Since Jan 01, 2000: District Mitte
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The district of Tiergarten, connecting the eastern and the western city centre, is rich in sights and institutions like hardly any other. The district's south is occupied by the giant park Tiergarten which used to serve the upper nobility's hunting pleasure and gave the district of Tiergarten ("animal garden") its name. Berlin's biggest inner-city park invites you to stroll, have a picnic, play ball or just let your mind wander. Straße des 17. Juni avenue, traversing the Tiergarten park, sets the scene for the city's biggest flea market on its western end on every weekend. Further eastwards you pass the Großer Stern (big star) surmounted by one of the city's landmarks: the Siegessäule (victory column), crowned by the statue of Viktoria, accessible from the inside and fondly called "Goldelse" (golden Elsie) by the Berlin citizens. Here, the final event of the Love Parade, the world's biggest party, takes place every year. On the Tiergarten's southwest fringe the Zoologic Garden is situated; Germany's oldest zoo is with its 19,000 animal species the world's most biodiverse.
South of the Tiergarten a revivification of the old embassy quarter has been taking place: Numerous embassies have been built or renovated. Worth-seeing are the embassy buildings of Mexico, India and Scandinavia.
A few steps away from Brandenburger Tor sits Bundestag parliament in the recasted » Reichstag's building. The glass dome, designed by Sir Norman Foster, fills the former dusky Wilhelminian building with daylight and attracts thousands of visitors each day. Since the Wall was torn down, Potsdamer Platz square has changed from neglected wasteland to Berlin's new centre. A completely new and modern quarter was erected: Shops, restaurants, a casino and a musical theatre allure Berliners and tourists just as the impressive tower block architecture and the Sony Center. Anyway, film devotees won't get around Potsdamer Platz due to the numerous cinemas, the film house and the hither relocated "Berlinale" film festival.
Lovers of art and culture will find their place to be along Potsdamer Straße: chock-a-block, there are the Philharmonie concert hall with its striking silhouette, home of the world-famous Berliner Philharmoniker, the Staatsbibliothek library, the Neue Nationalgalerie, presenting first-rank changing exhibitions in coolish, transparent architecture, and the Kulturforum with the Gemäldegalerie, an incomparable collection of masterpieces by Rubens, Rembrandt, Tizian and others. Further the Kupferstichkabinett and Musikinstrumente-Museum (Museum for music instruments) are part of the Kulturforum.
Following the Potsdamer Straße across the Landwehr canal you sure will encounter the conspicuous facade of the Wintergarten variete. On the North of the Tiergarten, between Haus der Kulturen der Welt (house of world's cultures, better known as "pregnant oyster") and Akademie der Künste (academy of fine arts) resides the Head of State, the Bundespräsident (federal president), in castle Bellevue.
Further to the North, across the Spree river, the old workmen's quarter Moabit, not least known by its court and prison, is one of Berlin's typical places. Arminiushalle – one of the last preserved market halls in Berlin is worth a visit. Likewise the premises of the former Bolle-Meierei ( an old dairy complex) were remodelled to a trade and office center with regard to the old industrial architecture. Today it is home of the federal ministry of the interior.
The construction of the new Regierungsviertel (government quarter) is about to be finished, the Bundeskanzleramt (federal chancellor office) and Swiss embassy were already opened. Still under construction is Lehrter Bahnhof station, that – due to its closeness to the former German wall – was neglected for decades. In the near future Lehrter Bahnhof is supposed to become Berlin's central long-distance railway station where east-west trains will cross with the north-south tunnel. Hamburger Bahnhof transversely across the street is one of the famoust museums of contemporary art.
Except of the west-east city-train axis (S3, S5, S7, S9), Tiergarten is connected by U9 underground to public transport net. In the north of the district runs ring train S41/42, in the south U1 and U2.