柏林(Berlin)
德国城市和州（1999年人口约3,392,900），德国统一後的首都。建於13世纪初，14世纪为汉撒同盟的一员。後来成为霍亨索伦王朝的王室驻地和布兰登堡的首府。後来相继成为普鲁士（1701年起）和德意志帝国（1871～1918）、威玛共和（1919～1932）和第三帝国（1933～1945）的首都。第二次世界大战中全市几乎毁於联军的轰炸。1945年被划分为四个占领区，由美国、英国、法国和苏联分别占领。1948年三个西方强权合并他们的占领区为一经济实体，苏联则以柏林封锁作为回应。1949年当东、西德独立政府建立後，东柏林成为东德首都，而西柏林（虽被东德包围）则成为西德的一部分。1950年代由於东德移民不断涌进西柏林，遂在1961年筑起了柏林围墙。该地区马上成为冷战中最受人瞩目的焦点。1989年戏剧性地拆除围墙，象徵了伴随苏联解体而来的国际剧变的形势。1991年德国统一，柏林成为德国的正式首都，1999年政府完成从波昂播迁到柏林的工作。柏�质心谏栌�柏林大学、夏洛滕堡宫、布兰登堡门和柏林动物园，也是柏林歌剧院（Berlin Opera）和柏林交响乐团（Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra）的所在地。
English version：
Berlin
City and state (pop., 1995: 3,470,000), capital of reunified Germany. Founded in the early 13th century, it was a member of the Hanseatic League in the 14th century. It became the residence of the Hohenzollerns and the capital of Brandenburg. It was successively the capital of Prussia (from 1701), of the German empire (1871-1918), of the Weimar Republic (1919-32), and of the Third Reich (1933-45). In World War II much of the city was destroyed by Allied bombing. In 1945 it was divided into four occupation zones: American, British, French, and Soviet. The three Western powers integrated their sectors into one economic entity in 1948; the Soviets responded with the Berlin blockade. When independent governments were established in eastern and western Germany in 1949, East Berlin was made the capital of East Germany, and West Berlin, though surrounded by East Germany, became part of West Germany. Continuing immigration from East to West Berlin through the 1950s prompted the 1961 erection of the Berlin Wall. The area immediately became the most vivid focal point of the Cold War. The dramatic dismantling of the wall in 1989 marked the international upheaval that accompanied the end of the Soviet Union. Berlin became reunified as Germany's official capital in 1991; the transfer of government from Bonn was completed in 1999. It is the site of the University of Berlin, Charlottenburg Palace, the Brandenburg Gate, and the Berlin Zoo, and is home to the Berlin Opera and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.