The Tiergarten

(Back to Berlin - Weimar Republic)

(see also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiergarten,_Berlin)

 The Tiergarten Literally "Animal Garden", this region (currently covering 630 acres/255 hectares) was once a hunting preserve for the Kings of Prussia and populated with bounding deer. Nowadays, a different sort of animal, the "Grasshopper", may be found here, peddling her fleshy wares.

The largest public park in the city, the remoter parts are dimly lit and dangerous after dark, but the Siegesallee (Victory Avenue) is a popular spot for promenades. This broad boulevard is adored with 32 marble statues of kings, margraves, and electors from the history of Prussia and Brandenburg stretching all the way back to Albert the Bear. Behind each statue is a semi-circular marble bench flanked by busts of two of that ruler's advisors.

The park also features a large zoo, the Zoologischer Garten, opened nearly a century ago as the first of its kind in Germany. Over 13,000 animals dwell here, including lions, elephants, and tigers; many are kept in architecturally distinctive animal houses: the main gate is constructed in a Japanese style, the Antelope House is Moorish in fashion, while the Ostrich House recalls Ancient Egypt. Fronting on The Ku'damm (Kurfurstendamm) but accessible from the zoo is the city's aquarium, opened in 1913, housing both saltwater and freshwater fish, crocodiles, amphibians of many varieties, and even an "insectarium" on the top floor. Also to be found on a secluded and quiet street within the park is the Institut fur Sexualwissenschaft, the Institute of Sexology.

The northern edge of the Tiergarten proper is formed by the winding banks of the Spree, but the district encompasses land to the north of the river as well. For the purposes of this game, the "zone" of the Tiergarten runs along Alt-Moabit and includes the Kleiner (Little) Tiergarten and the nearby Criminal Court complex: two massive, stern buildings completed in the late 19th century that serve as a central clearing house for all criminal cases from all levels of Berlin law. Large prison complexes on the property hold male and female defendants awaiting trial, while a labyrinth of offices provides judges and lawyers with cramped working spaces to prepare and review cases. The air quality in these echoing halls and chambers is so bad that lawyers have been known to pass smelling salts to witnesses to keep them alert during testimony.

Walking farther east to the termination of the Alt-Moabit and crossing the Alsen Bridge over Humboldt Harbor one arrives at Berlin's greatest hospital, the Charite. Founded in 1709 by Frederick I to function as a quarantine house for victims of the plague, it has functioned as a teaching hospital associated with Frederick William University since 1810.