Strasse des 17 Juni Historic Mitte

The broad boulevard bisecting Tiergarten was named Street of 17 June in honour of the victims of the bloodily quashed 1953 workers’ uprising in East Berlin. It was originally created in 1697 as a pathway linking two royal palaces, and was paved and expanded into a major thoroughfare in 1799. Hitler converted it to a triumphal road lined with Nazi flags. The section between the Brandenburger Tor and the Siegessäule (Victory Column, 1km west of Brandenburg Gate) turns into a mega-party zone on New Year’s Eve and other big festivals.