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In the 1920s and '30s, it was one of the busiest traffic centers in all of Europe. Most of the buildings were destroyed by the heavy bombardment of Berlin during World War II. When the city was divided after the war, the square was cut in half, and after 1963, the Berlin Wall ran right through it, which caused the area to become totally desolate.
After the downfall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Roger Waters staged a gigantic charity concert of The Wall on July 21, 1990 to commemorate the end of the division between East and West Germany. The concert took place on the then empty Potsdamer Platz and featured many guest superstars.
After 1990, the square became the focus of attention again, since it was an attractive location suddenly near the center of the city. The city government chose to divide the area into four parts, each to be sold to a commercial investor, which then planned new construction. During the building-phase the Potsdamer Platz was the largest building site in Europe.
The largest of these four parts went to Daimler-Benz, now part of Daimler-Chrysler, who charged Renzo Piano with creating a master plan for the new construction. The individual buildings were then built by many individual architects according to that plan. This includes the remarkable Potsdamer Platz No. 1 by Hans Kolhoff , now home to a number of prestigious law firms (in the photo on the right, the tall brick building in the center).
The second largest part went to SonyUsage of these images is restricted. Trademarks on this page belong to their owner. See Image use policy Sony (in katakana: ) is a consumer electronics corporation based in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded on May 7, 1946 as the Tokyo Telecommunications Engine, which erected its new European headquarters there. This new Sony Center by Helmut JahnHelmut Jahn (b. January 14, 1940) is an architect, designer of dozens of major buildings throughout the world. Some of the better known among his creations are the Sony Center on the Potsdamer Platz, Berlin and the State of Illinois Center, Chicago. Jahn, an impressive, yet light monolith of glass and steel (the rightmost building in the picture on the right), is considered by many to be one of the finest piece of modern architecture in Berlin.
The whole project was the subject of much criticism from the beginning, and still not everyone applauds how the district was commercialized and replanned. However, the plaza now attracts about 70,000 visitors a day, and many critics are surprised by the success of the new quarter. At almost any time of the day, the place is packed with people. It has become a must-see for visitors, a top shopping area for Berliners, and probably the number-one spot to go for filmFor other uses see film (disambiguation Film — also called movies the cinema the silver screen moving pictures motion pictures photoplays picture shows and flicks — is a field that encompasses motion pictures as an art form or as part of the entertainment fans, with more than 40 screens in three cinemasA movie theater or cinema is a location, usually a building, for viewing movies. Other colloquial names include the silver screen and the big screen (contrasted with the "small screen" of television). Generally, theaters are not owned by individuals, but, a film academy and a film museum.
Some scenes of the 19871987 is a common year starting on Thursday. Events January January 1 Nunavut's capital changes it name to Iqaluit from Frobisher Bay. January 3 Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. January 4 An Amtrak train Wim WendersWilhelm Ernst ("Wim") Wenders (born August 14, 1945) is a German-born film director, author and producer. Wenders received Palme d'Or in 1985 for his movie: Paris, Texas in 1985 and was awarded a honorary doctoral at Sorbonne, Paris in 1989. Films include movie Der Himmel über Berlin (English title: Wings of DesireWings of Desire is the English title of Der Himmel uber Berlin a 1987 film by the German-born director Wim Wenders. Set in present-day Berlin, the first part of the film is mainly in black and white. It follows two angels as they roam the city, unseen and) are located on the old, almost entirely void Potsdamer Platz before the Wall fell. The movie thus gives a good impression of the surroundings at the time, which are completely unlike what can be seen today.
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