FROM CITY GATE TO CITY CENTRE
Potsdamer Platz through the ages
Originally, Potsdamer Platz was no more than a crossroads at one of Berlin's city gates. But when in 1838, the Potsdam railway station was opened, the area, at that time still called 'Platz vor dem Potsdamer Thor', developed within only a few decades from a peaceful and rural suburb into one of the most bustling squares in Europe. It was far more famous than the adjacent Leipziger Platz, which had been erected between 1732 and 1738 in an octagonal shape. After the empire was established in 1871, Potsdamer Platz experienced a real building boom: Berlin was beginning to flourish economically, its more wealthy citizens moved to outside the city gates, the famous villas in Tiergarten were constructed. The 'Grand Hotel Bellevue' and the 'Palast Hotel' opened before the turn of the century. The 'Fürstenhof' followed in 1907, and one year later the 'Esplanade'.
