed in France not long and in 1814, after Napoleon's defeat, the goddess Victoria returned to Berlin and received the Iron Cross, a new symbol of Prussian power.
3. Pergamon Museum
The Pergamon Museum is the most visited museum in Berlin, built during 1910-1930 on the Museum Island, primarily for the Pergamon Altar, found by Carl Humann. The museum collection is subdivided into the Antiquity Collection, the Middle East museum, and the museum of Islamic art.
The monumental Pergamon Altar is a famous work of art of the Hellenic period. It has been delivered from Turkey. The Altar is a one of the terraces of the Acropolis of the ancient Greek city of Pergamon in Asia Minor (modern Turkey). Another famous exponents of the museum are: Market Gate of Miletus, The Ishtar Gate and the Processional Way from Babylon, The Mshatta Facade.
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