Towards Potsdamer Platz

You’ve probably heard of Berlin’s Potsdamer Platz, once considered the German version of Times Square. If you want to see it for yourself, you can find it about 500 metres to your right. Originally, it was located outside the old city walls of Berlin, near the Potsdam Gate, which gave it its name. Potsdam, for Berlin, is a bit like Windsor for London. A town, in the immediate vicinity of the capital, chosen by the monarch as a royal residence. In the 20th century, it became a major junction, and it was here that Germany’s first traffic light was installed! Split into two during the construction of the Wall, it became a deserted no man’s land after the fall of the Wall. The city then launched the largest construction project in Europe at the time, dividing the square into four sections and selling them to private investors. This is where the Sony Center was born, considered one of the finest examples of modern architecture in Berlin. Take a closer look at its immense glass and steel dome, which changes color depending on how it is lit up. You may or may not like it, but you have to admit that life has returned to Potsdamer Platz.