Berlin: area by area – kurfürstendamm - Tauentzienstrasse

The Kurfürstendamm is the most popular boulevard in Berlin, among Berliners and visitors alike. From the Gedächtniskirche, it stretches for 3.5 km right out to Halensee, where the exclusive villa districts of West Berlin begin.
In the lively upper part of Kurfürstendamm and its extension, Tauentzienstraße, there are countless department stores, fashion chain stores and other stores. The lower part is quieter: here, designer stores reside in magnificent turn-of-the-century buildings.

Between 1883 and 1886 Kurfürstendamm was laid out as a boulevard with bridle path, and opulent developments arose along it. In the Twenties, it became the meeting point of Berlin's intellectuals, with countless theatres, cafés and nightclubs. In 1913, the "Marmorhaus" became the first film theatre, but like many other cinemas on Kurfürstendamm it was forced to close in recent years.
Badly damaged in the Second World War, Kurfürstendamm was cleared and redeveloped in the Fifties, with tower blocks and terraced buildings. It is still the Berlin's showpiece boulevard, and new buildings are appearing on it once again.