Berlin

Berlin, capital of Prussia and of the German empire, in the province of Brandenburg, is situated on the Spree, which divides the city into two parts, united by about fifty bridges. The area of the city is about 16,000 acres. The houses are built of brick covered with plaster, and the streets are, except in the oldest parts, straight and wide, the Unter den Linden being one of the finest in Europe. In close proximity to this street are the government buildings, including the emperor's palace, the university, the opera, the cathedral, the old and new museums, and the national gallery. All its public buildings, excepting a few churches and the castle, are modern. It is profusely supplied with monuments of historic figures, the most notable being the equestrian statues of the Great Elector erected 1703, and of Frederick the Great. Among its educational institutions, besides its schools and the University founded in 1809, may be mentioned the Royal Academies of Arts and of Sciences, academies for military, architectural, musical, agricultural, and technical training, and numerous libraries and museums. The chief museums are the Old and the New. Of its five parks the largest is the Thiergarten, covering an area of 370 acres. There are also Zoological and Botanical Gardens. Its largest hospital is the Charite, accommodating 1,500 patients. Its manufactures are varied, embracing steam-engines, sewing machines, pianos, scientific instruments, textile goods, musical instruments, beer, etc. Excepting Leipsic, it is the chief publishing centre in Germany, and has, in addition to numerous other periodicals, upwards of thirty daily newspapers. For transit it is provided with fourteen railways, the Spree with its canals communicating with the Oder and the Baltic, besides the public vehicles common to modern cities. It has a metropolitan and an outer circle railway.