On the roof of a 20-story building overlooking the bright lights of Alexanderplatz, a DJ blasts technomusic as young, fashionably dressed Berliners drink, dance and socialize under the stars in the weeks preceding the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

From the rooftop club, called Week-End, the view over the entire city is exhilarating, filled with shimmering blue-glass skyscrapers, flashing neon signs and avenues ablaze with streaming lines of automobile lights. Just 20 years ago, however, the night view from this former East Berlin office building would have been drastically different, with the western half of the city pulsating with light, but the other half, East Berlin, resembling a large dark field with scattered streetlights and an occasional slow-moving vehicle.

While most Germans have by now become used to the reunification of East and West Berlin, many others are still startled by the rapid development of the former communist side of the city and get goose-bumps when they travel by car, train or bicycle across sections of the city once divided by the almost impenetrable, 93-mile concrete wall.

Between 1961 and 1989, 140 Berliners were killed trying to cross over or under the Berlin Wall, and thousands more were caught and imprisoned. The Wall not only divided a city but was the international symbol of the Cold War for almost 30 years. It came down in November 1989 — in bits and pieces at first as East Berliners apprehensively chipped off concrete slivers as they walked through newly opened gaps, and days later in large sections as bulldozers turned it into rubble and a rushing river of humanity pushed through. Immediately after reunification, however, Berlin’s future as a revived European center of culture and politics was in doubt. Berlin was devastated during World War II, and its physical and social isolation for four decades following the war made it unclear if the city could ever successfully mend its broken bones and reclaim its status, temporarily given to Bonn, as Germany’s capital city.

But within a few years following the dismantling of the Wall and the subsequent restoration of the city’s Reichstag (Germany’s parliament building) by British architect Lord Norman Foster, Berlin not only became Germany’s well-functioning capital but also a buzzing center of redevelopment. Construction cranes filled the skyline as new commercial, governmental and residential buildings — often in the most architecturally eclectic styles — rose throughout the city. Along with the country’s politicians and staff who moved from Bonn, almost a million West German and European artists, musicians, writers and entrepreneurs also arrived in a reunited Berlin, taking advantage of inexpensive housing and a frenzied lust for color and creativity in the drab eastern neighborhoods. Although the city also lost about a million former East Berliners who left for the West, the influx of new residents and German reunification money resulted in trendy restaurants, hotels, museums and theater venues that quickly became more popular than the long-established businesses in the western side of Berlin.

Today, however, the ecstatic years following the fall of the Wall have been diminished somewhat; and Berlin’s inherent economic flaws, after decades of German government subsidies, are all too visible. A 15 percent city unemployment rate (compared to about 8 percent in Germany), few corporate headquarters and little manufacturing output have taken the bluster out of Berlin’s initial euphoria. Economic contraction in Germany’s six eastern states, including Berlin, was the result of deindustrialization when East German factories shut down after 1989, and the current world economic recession hasn’t helped. Small businesses carry the economy in Berlin (94 percent of the companies in Berlin have fewer than 200 employees); and although dozens of prestigious German and international firms like Siemens AG, Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Daimler AG, McDonald’s Deutschland Inc. and Philip Morris GmbH maintain large workforces here, the corporate culture in Berlin is much less influential than in Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Stuttgart or Frankfurt.

New financial, computer and scientific research firms, however, are making inroads in the city; and Berlin is still attracting young European professionals, architects and graphic artists who are behind the city’s innovative museum and urban design projects. More than half of Berlin’s working population is under age 40. German real estate firms continue to convert historic communist-era bank buildings, warehouses and breweries into hotels, restaurants and upscale shops in the former East Berlin districts of Prenzlauer Berg, Mitte and Friedrichshain, helping Berlin to become the most popular tourist destination in Germany and increasing the service sector employment by 48 percent since 1989. Although the stork-like construction cranes no longer dominate Berlin’s skyline, national economic stimulus programs are spurring a revival of large urban development projects, including construction of the new Berlin Brandenburg International Airport (BBI), scheduled to open in 2011, and a massive city project to develop the area surrounding the spectacular 3-year-old glass-and-steel railroad terminal, Berlin Hauptbahnhof.

Some of Germany’s most important media outlets have expanded their presence in Berlin, including MTV/Germany, Deutsche Welle, Der Spiegel and Babelsberg Studios, which produces international films and hosts the popular Berlin Film Festival.

Visitors to Berlin are surprised at the city’s size, almost 348 square miles, nine times larger than Paris. More than a third of Berlin is filled with forests and water, including lakes, rivers and canals; and its three large city parks — the Tiergarten, the Botanical Gardens and the Zoological Gardens — are ideal for walking or biking.

As Berlin celebrates the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, portions of the concrete barrier remain, and Berliners must eventually decide what is to become of these last reminders of the divided city. The longest stretch of the original wall, about a mile long, is now known as the Eastside Gallery, and more than 100 artists from around the world have contributed murals to this unique open-air museum. Whether this section and other remaining Wall segments become UNESCO World Heritage sites or are eventually removed is a decision that all Berlin’s residents, on both sides of the city, will have to make together.

Info to Go

Tegel Airport (TXL), five miles from central Berlin, provides frequent bus service to downtown ($2.80, 20 minutes), taxis ($25) and rental cars. This airport will close when the larger Brandenburg Airport is completed in 2011. The Berlin train station offers highspeed rail service from many European cities. Visit href=“http://www.germany-tourism.de” target=“_blank”>www.germany-tourism.de.

