Fneodor Fontane and Marlene Dietrich : Germany

The 19th-century Writer Theodor Fontane described Brandenburg’sbeauty and natural charm in his “Walks in the March of Brandenburg". Approximately 350 palaces and manor houses can be found here; particularly popular tourist destinations in addition to Sanssouci are the palaces in Rheinsberg (which Kurt Tucholsky made the subject of a short novel) and Branitz (with the Prince Puckler Museum). Of the roughly 150 museums and memorials, the Heinrich von Kleist Museum and Research Institution on Kleist in Frankfurt an der Oder deserves special mention here.

Cultural festivals take place throughout the year. Well known beyond the state’s boundaries are the Rheinsberg Music Days, the concerts in the impressive formerabbeys of Chorin and Lehnin, and the Potsdam-Sanssouci Music Festival. A distinctive kind of technical achievement is the world’s largest ship elevator in Niederfinow (built in 1934), which enables ships to overcome a 36-meter difference in elevation along the course of the Oder-Havel Canal.

In one of the world’s largest and oldest film studios, the film city of Potsdam-Babelsberg carries on the tradition of the Universum Film Aktiengesellschaft (Ufa), harking back to the days when stars such as Marlene Dietrich and directors such as Friedrich Wilhelm Mur-nau, Ernst Lubitsch and Fritz Lang made their famous films here.

“Viadrina” and Membrane Research : Germany

Viadrina University in Frankfurt an der Oder already existed between 1 506 and 1811. Heinrich von Kleist and the von Humboldt brothers studied there. In 1991 the institution was reopened as the European University Viadrina Frankfurt/Oder; it places special emphasis on Polish-German cooperation in teaching and research. But Brandenburg’s other universities in Cottbus and Potsdam as well as its five Fachhochschulen and 15 technology centers also make the region an important center of German research.

Since 1992 the GFZ Potsdam has been engaged in basic research on topics of global significance in the geosciences. The likewise unique Membrane Research Department of the GKSS Research Center in Teltow is devoted to the development of high-performance membranes for fields of application such as environmental engineering, materials salvage, recycling and medicine. The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research studies today’s climate changes as problems arising from a distorted relationship between mankind and nature. The Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences, which took up its Work in March 1993, cultivates not only the natural, biological and social sciences but also the humanities.

Nature Reserves and Industrial Sites : Germany

Compared to other federal states, Brandenburg is sparsely populated. The Havel and Spree rivers meander through its hilly countryside. Nature conservation is practiced in the numerous nature parks, landscape reserves and biosphere reserves in areas such as the Uckermark, the Elbtalaue, the Schorfheide and the Spreewald; in the Lower Oder Valley National Park, nature conservation measures undertaken jointly with the neighboring country of Poland transcend frontiers. In years past, Brandenburg’s poor sandy soil led it to be called the “sandbox of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation".

Today the backbone of the state’s economy is increasingly shifting from agriculture with its traditional crops of rye and oilseed to industries such as vehicle construction, mechanical engineering, electronics, environmental technologies, the optical industry, and the energy, food and chemical industries. In the context of the program “Upswing East", Brandenburg has thus far been able to attract more than 120 major investors who have each made available more than DM 50 million.

Now that visas are no longer required for travel between Germany and Poland, the city of Frankfurt an der Oderis acquiring ever greater importance as the place of transshipment for trade with the countries of Eastern Europe. Since 1991 a German-Polish intergovernmental commission has been working to promote good-neighborly contacts.

Brandenburg : Germany

Prussian heritage.

The state of Brandenburg surrounds the German capital Berlin; the state capital Potsdam (137,000 inhabitants) lies southwest of the metropolis. During the Potsdam Conference held at Cecilienhof Palace in the summer of 1945, the political leaders of the U.S.A., Great Britain and the Soviet Union made far-reaching decisions concerning the future of Germany. Potsdam has been linked with Prussian-German history since time immemorial. Beginning in 1157, Albert I the Bear called himself the Margrave of Brandenburg. In 1237 the city of Berlin was founded. In 1640 the Hohenzollern elector Frederick William, later called the “Great Elector", assumed power in Germany’s largest electorate.

He encouraged Huguenots from France as well as colonists from Holland and Switzerland to settle in Brandenburg, thus stimulating the development of commerce and craft trades. The 1685 Edict of Potsdam granted the immigrants religious freedom; to this very day the “Dutch Quarter” and the “French Church” in Potsdam evoke memories of these warmly welcomed foreigners. In 1701 Elector Frederick III of Brandenburg crowned himself Frederick I, King in Prussia, thus laying the foundations for the Prussian kingdom; the Brandenburg March became part of Prussia. Under FrederickII the Great (1740-1786) Prussia grew to become a great European iower. He made Potsdam his residence and oversaw the evolution of the masterpiece Sanssouci Park with ‘ts palaces and other magnificent buildings.

ln June 1995 the Berlin House of Representatives and the Brandenburg State Parliament approved the statetreaty on the merger of the two states around the turn of the millennium. In the referendum held on 5 May 1996, however, ihe people of Brandenburg voted against the merger, so the two states will not be merged in the foreseeable future.

The Capital City Settles Into Its New Role : Germany

The transformation of Berlin into the capital of the Federal Republic of Germany is well under way. Now that the Bundesrat has also decided to relocate to Berlin at the same time as the Bundestag and the Federal Government, the capital city expects the supreme constitutional bodies to move from Bonn to Berlin toward the end of this decade.

ln 1996, plans for the move were essentially completed. In the year 1997, renovation, restoration and improve nent of the buildings to be occupied by the ministries regressed steadily. At the construction sites for the new Federal Chancellery in the bend of the Spree Riverand the new Office of the Federal President near Schioss Bellevue, every effort is being made to ensure that the buildings are completed on schedule. The Federal President has been using Schioss Bellevue as his official residence since the beginning of 1994.

Since July 1995, construction crews have been working virtually around the clock to convert the former Reichstag building into the seat of the German Bundestag. Beginning in May 1998, the dome designed by Sir Norman Foster will grace the Reichstag. Completion of the building is scheduled for the end of 1998.
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Economic, Scientific and Academic Life : Germany

Berlin is currently undergoing a process of radical economic change entailing painful adjustments. Nevertheless, its prospects for the future are good: With approximately DM 200 billion in investments slated for the period up until the year 2000 alone, Berlin’s opportunities are virtually unlimited. As the future seat of the Bundestag, the Bundesrat and the Federal Government, as the gateway to the markets of Eastern Europe, and endowed with a first-class infrastructure, Berlin and the surrounding region need not fear measuring up to any standard of comparison.

Its outstanding advantage as a business and industrial location, however, is the network of close contacts between research and development, production and marketing. Three universities, four colleges of the fine arts, the European Business College, nine Fachhochschulen and some 250 non-university research institutions as well as a multitude of small and medium-sized technology firms constitute key potential for future economic growth and new jobs.
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A Cultural Metropolis in the Heart of Europe : Germany

Berlin has long Possessed an extraordinary cultural wealth. On theMuseum Island or in the Culture Forum, in the three opera houses, the Philharmonic Hail or the many theaters, concert halls and libraries, Prussia’s cultural heritage has been entrusted to the capital city for safekeeping. The Berlin Festival, the Berlin Film Festival and the Berlin Theatre Encounter are further highlights in this European cultural metropolis.

Berlin has not only made a name for itself in the area of highbrow culture, however: For many years it has also been very popular with young artists who flock to the German capital from every corner of the globe to enrich the city’s lively and progressive cultural scene.