View source for Unter den Linden

{{short description|Thoroughfare in Berlin, Germany}}
{{morefootnotes|date=September 2025}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{other uses|Unter den Linden (Berlin U-Bahn)|Unter den Linden (waltz)}}
{{distinguish|text=the poem [[Under der linden]]}}

{{More citations needed|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox street
| name                    = Unter den Linden
| marker_image            = [[File:Bundesstraße_2_number.svg|40px|link=Bundesstraße 2]] [[File:Bundesstraße_5_number.svg|40px|link=Bundesstraße 5]]
| image                   = Unter den Linden von oben cropped.jpg
| image_size              = 
| image_alt               = Unter den Linden from above
| image_map               = 
| caption                 = Unter den Linden from [[Berlin Cathedral]] to [[Brandenburg Gate]] and [[Tiergarten (park)|Tiergarten]] park, view from [[Fernsehturm Berlin|Fernsehturm]], 2005
| map_type                = 
| map_size                = 
| map_caption             = Location within Berlin
| map_alt                 = Location within Berlin
| former_names            = {{ubl|{{lang|de|Erste Straße}}|{{small|(1673–1674)}}|{{lang|de|Neustädtische Allee}}|{{small|({{circa|1674}}–1690)}}|{{lang|de|Lindenallee}}|{{small|(1690–1723)}}|{{lang|de|Lindenstraße}}|{{small|(1723–1734)}}<ref name="kauperts">{{cite web |title=Unter den Linden |url=https://berlin.kauperts.de/Strassen/Unter-den-Linden-10117-Berlin |website=Kauperts Straßenführer durch Berlin |publisher=Kaupert publisher |access-date=15 October 2024 |language=de}}</ref>}}
| part_of                 = {{ubl|[[File:Bundesstraße_2_number.svg|1000x11px|link=]] [[Bundesstraße 2]]|[[File:Bundesstraße_5_number.svg|1000x11px|link=]] [[Bundesstraße 5]]}}
| namesake                = [[Tilia|Linden trees]]
| type                    = [[Boulevard]]
| owner                   = 
| maint                   = 
| length                  = {{cvt|1480|m}}<ref name=",bz 2016-11-02">{{cite news |author1=<!--not stated--> |title=Rot-Rot-Grün will Unter den Linden zur Fußgängerzone machen |trans-title=Red-Red-Green wants to make Unter den Linden a pedestrian zone |url=https://www.bz-berlin.de/archiv-artikel/das-ist-der-geheim-fahrplan-fuer-berlins-verkehr |access-date=17 October 2024 |publisher=Berliner Zeitung |date=2 November 2016 |language=de-DE}}</ref>
| length_m                = 1480 
| length_km               = 
| length_ref              = 
| length_notes            = 
| width                   = {{cvt|60|m}}<ref name="b.de udl">{{cite web |author1=<!--not stated--> |title=Unter den Linden |url=https://www.berlin.de/sehenswuerdigkeiten/3559846-3558930-unter-den-linden.html |website=berlin.de |publisher=State of Berlin |access-date=17 October 2024 |language=de}}</ref>
| area                    = 
| addresses               = 
| location                = [[Berlin]], Germany
| quarter                 = [[Mitte (locality)|Mitte]]
| postal_code             = 
| metro                   = {{ubl|{{ric|Berlin S-Bahn|S1|size=x12}} {{ric|Berlin S-Bahn|S2|size=x12}} {{ric|Berlin S-Bahn|S25|size=x12}} {{ric|Berlin S-Bahn|S26|size=x12}} {{ric|Berlin U-Bahn|U5|size=x12}} | [[Berlin Brandenburger Tor station|Brandenburger Tor]] | {{ric|Berlin U-Bahn|U5|size=x12}} {{ric|Berlin U-Bahn|U6|size=x12}} | [[Unter den Linden (Berlin U-Bahn)|Unter den Linden]] | {{ric|Berlin U-Bahn|U5|size=x12}} | [[Museumsinsel (Berlin U-Bahn)|Museumsinsel]]}}
| coordinates             = {{coord|format=dms|region:DE-BE_type:landmark|display=i}}
| direction_a             = West
| terminus_a              = {{ubl|[[Straße des 17. Juni]]|[[Platz des 18. März]]|[[Brandenburg Gate]]|[[Pariser Platz]]}}
| direction_b             = East
| terminus_b              = {{ubl|[[Schlossbrücke]]|[[Schloßplatz (Berlin)|Schloßplatz]]|[[Berlin Palace]]|[[Liebknecht Bridge]]|[[Karl-Liebknecht-Straße]]}}
| junction                = {{ubl|[[Wilhelmstrasse|Wilhelmstraße]]|Schadowstraße|Neustädtische Kirchstraße|Glinkastraße|[[Friedrichstraße]]|Charlottenstraße|Universitätsstraße|[[Bebelplatz]]||Hinter dem Gießhaus|Oberwallstraße|Niederlagstraße|Am Zeughaus|Schinkelplatz}}
| main_contractor         = 
| cost                    = 
| references              = 
| commissioning_date      = 
| construction_start_date = 
| completion_date         = 
| inauguration_date       =
| demolition_date         = 
| designer                = 
| known_for               = 
| status                  = 
}}

'''Unter den Linden''' ({{IPA|de|ˈʊntɐ deːn ˈlɪndn̩|lang|De-Unter den Linden.ogg}}, "under the [[Tilia|linden]] trees") is a [[boulevard]] in the central [[Mitte (locality)|Mitte]] district of [[Berlin]], Germany. Running from the [[Berlin Palace]] to the [[Brandenburg Gate]], it is named after the [[Tilia|linden trees]] (known as lime in the UK and Ireland and basswood in North America, not related to citrus lime) that line the grassed pedestrian mall on the median and the two broad [[carriageway]]s. The avenue links numerous Berlin [[List of tourist attractions in Berlin|sights]], landmarks and rivers for sightseeing.

