The heart of a cultural centre envisioned by King Frederick the Great, austere Bebelplatz is infamous as the site of the first full-blown public book burning in Nazi Germany. Members of the Nazi German Students' League cheered as works by Brecht, Mann, Marx and others deemed ‘subversive’ went up in flames on 10 May 1933. Originally called Opernplatz, it was renamed for August Bebel, the co-founder of Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD), in 1947.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
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Walk through ancient Babylon, meet an Egyptian queen, clamber up a Greek altar or be mesmerized by Monet's ethereal landscapes. Welcome to Museumsinsel …
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For over 60 years, not a soul was able to visit Berlin’s Neues Museum – in fact, it sat in ruins. But today it’s one of the city’s most celebrated…
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The Pergamonmuseum is one of Berlin’s most visited historical gems and perhaps also its most controversial. This museum offers an archaeological time-warp…
0.81 MILES
This compelling exhibit tells stories of terror and persecution in Nazi Germany.
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This glorious park and palace ensemble is what happens when a king has good taste, plenty of cash and access to the finest architects and artists of the…
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16.9 MILES
Frederick the Great's famous summer palace, this rococo gem was designed by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff in 1747 and sits daintily above vine-draped…
Nearby attractions
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Berlin's first library is a baroque beauty commissioned by Frederick the Great to shelter the royal book collection. Completed in 1780, its design mimics…
2. Staatsoper Unter den Linden
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Berlin’s opulent state opera was commissioned as the royal opera house by Frederick the Great and designed by his friend and master architect Georg…
3. St Hedwigs-Kathedrale Berlin
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This copper-domed church (1773) was commissioned by Frederick the Great, designed by Knobelsdorff, modelled after the Pantheon in Rome and named for the…
4. Reiterdenkmal Friedrich der Grosse
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Seemingly surveying his domain, Frederick the Great cuts a commanding figure on horseback in this famous 1850 monument that kept sculptor Christian Daniel…
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Contemporary art, culture and sports activities are the focus of this gallery sponsored by Deutsche Bank and set within the updated rooms of a rococo…
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In this small, elegant exhibition hall, Deutsche Bank presents changing high-calibre exhibits of contemporary art, especially from emerging art centres in…
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This temple-like neoclassical structure (1818) was Karl Friedrich Schinkel’s first important Berlin commission. Originally a royal guardhouse and a…
8. Humboldt Universität zu Berlin
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Marx and Engels studied here, and the Brothers Grimm and Albert Einstein taught here: Humboldt is Berlin’s oldest university, founded in 1810 in a palace…