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BerlinCompanion

@berlincompanion.bsky.social

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Berlin: things curious & forgotten | Berlin Companion Audio-Walks App | Tagesspiegel: Aus der Zeit | Berlin Companion Podcast| To support my work, go to buymeacoffee.com/berlincompanion

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BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

Room with a View This view down from Schönberg in Kronberg im Taunus is always breathtaking. And what was good for Kaiserin Victoria, Queen Victoria‘s eldest daughter and wife of the least remembered German Kaiser, Friedrich, is good enough for me🌞

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

Here’s to looking the Past straight in the eye. A photo taken nearly 102 years ago but the smiles on those children’s faces will never change. From Berlin Companion on Substack:

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YOU ARE HERE: THE CHILDREN OF KREUZBERG

Strolling through the Vanished Berlin

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

Berlin has always struggled to contain crime. Such is the nature of large populations, especially with various and often completely incompatible degrees of prosperity. But sometimes you can feel sorry for miscreants. Especially when a successful heist turns out to be a huge bellyache…

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STOLEN FRUIT NOT THE SWEETEST

From Berlin Trivia Companion

Reposted by BerlinCompanion

RG Poulussen @rgpoulussen.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

I like!

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

Temperatures below 0°C might be the perfect moment to celebrate indoors baths, especially ones with hot bathtubs and proper central heating. OTD 1902 Berlin’s 5th public baths and swimming pool opened in Prenzlauer Berg. From my Berlin Companion: IT ALL WENT SWIMMINGLY: VOLKSBAD ODERBERGER STRAßE

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IT ALL WENT SWIMMINGLY: VOLKSBAD ODERBERGER STRAßE

Today in Berlin: 1 February, 1902

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

When asked about the potential dangers of being funny, he allegedly said: “At least twice a day the most dignified human being is ridiculous.” Born OTD in #Berlin, one of the most important film directors in the history of the cinema: Ernst Lubitsch.

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THAT LUBITSCH TOUCH

Today in Berlin: 29 January, 1892

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

How about a quick trip to #Berlin's Alt-Cölln district & a walk down Neumannsgasse in 1942 (a horrid year otherwise)? The lane still exists, albeit only No. 2 remains. Old "Heyses Gäßlein" (Heyse's Tiny Lane) was named after a wealthy landlord: Peter Neumann owned several plots along the lane.

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

It's Monday & #Berlin froze over. But while it might not be possible to walk its streets without careful studying of Brokaw’s 1915 “The Art of Skating” beforehand, the path to the past is safe & stable. So join me on another quick time-travelling trip to a vanished mystery place in Berlin🌃

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YOU ARE HERE: SCHLOßFREIHEIT BIDS FAREWELL

Strolling Through Vanished Berlin

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

There are buildings whose demise would hardly be mourned. And there are those you would have loved to see, if only just briefly. This might be one of them. If only for fun. On this day in 1892 Berlin’s Hohenzollern-Panorama opened near today’s Hauptbahnhof. theberlincompanion.com/p/runde-sach...

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

A seemingly tranquil black-&-white Berlin photo: a 18th-century orphanage (L), a bridge that would soon be replaced by a new one, river lidos on both sides of the bridge + a by now vanished district. 1888 view down the now non-existent Waisenbrücke (Orphans' Bridge). Photo F.A. Schwartz.

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

I'm a huge fan of podcasts. Raised on the sound of the radio whispering in the background, I listen to podcasts like an addict. Cannot stop. Tim Harford produces podcasts which are both gripping & amusing, educating & surprising. Stories we're glad to get to know. This one has a #Berlin connection.

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THE NAZIS AND BAKELITE VERMEER

How a book dedication turned a hero into a foe.

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 13/06/2025

Controversial & fearless. Outspoken, irritating, unconventional. How did this tiny, limping Jewish lady from eastern Poland managed to move millions? Regardless of whether you agree with her line of thinking or not, Rosa Luxemburg was and is a legend. #OTD in 1919 she was buried in #Berlin. Again.

