Berlin. Government and History

The city of Berlin, also called Greater Berlin (in German, Gross Berlin), consists of 23 administrative districts. The people of Berlin elect about 240 members to a legislature called the Abgeordnetenhaus (House of Representatives). The House members make the city's laws. They also elect the governing mayor, who is the government's chief executive. Both the governing mayor and members of the House serve four-year terms. The governing mayor appoints a deputy mayor and a cabinet called the Senate with approval of the House. These officials direct the government departments.

In addition to being the capital of Germany, Berlin is also one of the country's 16 states. The people of Berlin elect 28 representatives to Germany's Bundestag (larger house of parliament). Berlin also has four votes in the other house of parliament, the Bundesrat.

History. Early days. About 1,500 years ago, various Slavic peoples lived in the area of present-day Berlin. During the A.D. 900's, German emperors in western Europe extended the boundaries of their territories to the Oder River, just east of Berlin. German settlers began to occupy the new region in the 1 100's.

The village of Berlin grew up on the northeast bank of the Spree River. About the same time, the village of Kölln (or Colin) was founded on an island in the Spree. Historians do not know exactly when the villages were founded, but Kölln was first mentioned by name in a document in 1237 and Berlin in 1244. Both were trading centers. In 1307, Berlin and Kölln established a union for their joint defense and built a common town hall.

By the 1400's, Berlin had become an important town in the German state of Brandenburg. The Hohenzollern family, who ruled Brandenburg, made Berlin their official home in the late 1400's. The Thirty Years' War, from 1618 to 1648, brought great misery to Berlin. The town was forced to house and pay for troops. In addition, Berlin was stricken by epidemics, and its suburbs were burned. By the end of the war, Berlin's population had fallen to 6,000, about half its former size.

Prussian capital. Berlin prospered again under the Great Elector, Frederick William, one of the Hohenzollern family. He ruled Brandenburg from 1640 to 1688. He encouraged industries and sponsored building projects. During his reign, the first canal was built between the Spree and the Oder rivers. His son Frederick I became the first king of Prussia in 1 701 and made Berlin his capital. In 1710, Berlin, Kölln, and three neighboring communities united as the city of Berlin.

During the 1 700's, Berlin grew from a small town to a thriving trading and manufacturing center. The arts and sciences flourished, and industry expanded rapidly. The French armies of Emperor Napoleon I occupied Berlin from 1806 to 1808. After they left, the city prospered as the capital of Prussia, which had become a leading German power. When the German Empire was formed in 1871, Berlin became its capital. The city's population rose from 826,000 in 1871 to 2,076,200 in 1910.