| Fine food and
high politics: A grand reception at Leipziger Platz. Leipziger Platz has an unmistakable sense of history. First laid out in its octagonal form by Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia in 1732, the square was put to ceremonial and exercise use by the Prussian army. When the first long-distance railway station was opened at the city gates in 1838, Leipziger Platz became the city’s de facto reception hall. Gardens were added to the square, and from 1871-97 the first united German parliament, the Reichstag, sat at Leipziger Platz. Soon Wertheim, Europe’s largest department store, offered fine foods and high fashions to a sophisticated clientele. But by the end of the Second World War, the square had been all but destroyed in street battles. Any remaining buildings were subsequently demolished to make way for border installations. For Leipziger Platz lay right in the path of the Berlin Wall as it carved its way through Berlin – and the world. Since German reunification, Leipziger Platz has been restored to the octagonal garden square it once was, its elegant sandstone facades looking down on a new Berlin. Around it are the grandest hotels, the finest restaurants and the most important embassies in the city. Once again, Leipziger Platz has taken on a central role in the political, business and cultural life of Berlin. Cosmopolitan living in regal style. Berlin is a royal city, modelled by the Prussian kings and later German Kaisers to reflect their growing power. The boulevards fanning out from the historic centre – some reaching as far as the surrounding countryside – are broad and welcoming. Dozens of parks – chief among them the giant Tiergarten – give the city room to breathe, while Berlin boasts two major orchestras, three opera houses and even two zoos. Residents of the city also enjoy regal standards of living – exceptional homes have long been very aff ordable in Berlin. Members of the business community prize the residential districts of the city’s southwest, with their broad avenues of graceful villas within easy reach of the Wannsee lake – where many keep sailing boats. Much that counts as a luxury in other major cities is simply part of good living in Berlin. The new Berlin stands for world-class quality of life. The best cuisine centres around Leipziger Platz and the nearby Pariser Platz, including a number of Michelin star-winning restaurants. The exclusive KaDeWe and Galeries Lafayette department stores, both easily reached from Leipziger Platz, offer magnificent selections of products from every continent. The range of services is similarly cosmopolitan, with excellent international kindergartens and schools providing globally minded education for the next generation . |
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