East Berlin was the name of the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It was known as just simply Berlin in East Germany, the country it served as the capital of. It was the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a "de facto" part of West Germany. Although it was always legally a part of an occupied city, East Berlin was claimed as the capital of East Germany. From 13 August 1961 until 9 November 1989 it was separated from West Berlin by the Berlin Wall. The East German government referred to East Berlin simply as "Berlin" or often ""Berlin, Hauptstadt der DDR" (Berlin, capital of the GDR). The term "Democratic Sector" was also used until the 1960s.
The Western Allies (the USA, Great Britain and France) only recognized the power of the Soviet Union in East Berlin in accordance with the occupation status of Berlin as a whole. The three Western commandants regularly protested about the presence of the East German National People's Army (NPA) in East Berlin.
Nevertheless, the three Western Allies eventually established embassies in East Berlin in the 1970s, although they never recognized it as East Germany's capital. Treaties instead used terms such as "seat of government." In the 1960s the Western Allies sometimes said the capital of East Germany was Pankow. Pankow is the borough where the main East German government buildings were built.
On 3 October 1990, West Germany and East Germany were united, and East Berlin ceased to exist.
Since reunification, the German government has spent lots of money on rejoining the two halves of the city and bringing services and buildings in the former East Berlin up to the standard in West Berlin. There are still differences between eastern and western Berlin. There are a lot more pre-war buildings in Eastern Berlin, some still show signs of wartime damage. The style of architecture used in the whole of the GDR was very different from that used in rebuilding West Berlin too.
In many East German cities streets were named after socialist heroes. Many were changed after reunification, but some, such as Karl-Marx-Allee, Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz and Karl-Liebknecht-Straße have been kept.
One way anyone could tell if they were in the old East Berlin or in West Berlin was by looking at the traffic lights. East Berlin used special designs on their pedestrian traffic lights, called "Ampelmännchen". The Berlin government wanted to abolish the East German signals, but lots of people objected, and now Ampelmännchen are being seen in West Berlin too.
At the time of German reunification, East Berlin comprised the boroughs of
Württemberg-Baden
Württemberg-Baden was one of the original states of the Federal Republic of Germany.
In 1952 it joined with Baden and Württemberg-Hohenzollern to make the state of Baden-Württemberg.
Württemberg-Hohenzollern
Württemberg-Hohenzollern was one of the original states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Its capital was Tübingen.
It was part of the French Zone of Occupation. After a referendum on 16 December 1951 it joined with Württemberg-Baden, which had been in the American Zone, and Baden which had also been in the French Zone, and formed the present state of Baden-Württemberg on 25 April 1952
After World War the Kingdom of Württemberg became the Free Peoples' State of Württemberg. After World War II the part of the Free Peoples' State of Württemberg and the old Principality of Hohenzollern were joined to make Württemberg-Hohenzollern. The name of the Royal family of Prussia was Hohenzollern because they came from this area. This is also why it was always part of Prussia until Prussia was abolished after World War II.
Noraduz cemetery
Noraduz cemetery () is a medieval cemetery with many ancient khachkars in the village of Noraduz, Gegharkunik marz near Gavar and Lake Sevan, 90 km north of Yerevan. Many tombstones in the cemetery show carved scenes of weddings and farm life.
The oldest khachkars in the cemetery go back to the late 10th century. During the revival of the khachkar tradition in the 16-17th centuries many khachkars were built under the yoke of the Safavid Empire when oriental influences seeped into Armenian art. Three master carvers from this period carved khachkars in Noraduz, the most notable of whom was Kiram Kazmogh (1551-1610), his contemporaries were Arakel and Meliset.
A popular folktale involving the cemetery concerns the invading army of Tamerlane. According to one story the villagers placed helmets on top of the khachkars and leaned swords against them. From a distance the khachkars looked like armed soldiers holding a defensive position as a result of which Tamerlane’s army retreated.
Safavid dynasty
The Safavids () were a dynasty of rulers of Persia. They were Kurdish people, and were Shia Muslims. The Safavids ruled Persia from 1501/1502 to 1722. The Safavids made the greatest Turkish empire since the Muslim conquest of Persia. They established the Ithnāˤashari (Twelvers) school of Shia Islam as the official religion of their empire. This was one of the most important turning points in the history of Iran.
La Scala
The Teatro alla Scala, usually known as La Scala, is probably the most famous opera house in the world. It is in Milan, Italy, which is the country where opera started at the beginning of the 17th century. The theatre opened on 3 August 1778. At first it was called "Nuovo Regio Ducal Teatro alla Scala". The first opera to be performed there was Salieri's "Europa riconosciuta".
There had been a theatre there before, called Teatro Ducale, but it had been destroyed by fire in 1776. The new theatre was built where there had been a church called Santa Maria della Scala. This is how the theatre got its name.
The theatre had more than 3,000 seats arranged in six tiers (six storeys) of boxes, and above that the two 'loggione' or galleries. It has a very large stage. The money for the building was found by selling the 'palchi' (boxes) to wealthy noblemen and other rich people in Milan. In the 'platea' (the main floor) there were no seats and the audience there stood up to watch, like they do today in the Royal Albert Hall at the Proms. The orchestra could be seen very well as they were not in an orchestra pit like they are today.
Above the boxes, La Scala has always had a gallery where people who are not so rich can watch. This is still there today. It is called the "loggione". Some people in the loggione, known as the Claque, are known to applaud wildly if they like a singer, or boo loudly if they do not like a singer. During La Scala’s history this has often been because of bribery or blackmail.
La Scala was originally lit with 84 oil lamps mounted on the "palcoscenico" (ceiling) and another thousand in the rest of theater. In case they ever caught fire, several rooms were filled with hundreds of water buckets. Later, oil lamps were replaced by gas lamps. In 1883 electric lights were put in.
The building was renovated in 1907. After that it had 2,800 seats as it does today. In 1943, during World War II, La Scala was badly damaged by bombing. It was rebuilt and reopened on 11 May 1946, with a brilliant concert conducted by Arturo Toscanini, with a soprano solo by Renata Tebaldi.
Many famous operas were first performed at La Scala, including some by Giuseppe Verdi. For several years, however, Verdi did not allow his music to be played here because he did not like the way the orchestra had played it. However the composer later conducted his "Requiem" there on May 25, 1874, and in 1886 announced that La Scala would host the premiere of his opera "Otello". The first performance of his last opera, "Falstaff" was also given in this theatre.
La Scala's season traditionally opens on 7 December, Saint Ambrose's Day, Milan's patron saint. All performances must end before midnight; long operas start earlier in the evening if necessary.