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RED ROSA’S LAST JOURNEY: THE SECOND FUNERAL OF ROSA LUXEMBURG

Today in Berlin: 13 June, 1919

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 13/06/2025

Inspired by drinking water;-) GERMAN WORD OF THE DAY: TIRNKWASSERVERORDNUNG

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GERMAN WORD OF THE DAY: TIRNKWASSERVERORDNUNG

Trinkwasserverordnung aka TrinkvW stands for German “Drinking Water Ordinance”.

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

It’s not every day that a man or a woman are born that would go on to discover a new planet. But even that event feels rarer than the birth of a person who’d refuse to take credit for the discovery. In June 9, 1812 one such man was born: Johann Gottfried Galle.

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IT CAME FROM THE OUTER SPACE: A MODEST GENIUS IS BORN

Today in Berlin: June 9, 1812

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 08/06/2025

A big city is like an onion: with nearly endless layers of stories & images. Let’s unpeel another one for Berlin: where the world-famous Olympiastadion stands today, Berlin already had an Olympic Stadion before. Pity that the only thing that was missing was the Olympia itself. Twice… #OTD in 1913

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PATRIOT GAMES: DEUTSCHES STADION OPENED IN BERLIN

Today in Berlin: June 8, 1913

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

Imagine U live next to someone: U bump into each other in the staircase, chat about prices of apples or wine, meet when picking up children from the Kita. And then they're wrapped up by a terrorist squad & charged. Incredibly as it sounds, that's exactly what happened in Berlin #OTD in 1990.

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INGRID FROM MARZAHN

Today in Berlin: 6 June, 1990

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

That feeling we all know: sitting at home, unkempt but happy, enjoying a nice meal & an occasional burp, when a sudden knock on the door rips U out of Ur slumber. An unexpected guest ante portas! That's how Friedrich Wilhelm II must've felt as someone told him Ali Aziz Efendi'd just arrived in town.

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THE TURKISH SURPRISE

Today in Berlin: June 4, 1797

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

Feeling a tad weary, a bit bleak today? Whatever U do, don't follow in #Berlin-born Prussian polymath's Alexander von Humboldt' footsteps & try one of his famous self-experiments: in 1790s Humboldt put a zinc electrode in his mouth & a silver one up the hole on the opposite, well, pole.

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 03/06/2025

Oh god, one hopes!

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 03/06/2025

#OTD 1913 a very special railway line opened in #Berlin: at least half of its passengers - despite travelling in what you could call comfy conditions (sleeper carriage, no less), left the train a bit stiff… Get your earphones ready: today sth to listen to:-)

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TAKE THE L-TRAIN: LAST STOP "STAHNSDORF"

Today in Berlin: June 3, 1913

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 02/06/2025

02.06.1967 - a watershed moment in Berlin’s/German history. Would student protest movement have radicalised as it did without a policeman pulling a trigger that night? Legitimate protest was quenched with cruelty many of its perpetrators knew only too well: from the darkest chapter in history.

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THE LETHAL LEBERWURST: WHEN THE SHAH CAME TO BERLIN

Today in Berlin: 2 June, 1967

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 29/05/2025

In Berlin 2 things are certain: at least once a week your S-Bahn line won’t run, &, if you don’t keep your bike in the flat OR nail it to the ground + surround it with a repellent magnetic dome, sooner or later it will be stolen. A tradition of bike-theft in Berlin began exactly 137 yrs ago today.

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BICYCLE THIEVES

Today in Berlin: 29 May, 1888

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 27/05/2025

No other city in Europe can compete: #Berlin is the greenest capital on the continent. With its woods and parks, it is unsurpassed. #OTD 1923 one of the largest of the parks opened. theberlincompanion.com/p/light-in-t...

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LIGHT IN THE PARK: THE OPENING OF PEOPLE'S PARK JUNGFERNHEIDE

Today in Berlin: 27 May, 1923

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 26/05/2025

Good morning #Berlin & Beyond! A Blast from The Past An old double-decker bus type MAN SD200-SD80 (or so I am told) passing by in 2025. Berliner Allee, Berlin-Weißensee.

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 26/05/2025

Widely popular series “The Queen’s Gambit” revived keen interest in chess. Filmed in #Berlin, it inspired a lot of city exploration: Karl-Marx-Allee, Frankfurter Tor, Taut school in Lichtenberg, Haus Cumberland, etc. But the link btw chess & Berlin is stronger Another page from my Berlin Calendar.

