1237 The trade settlement Cöllnis recorded in a charter for the first time. The first document about the settlement of Berlin , built around Nikolai Church , dates from 1244.

1307 Berlin and Cölln set up a common council.

1415 A Nürnberg viscount is granted the border region of Brandenburg in fief. The Elector Friedrich I lays the foundation of the 500-year-old Hohenzollern dynasty.

1486 Berlin becomes the residence of the Elector of Brandenburg.

1618-48 The Thirty Years War has a devastating effect on the population in most of Germany (about 1/3 of the population dies). Berlin reduced to just 6,000 inhabitants.

1701 The Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg crowns himself King of Prussia , and turns Berlin into his court capital.

1732 The old ramparts are taken down and replaced by toll bars.

1740-86 Frederic the Great turns Berlin into one Europe's major capitals and a centre of the Enlightenment.

1810 Foundation of the university. Revival of the sciences, literaure, music and theatre.

1848 Failure of the March Revolution. In the following decades Berlin develops into an industrial city.

1871 King William I is crowned Emperor at Versailles after uniting Germany into one Empire. Before it was still divided in many souvereign states. Berlin is now the capital of the new German Empire (the kings, dukes and princes in the other German states still keep their souvereignity). Berlin grows into a city with more than a million inhabitants. These years are called the Gründerjahre, years of economic revival. Social housing for the working classes. Cultural life is boosted. Germany iintroduces the first mandatory health insurance and state pension scheme.

1918 The Emperor is deposed after the November Revolution.

1920 A large number of suburbs and towns is incorporated. Greater Berlin has 4 million inhabitants. In spite of the worldwide economic crisis of 1929 (there are 600,000 unemployed Berliners) and political unrest Berlin enjoys the Golden Twenties, a decade of artistic creativity.

1933 The national-socialists assume power. The 1936 Summer Olympics are one mighty propaganda spectacle for the nazis.

1938 Crystal Night (Kristallnacht, 9-10 November). More than 80 synagogues and countless Jewish shops are destroyed.

1945 Capitulation (8 May). Berlin is divided into four sectors by the Allies, who govern the city.

1948 The Soviets blockade Berlin . A political partition is installed. An airlift keeps West-Berliners alive for more than a year.

1953 Popular rising in East-Berlin (17 June).

1961 Construction of the Wall on 13 August.

1971 A treaty signed by the four occupying powers guarantess the right of way between the Federal Republic and West-Berlin, and facilitates visits to East-Berlin by West-Berliners.

1989 Fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November.

1990 The two Germanies are officially reunited on 3 October.

1991 Berlin becomes the official capital of Germany.

1994 The Allied troops leave Berlin . An historic era has thus ended.

1995 The artist Christo wraps up the Reichstag in cloth. Millions of spectators flock to the city on the River Spree.

1997 First stonelaying of the Federal Chancellery official residence being the most significant part of the newly built government and parliament area.

1998 Potsdamer Platz openes. An entire new borough built on the former deathstrip.

1999 The Federal Government moves to Berlin. The Bundestag opens it new session in the completely refurbished Reichstag. The political Germany moves from Bonn to Berlin. Media attention shifts attention to Berlin. Berlin starts to develop into a real capital.

2001 The Jüdisches Museum Berlin opens its doors with a permanent exposition, after the empty building had been open to visitors for 18 months.

2006 The Football Worldcup is held in Germany with major games being held in Berlin. Public viewing area in the Tiergarten attracts up to 1,5 million people during major games. The public joy and atmosphere experienced during those summer weeks was extraordinary.