Berlin Photo Gallery - City West

The Zoologischen Garten railway station opened in 1882 with the U-bahn station added in 1902. The area developed into an upper class residential district. It also became an entertainment district by the early 20th century with cafes, theatres, and cinemas. The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church was built in the 1890s to honour the first German emperor. It was almost destroyed during bombing raids in 1943, with the ruins incorporated into a new modern church building built between 1959 and 1961. Heading inside, it is a small space but look up to see the beautiful artwork. There are now many modern skyscrapers surrounding the church and plenty of retail therapy. Bikini Berlin was the first concept mall in the country when it opened in the 1950s. The 400m-long building had offices and shops and given the nickname 'bikini' because you could see through it to the zoo behind, resembling the new and daring bikini swimwear at the time. It stirred up discussions in the architectural circles with novel concepts such as exposed concrete and large glass surfaces. The building has recently been renovated and it's worth a trip up to the roof garden where you can see a few of the zoo's pens and curious animals wandering around.