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Comment by simplicio | Hacker News Reader

Interesting how much of the prominent architecture is still in ruins (presumably from WWII era bombing) into the 50's and 60's.

I mean, I guess it makes sense, since there was a lot of stuff to repair and important infrastructure and industry was probably higher on the to-do list than Cathedral and Courthouse repair. But I hadn't really thought about how long the prominent war-time damage would've lasted.

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As noted, the church in question was left that way to serve as a memorial. The "courthouse" you mention was destroyed in World War 2, however the "rebuilding" is something that just started in the last few years. During the time that Germany was divided, East Germany had their parliament building there:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_the_Republic,_Berlin

That was torn down in 2008 and now the new "city palace" is being built in its place, with a facade that is similar to the original palace.

Indeed, my mother visited Berlin during the 60s or 70s and was surprised by how many buildings lay in ruin or bore obvious marks of the war. Warsaw was immaculate by comparison. (For those who don't know, Warsaw was intentionally flattened by the Germans in almost its entirety.) Most of the rubble had been cleared away and much of the city had been rebuilt, albeit according to new socialist principles and styles. Only a fraction of the pre-war architecture was rebuilt (most famously the Old Town). I'm sure a difference in politics in both cities played a role—the communist regime in Poland had been the most "liberal" of the Eastern Bloc—but I don't know for certain what the exact causes were.

If you are referring to the third picture ("Gedächtniskirche"), this is intentional. The church is kept in this partially restored state as a monument against war.

I think Berlin is unusual. Construction happens very slowly here. Things don't get fixed quickly. And there is a lack of desire to change the city too much, physically.

As an example, the paving on the pathways is in a constant state of being repaired because the design is such that the little stone blocks pop out very easily. Many of the side roads are still cobbled (and a nightmare to cycle on). People don't worry about it.

As an American, I think those cobbled streets are one of the most charming things about Berlin. IIRC, many of the sidewalks are of some stone-like construction as well, quite a delightful change from the flat, poured concrete that I have to walk on in the US. When there are sidewalks at all that is.

It's almost as if it was all designed to lure one outside.

One of my favourite advances between the 1963 / 2015 photos of Gedächtniskirche isn't the glass skyscrapers or even the restoration of the church, but just how many trees there are now lining the streets. Definitely more enticing to be outside.

Cobblestone is really nice until you have to walk on it for hours. My inferior North American knees couldn't take it.

I grew up in Berlin in the 70s and early 80s, and I remember some bombed-out ruins that were slowly crumbling. A bit of a post-apocalyptic sight. The ones I remember were close to the wall between east and west Berlin - real estate that used to be city center but now was very much at the margins. Maybe that was a factor in not redeveloping some properties for a long time.

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