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CHECK, MATE: EMANUEL LASKER'S BERLIN WALL

Today in Berlin: 26 May, 1894

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 24/05/2025

Go swimming. Not in #Berlin lakes but an indoor pool: one whose architecture will leave you floating on your back, marvelling at the endless beauty of the roof construction (something you might not be doing on a daily basis anyway). #OTD 1930 Stadtbad Mitte opened for service. Subscribe, y'all🌞

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DIVING IN: THE OPENING OF BERLIN'S MOST BEAUTIFUL INDOOR POOL AND BATHS

Today in Berlin: May 24, 1930

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

Were this 1910 you would see me rushing to #Berlin-Johannisthal to watch people like Alfred Frey, Mellie Beese or Robert Thelen perform their magic. Were it 1910 on May 23, I wish I were on Potsdamer Platz or Unter den Linden watching this historic event: Berlin Calendar Strikes Again

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HERR FREY FLIES AROUND: FROM JOHANNISTHAL TO BERLIN AND BACK

Today in Berlin: 23 May 1910

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

Were this 1910 you would see me rushing to #Berlin-Johannisthal to watch people like Alfred Frey, Mellie Beese or Robert Thelen perform their magic. Were it 1910 on May 23, I wish I were on Potsdamer Platz or Unter den Linden watching this historic event:

theberlincompanion.com

HERR FREY FLIES AROUND: FROM JOHANNISTHAL TO BERLIN AND BACK

Today in Berlin: 23 May 1910

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

Warszawa-Express. Always wins the race😉 Berlin-Köpenick (Hirschgarten)

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

A legendary automobile racing car, fast cars, young count and a tragic crash. This is the stuff that some of the best headlines are made of. Exactly 93 years ago today in Berlin. Berlin Calendar keeps chugging along.🚂📅📅📅

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WHEELS ON FIRE: DEATH OF THE YOUNG COUNT LOBKOWICZ

Today in Berlin: May 22, 1932

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

Big plus of being a time-traveller? You can never be late: it might be 11.15 PM, but we'll still make it in time to see the first soccer game played in Berlin after the war. Less than 2 weeks after 3rd Reich finally threw in their towel, 2 teams met in Berlin-Lichtenberg on the pitch. May 20, 1945

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KICK IT LIKE BERSARIN: FIRST SOCCER GAME AFTER THE WAR

Today in Berlin: May 20, 1945

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 19/05/2025

And should you ask yourself, why 1900 and not today, here’s the answer: (And I don’t mean the change of the street name to Kapelle-Ufer) #Berlin #tristesse

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 19/05/2025

In case you need anything, I’m off to 1900. You’ll find me on Friedrich-Karl-Ufer, watching barrels being unloaded not far from Kronprinzenbrücke. I hear they have red wine 🍷

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 19/05/2025

#OTD 1958 the wooden tower on top of Berlin's Müggelberge stood up in flames. In 1960 rose from ashes again. After many more dramatic twists and turns, it's still there for all eager hikers and strollers, and for fans of the re-united Berlin to behold and enjoy. Another page in Berlin Calendar📆🌞

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SMOKE ON THE WATER: MÜGGELTURM BURNS

Today in Berlin: May 19, 1958

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 19/05/2025

Good morning #Berlin & Beyond! Fixing your broken hard disc can yield sth positive, too. I have stumbled upon a copy of my absolutely favourite cartoon which I saved in 2011: perfect Monday morning comment from the one and only Gary Larson.

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 18/05/2025

Sometimes tiny acts of defiance loom huge. Sometimes small protest leads to a bloodbath. Sometimes it is not easy to understand why anyone would put their life in line - until you do understand. On May 18, 1942 Herbert Baum Group set “Das Sovjet Paradis” on fire.

