
Privacy
Berlin | |
---|---|
State | |
Country | Germany |
Capital | |
Population | 3440441 |
Postcode | 10117 |
Berlin (; German: [bɛʁˈliːn] (listen)) is the capital and biggest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3,769,495 inhabitants as of 31 December 2019 make it the most populous city of the European Union, according to population within city limits. The city is also one of Germany's 16 federal states. It is surrounded by the state of Brandenburg, and contiguous with Potsdam, Brandenburg's capital. The two cities are at the middle of the Berlin-Brandenburg capital region, which is, with about six million inhabitants and an area of over 30,000 km2, Germany's third-largest metropolitan region after the Rhine-Ruhr and Rhine-Main areas.
Berlin straddles the banks of the River Spree, which flows to the River Havel (a tributary of the River Elbe) from the western borough of Spandau. Among the city's main topographical features are the numerous lakes in the western and southeastern boroughs formed by the Spree, Havel, and Dahme rivers (the biggest of which is Lake Müggelsee). Due to its location in the European Plain, Berlin is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. About one-third of the city's area is composed of woods, parks, gardens, rivers, canals and lakes. The city lies in the Central German dialect region, the Berlin dialect being a version of the Lusatian-New Marchian dialects.
First documented in the 13th century and situated at the crossing of two important historic trade routes, Berlin became the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1417--1701), the Kingdom of Prussia (1701--1918), the German Empire (1871--1918), the Weimar Republic (1919--1933), and the Third Reich (1933--1945). Berlin in the 1920s was the third-largest municipality in the world. Following World War II and its subsequent occupation by the victorious nations, the city was divided; West Berlin became a de facto West German exclave, surrounded by the Berlin Wall (1961--1989) and East German territory. East Berlin was declared capital of East Germany, while Bonn became the West German capital. Following German reunification in 1990, Berlin once again became the capital of all of Germany.
Berlin is a world city of culture, politics, media and science.
Adelaide | |
---|---|
State | South Australia |
Country | Australia |
Capital | |
Population | 1345777 |
Adelaide (listen) (AD-ə-layd) is the capital city of the state of South Australia, and the fifth-most populous city of Australia. The demonym Adelaidean is used to denote the city and the residents of Adelaide.
Adelaide is situated on the Adelaide Plains north of the Fleurieu Peninsula, between the Gulf St Vincent in the west and the Mount Lofty Ranges in the east. Its metropolitan area extends 20 km (12 mi) from the coast to the foothills of the Mount Lofty Ranges, and stretches 96 km (60 mi) from Gawler in the north to Sellicks Beach in the south.
Named in honour of Queen Adelaide, consort to King William IV, the city was founded in 1836 as the planned capital for the only freely-settled British province in Australia. Colonel William Light, one of Adelaide's founding fathers, designed the city centre and chose its location close to the River Torrens, in the area originally inhabited by the Kaurna people and known as Tarndanyangga ("place of the red kangaroo"). Light's design, now listed as national heritage, set out the city centre in a grid layout known as "Light's Vision", interspaced by wide boulevards and large public squares, and entirely surrounded by parklands.