Walking Berlin’s historic east-west axis from the Brandenburg Gate along Unter den Linden to Museum Island is to trace 250 years of German history in a single afternoon — from Prussian grandeur to Nazi book burnings, Cold War division, and reunification. This post accompanies the YouTube walking tour “Heart of Berlin: A walk along the Boulevard Unter den Linden | Brandenburg Gate | Berlin Walk 4K,” which covers this iconic route in detail. It is the essential companion to your berlin walking tour.
About This Walking Tour
The walk begins at the Brandenburg Gate, the neoclassical triumphal arch completed in 1791 that stood in no-man’s land throughout the Cold War and became the symbol of German reunification when the Wall fell in November 1989. From there the route moves east along Unter den Linden — the grand linden-tree-lined boulevard that served as the Prussian royal processional route — passing the Holocaust Memorial (2,711 concrete stelae by architect Peter Eisenman, opened 2005) just off to the south, and continuing through the full length of the Prussian institutional axis.
The walk passes Bebelplatz, where on 10 May 1933 the Nazis burned over 20,000 books; an underground memorial of empty bookshelves, visible through a glass panel in the paving, marks the spot. The Neue Wache (New Guardhouse, now Germany’s central memorial for war victims) and the Zeughaus (Arsenal, now the German Historical Museum) complete the boulevard before the walk arrives at the UNESCO-listed Museum Island on the Spree.
Highlights of Unter den Linden and Museum Island
The Brandenburg Gate, designed by Carl Gotthard Langhans and completed in 1791, is crowned by the Quadriga — a sculpture of Victoria driving a four-horse chariot — which Napoleon famously removed to Paris in 1806 (it was returned in 1814). The Holocaust Memorial to the south of the gate is a disorienting field of 2,711 grey concrete pillars of varying heights; the underground Information Centre beneath it documents the murder of six million Jews. Humboldt University, founded in 1810 by Wilhelm von Humboldt, has counted 29 Nobel Prize winners among its alumni, including Max Planck and Albert Einstein. Museum Island (Museumsinsel) was founded in 1830 when the Prussian Crown Prince ordered the construction of a public museum on the northern tip of the Spree island. Its five museums — including the Pergamon (housing the reconstructed Pergamon Altar and the Ishtar Gate of Babylon) and the Neues Museum (home to the famous bust of Nefertiti) — form a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral), built in its current form between 1894 and 1905, serves as the imperial cathedral of the Hohenzollern dynasty and contains their sarcophagi.
A Brief History of Berlin’s Historic Core
Berlin’s origins as a twin settlement of Berlin and Cölln date to the 13th century. It became the capital of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701 and of the unified German Empire in 1871. Unter den Linden was planted with linden trees in 1647 as a riding path; the neoclassical buildings that line it today mostly date from the 18th and early 19th centuries, when Berlin was transformed by the architects Schinkel and Knobelsdorff. The city was the capital of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, and much of the historic centre was destroyed in Allied bombing and the Battle of Berlin. The city was divided by the Berlin Wall from 1961 to 1989; Unter den Linden lay in East Berlin while the Brandenburg Gate stood in the no-man’s land between the two sectors. Reunification came with the fall of the Wall on 9 November 1989.
Practical Tips
Berlin is in the Central European Time zone (UTC+1, summer UTC+2). The currency is the euro; German is the language. The S-Bahn and U-Bahn are excellent. The Brandenburg Gate is served by S-Bahn and U-Bahn at Brandenburger Tor station. Museum Island is served by S-Bahn at Hackescher Markt. The walk from the Gate to Museum Island is approximately 2.5 kilometres. The Pergamon Museum requires advance booking. Berlin’s museum scene is extraordinary and most national museums offer free admission on Thursday evenings. The city is walkable and relatively flat.
Watch & Explore More
The 4K video above follows this route with contextual narration — watch it before your visit for the best preparation. More walks at @walkingtoursvideoscom. Related guides: Prague: Old Town to Charles Bridge and Vienna: Ringstrasse to the Innere Stadt.