Saint Nicholas and the Jewish Quarters – The roots of Berlin

Saint Nicholas and the Jewish Quarters – The roots of Berlin

Already in the 6th century BC there is a human presence in the area corresponding to the current historical center of Berlin (Mitte). However, it is not until the middle ages that two small settlements on both sides of the river Spree – Berlin and "Cologne on the Water" (Cölln am Wasser) – will see the emergence of the future capital of the Brandenburg region; later, the residence of the kings of Prussia and the German emperors. Wars, natural disasters, violent political and social changes, a new reality after decades of deep division erased the traces of the original site. But, not completely: defiant before the passage of time, the oldest church in the city, the only remaining part of the fortress that once surrounded and defended the "old town", the oldest market square in the original city, the most important and biggest synagogue erected in German territory and the last buildings of an almost forgotten housing complex built outside the walls of the already non-existent city, are scattered in the area of Nikolaiviertel and Jüdisches Viertel (Saint Nicholas and Jewish Quarters). A modern "time travel" through a part of Berlin...