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Concept
History of Berlin
Summary
The history of Berlin starts with its foundation in the 14th century. It became the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1417, and later of Brandenburg-Prussia, and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia grew about rapidly in the 18th and 19th centuries and formed the basis of the German Empire in 1871. The empire would survive until 1918 when it was defeated in World War I.
After 1900 Berlin became a major world city, known for its leadership roles in science, the humanities, music, museums, higher education, government, diplomacy and military affairs. It also had a role in manufacturing and finance.
During World War II, bombing, artillery, and ferocious street-by-street fighting destroyed large parts of Berlin. Berlin was subsequently divided among the four major Allied powers and for over four decades it encapsulated the Cold War confrontation between West and East. With the reunification of Germany in 1990, Berlin was restored as the capital and as a major world city.
The origin of the name Berlin is uncertain. It may have roots in the language of East Slavic, the Proto-Slavic root berl-/berl- which means "bear." The meaning of the word was lost due to a superstition that is: saying the name would summon the wild animal; thus, people used alternate names such as "медведь" [medved'] (translates as 'the one who knows where is the honey,' a literal translation is 'honey-know'). The only word that survived in East Slavic languages that points to the original root of 'berl' is "берлога" [berloga/berlogha] (Rus/Ukr), which translates as "bear's den/lair." Furthermore, the suffix '-in-/-ин-,' even in modern Russian and Ukrainian, denotes the Genetive case, which serves the function of "possession" or "part of a whole." This suffix is common in many Russian last names, as it serves the same purpose as in 'Berlin,' which would translate as "bear's/of bear/like bear/belongs to a bear." Additionally, the root appears in the language of West Slavic inhabitants of the area of today's Berlin, and may be related to the Old Polabian stem berl-/birl- ("swamp").
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