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THE PARADISE AND THE LOST: HERBERT BAUM GROUP ATTACKS

Today in Berlin: May 18, 1942

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 17/05/2025

Just in time before midnight, today’s #Berlin Calendar page is all about good timing: on this day in 1868 the legendary (and still operating) horse racecourse Hoppegarten (originally Dahlwitz-Hoppegarten) opened in the presence of the King and his Master😉

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HOPPE-HOPPE-GARTEN: THE RACE BEGINS

Today in Berlin: May 17, 1868

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

Thanks to German engineering genius, Werner Siemens (later von Siemens), the 1st electric tram worldwide began operating on this day in 1881 in today’s #Berlin-Lichterfelde. Here’s s short recap.🚋

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A SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM: WORLD'S FIRST ELECTRIC TRAM

Today in Berlin: May16, 1881

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

"None of those lucky enough to travel to the south of the country can deny that the instant you see the iron railway bridges and that Albrecht-Dürer-Tower imitation at Anhalter Bahnhof again, belongs to the most dreadful moments of your life. 'Well, that's that then! Taxi, please!'

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

New day, new Berlin Calendar page - with a shameless plug for my wonderful "Berlin Companion Audio-Walks App"😎 NOT-SO-SMOOTH SAILING: BERLIN'S VANISHED CANAL theberlincompanion.com/p/not-so-smo...

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NOT-SO-SMOOTH SAILING: BERLIN'S VANISHED CANAL

Today in Berlin: May 15, 1852

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

Brutal but the happy look on that old gentleman's face;))

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

A video with historic images of Warsaw's airport (see last posts) from 1932 (year it opened) until 1992. Mind you, that building AND that sign above the main entrance? Superb! www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiid...

Port lotniczy Warszawa Okęcie w latach 1934 - 1992 na archiwalnych fotografiach

YouTube video by TJP

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

Meanwhile in Warsaw/Warszawa Shuttle bus to the Airport Warszawa-Okęcie, waiting in front of the Polish Airlines LOT building, 1934. Warsaw's airport opened on April 29, 1934. Between 1910 and 1934 Pole Mokotowskie (Mokotów Field) served as an airfield (cntd to be used) Photo 1: Willem van de Poll

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

This is too important not to share! On the day when another Holocaust survivor, Margot Friedländer, is being buried in Berlin✊ substack.com/@krassenstei...

Krassenstein on Substack

AMAZING! A 90 year old Holocaust survivor confronted Trump's ICE director. What a legend.

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

If you’ve ever been to Rummelsburg, even in passing, you couldn’t have missed it. The giant body of Berlin’s largest power plant which once provided electricity to 75% of all households. #OTD 1927, after 2 yrs of construction, Großkraftwerk Klingenberg officially opened.

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HOT IN THE CITY: THE OPENING OF EUROPE'S LARGEST POWER PLANT

Today in Berlin: May 14, 1927

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

Before every earthquake there are signs. Catastrophes don't come unannounced: not to those who keep their ear to the ground. Here's how one of those early tremors caused a wave that reached as far as the Dow Jones Temple in NYC. #OTD 1927: #Berlin stock exchange market came a-crashing...

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HEADING FOR A FALL: BERLIN STOCK EXCHANGE CRASH OF 1927

Today in Berlin: May 13, 1927

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

Good morning #Berlin & Beyond! Hanging There U-Bhf Hallesches Tor was built in such a way that a big chunk of it literally hangs above the Landwehrkanal. An ingenious piece of engineering that survived the heavy shelling in the last days of WW2. And a piece of engineering beauty 🌞

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

#Berlin's statue of Friedrich Wilhelm IV before Alte Nationalgalerie was 1 of 6 mounted monarchs that once looked twds Stadtschloß: Great Elector from Lange Brücke, F II from Unter den Linden, FW III from Lustgarten, Wilhelm I from Nationaldenkmal, and F III before Kaiser-F-Museum:

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

To write you need two things: a laptop (or pen and paper, if you are thus inclined) and time to think. The following text was inspired by my having both and by the sound of the big orange rubbish van outside my window. On a Monday in #Berlin.

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BERLIN DISPATCH: RUBBISH BIN HEROES

Monday in Berlin

BerlinCompanion @berlincompanion.bsky.social · 11/05/2025

On this day in 1896 #Berlin’s crème de la crème gathered in a rather unlikely place: surrounded by fish, monkeys and lobsters, they gasped and Oh’ed at the sight of unseen wonders. Who would have thought that a street corner of Unter den Linden and Schadowstraße could hide such surprises…

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BIG SPLASH: BERLIN'S FIRST AQUARIUM

Today in Berlin: May 11, 1896