Start your tour near Brandenburg Gate with an overview of Berlin’s fascinating Prussian history from your guide. The House of Hohenzollern was a royal family who reigned over Germany and surrounding regions for more than 500 years, and produced a chain of military-obsessed kings, egocentric emperors, enlightened monarchs and renowned academics. The Hohenzollern developed the state of Prussia into a force to be reckoned with, and by the late 19th century, the other Germanic states pledged allegiance to the Prussian King, making him the German Emperor and setting Europe on a collision course for World War I.
Standing at the foot of Brandenburg Gate, discover how this landmark represented the king’s entrance to his European capital, before later becoming the backdrop of the Nazi regime and the Cold War. Prussian militarism and aggression have long been blamed for many of the catastrophic events that plagued the world in the 20th century; so much so that in 1947 the Allies officially disbanded Prussia so it could never threaten the world again.
Visit Bebelplatz, a grand central square and the heart of the enlightened Friedrich the Great’s cultural idealist utopia. Continue to the beautiful Gendarmenmarkt (‘Men at Arms Market’), whose name derives from Friedrich’s military-obsessed father.
Explore Museum Island, a UNESCO World Heritage site where culture and learning sit side-by-side, and whose grand cathedral was built out of desire to assert superiority over Berlin’s European neighbors. Then witness the rebirth of the Berlin City Palace, reconstructed after World War II bombing and Cold War socialism.
End your 3-hour tour at the Nikolaiviertel (Nicholas' Quarter).
