Architecture in Germany. Form or function? Practical or pleasing to the eye? The debate is as old as architecture itself – and the answer remains a mystery. But what is clear is that no other field of creative work has such a long-lasting impact on our environment, our day-to-day existence and our quality of life as the way in which we design buildings. In Germany, the world’s leading architects – from Henry van de Velde and Walter Gropius to Sir Norman Foster and Zaha Hadid – have designed environments that compel us to look at things in new ways.

Go on a journey of discovery and happy travels.

Potsdam Sanssouci Palace © GNTB

Architecture in Germany

Germany’s architecture has a long, rich and diverse history with every major European style from Roman to Post Modern being demonstrated. Trier , founded around 16 BC, is Germany’s oldest city and the best-known surviving artifact from that period is probably the Porta Nigra, the ancient Roman city gate. Other famous German buildings include the Cologne Cathedral (Gothic), Heidelberg Castle (Renaissance) or Sanssouci Palace (Baroque). Today, functional buildings of German modernism can be found all over the country and new buildings such as the Mercedes Benz Museum , Elbphilharmonie or re-designed Dresden Museum of Military History compete for being the most extravagant.

Duesseldorf fireworks © GNTB

Düsseldorf turns 725 years old

On 14th August 1288, the settlement on the Rhine and Düssel rivers was elevated to city status. Over many centuries, Düsseldorf rose from being a small trading and abbey town to becoming the residence of Palatine dukes and electors and, later, the capital of a Napoleonic grand duchy. Finally, after an unparalleled industrial boom, it was named the capital of the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia . To mark its 725th anniversary , Düsseldorf will be hosting a two-day civic festival on September 7 and 8, 2013. A historical market will be recreated in front of the City Hall while Burgplatz and parts of the Rhine embankment promenade will focus on the present-day Rhine metropolis.

	SHR Bremen exterior © Steigenberger Hotel Group

Steigenberger Hotel to open in Bremen

The Steigenberger Hotel Group is opening a new four-star superior hotel in Bremen offering 139 rooms and suites. The property is set to be open for business in the fall of 2013. Located in Bremen’s new “Überseestadt” District and set in a waterside location, the hotel will also have a conference area, restaurant, bar and a spa facility. The hotel will feature furniture, materials and surfaces typically found within a dockland environment. Details such as the split wood cladding of the reception desk and the grating applied to the lifts provide an initial indication of the Hanseatic theme. In the hotel bar, guests are greeted by mooring posts, and rusty red materials and copper wall panels were used in the rooms.

© airberlin

More flights to Germany with airberlin

airberlin is steadily moving forward with its growth strategy for the US and increasing the frequency of flights for the 2013 winter schedule. One additional flight per week is now available for booking from New York to Berlin and an extra three flights a week are available to Düsseldorf . On the routes from Miami and Ft. Myers to Düsseldorf, an additional flight per week has been added for each destination. Therefore this winter, airberlin is offering daily flights from Miami and New York to Düsseldorf all year round for the first time. The winter schedule starts onNovember 1, 2013 and ends on April 30, 2014.

	Bauhaus Dessau © GNTB

150 years Henry van de Velde

Henry van de Velde , designer, architect and a great influence on the Bauhaus movement, was based in Weimar from 1902 to 1917, and it was during his time in the small Thuringian town that he created some of his greatest works. His buildings in Weimar – the former art college and the school of arts and crafts – were the original home of the Bauhaus (now a UNESCO World Heritage site) before the school moved to Dessau in 1925. The Bauhaus building, which opened in 1926, is regarded as a groundbreaking example of modern architecture of the early 20th century. The federal states of Saxony and Thuringia are celebrating the 150th anniversary of Henry van de Velde’s birth in 2013 by highlighting his achievements and those of his associates.

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Contact

German National Tourist Office

Wibke Carter

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122 East 42nd Street, Suite 2000

New York, New York 10168-0072

Phone: +1 212 661 7175

Fax: +1 212 661 7174

wibke.carter@germany.travel

www.germany.travel

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