Berlin

ber'lin, the capital city of the kingdom of Prussia and of the German Empire. As far as large neighbors are concerned, Berlin is 431 miles from Vienna, 731 from Paris, 722 from London, and 1,084 from St. Petersburg. Latitude 52 degree 30' N.; longitude 13 degree 23' E. It is situated in a sandy plain 120 feet above the level of the Baltic. The original city grew up on some islands in the river Spree, to which, no doubt, the early inhabitants resorted for protection,--the first requisite of a medieval city. The islands, connected by broad bridges, are still occupied by the older parts of the city. The more eastern district has the old churches, markets, and cathedral. The stock exchange, the town hall, and the great warehouses of the merchants are here.

The central part of the largest island was once the site of a castle. It is now a pleasure garden for the public, adorned by monuments and statues, and surrounded partly by the old Royal Palace and the Old Museum. These two buildings, and others built by way of annexes, contain a series of the most interesting and valuable collections in Europe. It would be beyond the limits of this article to enumerate even the historic rooms of the palace or the art chambers of the different galleries and museums. Halls of former feasting and brilliant balls; closets where matters of state were weighed; tables on which treaties were signed; the room in which Frederick the Great was born; his saddle and sword; cradles that have rocked royalty; laces and bridal dresses once worn by queens and empresses; swords and weapons; armor yet showing the dint of the battle-ax; the knife and fork of Napoleon captured at Waterloo; precious gems and regalia, make the people of whom one reads seem real. Then too, in the museums, there are cabinets of old coins, portfolios of engravings, collections of flint, bronze and iron implements from the lake dwellings, crude pottery, priceless Berlin and Dresden ware, bronze casts, and terracottas. There are long galleries hung with oil paintings by the masters of every school, and halls of sculpture from the temples and palaces of Egypt, Assyria, Greece, and Rome,--altogether one of the great historical art collections of the world. One might wander amid these treasures for weeks or devote a lifetime to their study without wearying.

Starting from the Garden and Royal Palace, crossing the Spree by a bridge as wide as itself, a magnificent avenue, called Unter den Linden (under the lindens), leads westward through the modern city to the Brandenburg Gate. The avenue is 196 feet wide; from the river to the gate it is a mile in length. It takes its name from avenues of linden trees with which it is planted. Passing from the river toward the gate one leaves the palace of the crown prince, the Royal Opera House, and the present residence of the emperor on the left hand. The buildings of the University of Berlin lie on the right. This is the greatest university in the world,--13,000 students.

Near the east end of the avenue and in front of the emperor's residence,--in front also of the university entrance over the way,--stands a bronze statue of Frederick the Great. He is represented on horseback with his coronation robes and his walking stick. The various sections of the pedestal contain suggestive scenes and spirited groups of the men of his day, with figures of Moderation, Justice, Wisdom, and Strength. The statue was designed by sculptor Rauch, and was completed in 1851. It is forty-four feet high and is considered the finest equestrian statue in the world.

After the close of the Franco-German war, Emperor William I was extraordinarily popular. In pleasant weather a crowd always used to gather along toward noon about the statue of Frederick in front of the palace. At half past twelve the regiment of which the emperor was theoretically a member came down Unter den Linden carrying their colors and preceded by the regiment band in full play. The grayheaded emperor, clad in his red military uniform appeared at the window of his office rooms, saluted the troops, and then went back to his work. The regiment passed on, the crowd dispersed.

The Brandenburg Gate to which reference has been made is an edifice 85 feet high and 205 in length. It was built in 1793 in imitation of the entrance to the Acropolis of Athens. It has five different passages separated by massive Doric columns. The middle passage is reserved for the royal carriages. The material is sandstone. The gate is surmounted by a copper quadriga, a figure of Victory in a chariot driving four horses. It was taken to Paris by Napoleon in 1807, but was restored in 1814. Formerly the heads of the horses pointed toward the outer world, but on their return, they were set up with their heads toward the city.

The Royal Library with the manuscript and first copies of Luther's Bible and a report of the Diet at Worms in the handwriting of Melanchthon; the arsenal with a complete collection of firearms, the oldest dating from the invention of gunpowder; the natural history museums of the university, including the collections brought home by Alexander Von Humboldt; the palaces occupied by Bismarck and Von Moltke; the industrial museum; and many other sights of the city have not been mentioned. A new stone parliament house has been erected. It is enriched by sculpture without and by interior fittings of oak, marble, steel, and bronze.

Outside of the gate there is a large city park with beautiful drives, wooded avenues and ponds, and one of the most complete zoological gardens in Europe. The Avenue of Victory is lined with thirty-two historical groups of statuary. Five minutes from the gate by street car at the extreme end of the gardens lies the suburb of Charlottenburg, noted for a marble mausoleum of Queen Louise and her husband. The recumbent figures of the royal pair have been executed in carrara marble by Rauch. The queen in particular is a piece of unsurpassed workmanship. Every fold of her robe and feature of her face is as perfect as a lily.

In point of population, Berlin is the third city in Europe. In 1900 the census gave 1,888,848 inhabitants and the number has no doubt passed the two million mark. The Spree seems but a series of canals, but its commerce is said to equal that of the Rhine. Berlin is also a railroad center with an immense business in grain, flour, shoes, drugs, metal work, locomotives, wool, cloth, crockery, leather, and cattle and dairy products. The affairs of the city are well managed. Miles of asphalt and cobble streets are kept cleanly swept. Street railways and gas and waterworks are owned by the city. Sewage is collected by an immense system of underground drains, and conducted to a plain below the city, where it is utilized to convert a large sandy tract into thirty square miles of fertile vegetable gardens. These gardens are managed by the municipality.

Berlin is no longer a provincial capital. Though not so cosmopolitan as London and Paris, it is one of the world's great cities. The stir and bustle of government doings, the atmosphere of music and of art, and the great university draw travelers from all climes. German, of course, predominates, but English and French may be heard on every hand. See Germany