Berlin Potsdamer Platz station

Welcome to Potsdamer Platz, a place that is perhaps the most vivid symbol of Berlin's rebirth. Standing here today, surrounded by towering skyscrapers of glass and steel, it is hard to believe that for nearly thirty years, this…

To understand where we are, we must look back to the nineteen twenties. Imagine this square not as it is now, but as a swirling vortex of horse-drawn carriages, the earliest motor cars, and electric trams. …

Look down at your feet. You will see a line of double cobblestones set into the asphalt. …

A few steps north of the station brings you into the Sony Center, an architectural masterpiece by Helmut Jahn. The centerpiece of this complex is the massive, tent-like roof that spans the central plaza. …

Now, let us descend into the station itself. Potsdamer Platz station is one of the most complex transport nodes in Berlin. …

South of the main square lies 'Daimler City,' a collection of nineteen buildings designed by a team of international architects led by Renzo Piano. This area was intended to be a more 'human-scale' neighborhood compared to the…

For a final perspective on the square, take the fastest elevator in Europe up to the 'Panoramapunkt' at the top of the Kollhoff Tower. In just twenty seconds, you are transported to a height of one hundred meters. …

As we conclude our tour of Potsdamer Platz, take a moment to stand once more on that line of double cobblestones. We have traveled from the chaotic jazz-age energy of the nineteen twenties to the silent, mined wasteland of the…