4101 - Introduction

Up from the Sand

(Hi)stories in the middle of Berlin

Berlin’s origins are in its Mitte district. Built on sandy Mark soil, the two cities of Cölln and Berlin merged into a twin city in the 14th century. In the 19th century, parts of today’s district became an industrial centre. Between 1871 and 1945, government bodies of the German Reich were located here. The Second World War, demolitions in the divided city or new buildings after the German reunification – every period left its traces in the sandy soil of Berlin.

The exhibition Up from the Sand tells the story of the interplay of different forces that form, dissolve and continuously reconstruct the urban space of Berlin‑Mitte. It assembles examples from urban planning, urban society and culture over the past 250 years. During that time, Berlin changed from being a royal city to an industrial metropolis.

Architectures, institutions and infrastructures determine the way people live together here. Yet time and again, the inhabitants of the city demand through protest and resistance to shape the cityscape, the living conditions and the future of living together themselves; they are not passive and powerless. Just like sand, the city can always be shaped.