apital of Prussia and then of the German Empire, Berlin lay in ruins in 1945. Divided among the Allies, the city was split in 1961 by the Wall, which separated families for 28 years. Its fall on 9 November 1989 paved the way for reunification in 1990.
Since then, Berlin has turned its scars into places of remembrance and its wastelands into playgrounds: clubs in old power stations, a park on an airfield, galleries in courtyards. Each Kiez, or neighbourhood, has its own character, and the whole city keeps a free, slightly raw spirit.