BERLIN 



694 



BERLIN 



senses. Its university and schools, its art gal- 

 leries, its orchestras and its theaters, are newer 

 than those of cities like Munich, Dresden and 

 Leipzig, but are crowding their older rivals for 

 first place. The University of Berlin (which 

 see), though founded as late as 1810, is already 

 the first in attendance among all German uni- 

 versities. 



In painting and sculpture Berlin holds a lead- 

 ing place. Its former royal museums and the 

 national gallery are filled with ancient and 

 modern art treasures, providing excellent oppor- 

 tunities for study. Museums and galleries in 

 other cities are richer in special limited fields, 

 but few offer a greater variety of excellence. 

 In music Berlin does not yet rival Leipzig, but 

 its conservatory 'and philharmonic orchestra 

 have great influence. In theatrical affairs Ber- 

 lin takes first place, not only in the production 

 of modern German dramas, but also in trans- 

 lations from Moliere, Shakespeare, Ibsen and 

 George Bernard Shaw. 



Commerce and Industry. The geographical 

 position of the city makes it a natural market 

 and distributing point for the agricultural re- 

 gions of Prussia, Austria and Russia. It is the 

 hub of the railway systems of North Germany, 

 the great trunk ' lines (shown on the accom- 

 panying map) furnishing communication in 

 every direction. Commerce is in cattle, wool, 

 lumber, coal and grain. Berlin is the center for 

 trade in grains, its position corresponding in 

 this respect to Chicago in the United States. 

 It is also the chief market for speculation and 

 legitimate transactions in stocks and bonds, and 

 may fairly claim to be the financial center of 

 the Empire. 



More than one-half of the city's working 

 population is engaged in manufactures. The 

 transformation of iron and steel into useful 

 machinery is, perhaps, the greatest industry, no 

 fewer than a hundred large firms being engaged 

 in this branch alone. Munitions of war, rail- 

 way supplies, bicycles, steel pens, electrical sup- 

 plies and sewing machines are important prod- 

 ucts. The production of Berlin's breweries now 

 rival those of Munich. The city is a publish- 

 ing center, and also is a leader in the manu- 

 facture of soaps, lamps, china, pianos, furniture 

 and ladies' cloaks. 



Government. The government of the city 

 under the empire was partly under the control 

 of the Prussian Minister of the Interior, and 

 partly of the local civil authorities. All police 

 functions, including the regulation of building, 

 crime and passports, and the prevention of fire, 



belonged to a branch of the Interior Depart- 

 ment. The civil authorities had jurisdiction 

 over the water supply, street lighting and clean- 

 ing, drainage, and the care of the sick and the 

 poor. There was an elected common council 

 of 144 members; the heads of the departments 

 formed the Stadtrat; its thirty-two members 

 were elected by the council, but had to be ap- 

 proved by the king. The common council 

 elected the burgomaster (mayor) and the chief 

 burgomaster, who did not have to be residents 

 of Berlin at the time of their election. They 

 were usually, in fact, men who had distin- 

 guished themselves as mayors of other cities. 

 Under the new and untried republic of 1919 the 

 city government has not been put on a perma- 

 nent basis. 



History. Of Berlin's beginnings nothing 

 definite is known, but by the fifteenth century 

 it was an important community, in the mark 

 of Brandenburg. About 1500 it became the 

 official residence of the margraves of Branden- 

 burg, but it was practically wiped out during 

 the Thirty Years' War. Its renewed prosperity 

 was due to the Great Elector, Frederick Wil- 

 liam. By his order public buildings and private 

 dwellings were rebuilt, new suburbs were laid 

 out and strong fortifications were added. He 

 also laid the foundation for its future greatness 

 by constructing a canal to connect the Spree 

 and the Oder rivers. At his death, in 1688, Ber- 

 lin had a population of 20,000 people, compared 

 with 6,000 in 1648. 



Under the kings of Prussia, the successors of 

 the Great Elector, the growth and beautifying 

 of the city continued. Frederick the Great 

 gave special encouragement to the manufac- 

 tures of silk and cotton; and Berlin, formerly 

 little more than a small garrison town, began 

 to take on the character of an industrial center. 

 During the nineteenth century it made enor- 

 mous strides, especially after it became the 

 capital of the German Empire in 1871. Most 

 of Berlin, in fact, is of nineteenth century con- 

 struction; the important buildings which are 

 old total fewer than a dozen. 



As the capital of the new Empire, Berlin 

 presented a sorry spectacle in 1871. Its sani- 

 tary conditions were worse than those of any 

 other large city in Europe. Many of its streets 

 were unpaved, and the cobble-stones on the 

 remainder were but a slight improvement. 

 Open sewers and drains, public pumps and 

 underground tenements were characteristic. 

 To-day this is all changed, partly because the 

 state and the people have worked together to 