Just the Facts

Time Zone: GMT +1 (GMT +2 April–October) Phone Code: 49 Germany, 30 Berlin
Currency: Euro
Entry/Exit Requirements: U.S. citizens may enter Germany for up to 90 days for tourist or business purposes without a visa. The passport must be valid for at least three months beyond the period of stay.
Official Language: German. English is widely spoken.
Key Industries: Tourism, computer software, scientific and medical research, pharmaceuticals, media and film production, financial services, conferences and conventions.

Diversions

With more than 175 museums, 430 art galleries, three opera houses and eight orchestras, Berlin offers more cultural sites than any city in Europe. A few “don’t-miss” attractions include the new Jewish Museum (Linden Strasse 9–14, tel 49 30 2599 3300), opened in 2008 and designed by Daniel Libeskind; the New National Gallery (Potsdamer Strasse 50, tel 49 30 266 2951), designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, with paintings and sculpture by noted European and German artists; and the interesting Hamburger Bahnhof Museum of Contemporary Art (Invalidenstr. 50-51, tel 49 30 397 834 20).

Berlin’s historic and centrally located Museumsinsel (Museum Island) is home to five museums, including the Old Museum (1830); the New Museum (1859), damaged during World War II, redesigned by architect David Chipperfield and expected to open in fall 2009; the Old National Gallery (1876); the Bode Museum (1904); and the Pergamon Museum (1930).

The Reichstag, with its Norman Foster-designed glass dome roof, offers great views of Berlin and is free to the public; arrive early — it’s a popular stop. The Holocaust Memorial, designed by Peter Eisenman in 2005, is composed of 2,711 concrete blocks of different heights; don’t miss the underground Holocaust exhibit below the memorial.

There are numerous Cold War attractions as well, including the Berlin Wall Documentation Center (Bernauer Strasse 111), which offers listening stations, computer terminals and a bookstore across the street from a portion of the original Wall. The DDR Museum (Karl-Liebknecht Strasse 1, tel 49 30 847 123 731) provides a unique look at life under the former communist government of East Berlin through photos, artifacts and a recreated Ossi living room. The Stasi Museum (Ruschestrasse103) is filled with documents, photos and devices from the infamous East German spy agency.

Checking in with Dr. Axel Klausmeier
Director of Berlin Wall Foundation

Your office is located across the street from a remaining segment of the Wall on Bernauer Strasse. Why was this site chosen for the center?

The Bernauer Strasse section of the Wall has always been of interest to the world, as the division of the city was particularly obvious here. The houses on one side of the street belonged to the East, but the sidewalks next to them were in the West, so the houses on the east side were either shut down or the windows overlooking the Wall were blocked with bricks. Many East Berliners were killed while trying to escape along this stretch of the Wall, and it was also on this street that the first pieces of the Wall were taken out after the border was opened in 1989.
Will the current Berlin Wall Memorial Exhibition on Bernauer Strasse continue after 2009?

We are going to expand the exhibition to cover the entire Bernauer Strasse, almost a mile long, and we will keep the remaining structure of the Wall, as well as additional audio and video installations. The memorial expansion will culminate in 2011 with the 50th anniversary of the Wall’s construction.>
Has it been difficult for Berliners to leave even small portions of the Wall intact?

After the border opened in 1989, most of the 93-mile barrier was soon destroyed by East and West Berliners, as it represented a symbol of pain, a division of families and friends. But as time went by there was a change of attitudes, and many people began to think that some of the Wall should be preserved as a visual reminder of that period. So, yes, for some people it is difficult to look at the parts that are left, while others feel it is good for German children and visitors to touch the Wall and try to imagine how it was before unification.

Navigate the city by the convenient subway (U-Bahn) or surface train (S-Bahn), or rent wheels at Berlin on Bike (Knaackstrasse 97, tel 49 30 43 73 9999) near Bernauer Strasse and take an independent or group Berlin Wall Trail tour. You can also arrange to drive a DDR-manufactured Trabant, the memorable toylike cars that clattered around East Berlin during the Cold War era.

Lodging

Hotel Adlon Kempinski

Film stars and heads of state frequent the reconstructed hotel overlooking Brandenburg Gate. Indoor swimming pool and Michelin-star Lorenz Adlon restaurant. Unter den Linden at Pariser Platz, tel 49 30 22610,$$$$

Hotel de Rome, Berlin

A 19th-century bank building that survived World War II bombing (grenade fragments still in some walls) is now a 5-star hotel with spa. Behrenstr. 37, tel 49 30 460 60 90, $$$$

The Ritz-Carlton Berlin

Five-year-old deluxe hotel is opposite trendy Potsdamer Platz. Its Brasserie Desbrosses is constructed from an 1875 Paris brasserie; Club Lounge on 10th floor. Potsdamer Platz 3, tel 49 30 33 777 7, $$$$

Dining

Ma Tim Raute

This Michelin-star winner (only five months after opening) offers modern Asian-inspired design and cuisine. Splurge — there’s nothing like it in Europe. Behrenstr. 72, tel 49 30 3011 1733 3 $$$$

Restaurant Maxwell

Beautiful 1893 Neo-Gothic brick building, a former brewery in the Mitte district, features lovely courtyard dining, excellent fish and meat. Bergstr. 22, tel 49 30 280 7121, $$$

Schneeweiss

Friendly and casual spot in lively neighborhood of former East Berlin features “snow white” décor and outdoor café overlooking a small park. Simplonstr. 16, tel 49 30 290 497 04 $$