==Overview==
[[File:Lindenallee Berlin 1691.jpg|thumb|left|J. Stridbeck, ''LindenAllee 1691'']]
Unter den Linden runs east–west from the [[Berlin Palace]], the former main residence of the royal [[House of Hohenzollern]], reconstructed (after the demolition of the communist [[Palace of the Republic (Berlin)|Palace of the Republic]]) on its old site opposite the [[Lustgarten]] park, to [[Pariser Platz]] and [[Brandenburg Gate]]. Major north–south streets crossing ''Unter den Linden'' are [[Friedrichstraße]] and [[Wilhelmstrasse]], both meeting at [[Mehringplatz]] and running across the [[Friedrichstadt (Berlin)|Friedrichstadt]], a city expansion founded in 1691.

In 1873 he department store Kaisergalerie was opened housing more than 50 shops and cafes. In the early 1930s, the architect [[Alfred Grenander]] redesigned the department store in the [[New Objectivity (architecture)|New Objectivity style]]. The building was demolished in the 1950s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Historic department stores: Berlin's mostly vanished temples of consumerism |url=https://www.the-berliner.com/berlin/historic-department-stores-berlins-mostly-vanished-temples-of-consumerism/ |publisher=the-berliner.com |date=31 January 2024 }}</ref> Eastward the boulevard crosses the [[Spree (river)|Spree]] river, slightly kinked due to the oblique position of the long side of the palace compared to the boulevard, at the Lustgarten with [[Berlin Cathedral]], and continues as [[Karl-Liebknecht-Straße]], itself continued as [[Prenzlauer Allee]], to the northern outskirts. The western, dead straight continuation behind Brandenburg Gate is the [[Straße des 17. Juni]] (formerly ''Charlottenburger Chaussee''), which in turn is extended to the west by the straight sequence of Bismarckstrasse and [[Kaiserdamm]], an axis, widened in 1904, that runs from Berlin Palace more than 10 kilometers across the city to the western outskirts where, slightly elevated, one can survey the length of the axis. The extension of the ''Linden'' alley to this gigantic axis was inspired by the [[Boulevards of Paris]]. The [[Kurfürstendamm]], the magnificent shopping mile in the historically elegant west of Berlin, was similarly inspired.

[[File:Franz Krüger Parade auf dem Opernplatz Berlin.jpg|thumb|left|''Parade on Opernplatz'' (by [[Franz Krüger]], between 1824 and 1830). In the very background the planting with the linden trees begins towards the Brandenburg Gate.]]
[[File:Eduard Gaertner Unter den Linden 1852.jpg|thumb|left|''Unter den Linden'' (by [[Eduard Gaertner]], 1852). In the background is the Berlin Palace.]]
Unter den Linden, which sits at the heart of the historic section of Berlin, developed from a bridle path laid out by Elector [[John George, Elector of Brandenburg|John George of Brandenburg]] in the 16th century to reach his hunting grounds in the [[Tiergarten (Berlin)|Tiergarten]] from his palace. It was replaced by a boulevard of linden trees when the Electress [[Princess Dorothea Sophie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg|Dorothea Sophie]] planned a new suburb in 1674, named after her [[Dorotheenstadt]]. She is said to have planted the first linden tree in 1680. Parts of the fortification of Berlin built in the aftermath of the [[Thirty Years' War]] (the baroque [[Berlin Fortress]]) were later integrated into the boulevard, around the historic ''Opernplatz'', the present-day [[Bebelplatz]], visible until today as there are no trees on this stretch up to the palace on the Spree river island itself. Bebelplatz itself was planned by [[Frederick the Great]] as a much larger ''Forum Fridericianum'', albeit on a smaller scale actually realized with his [[Berlin State Opera|State Opera]], [[St. Hedwig's Cathedral]], the ''Old Library Building'' and the ''Palace of [[Prince Henry of Prussia (1726–1802)|Prince Henry]]'', today the main building of [[Humboldt University of Berlin|Humboldt University]], giving the square an almost complete surround of 18th-century buildings. 

[[File:SFP 186 - Flug ueber Berlin.ogv|thumb|left|Aerial view of the park after [[World War II]]]]
By the 19th century, as Berlin grew and expanded to the west, Unter den Linden became the most renowned and grandest street in Berlin. In 1851 the famous [[equestrian statue of Frederick the Great]], designed by [[Christian Daniel Rauch]], was erected on the central strip. [[Johann Strauss III]] wrote the waltz "''[[Unter den Linden (waltz)|Unter den Linden]]''" in 1900. In the course of the building of the [[Berlin Nord-Süd-Tunnel|Nord-Süd-Tunnel]] for the [[Berlin S-Bahn]] in 1934-1935, most of the linden trees were cut down and during the last days of [[World War II]] the remaining trees were destroyed or cut down for firewood. The present-day linden were replanted in the 1950s.

As the location of the pre-1914 German Foreign Ministry building, "the Under den Linden" was sometimes used as a shorthand for the German government when talking of German foreign policy.

==Historic significance==
[[File:Map of Unter den Linden, Berlin.gif|right|400px|Map showing the main points of interest]]
Since 1937, the numbering of the properties on the street has started at the ''Schlossbrücke'' (Palace Bridge), which connects Unter den Linden with the Lustgarten and [[Museum Island]]. The reconstructed [[Alte Kommandantur]] is at No. 1, standing opposite the [[Zeughaus]] arsenal, the oldest building on Unter den Linden, built between 1695 and 1706, now the seat of the ''[[Deutsches Historisches Museum]]'', No. 2. Buildings along the street include (from east to west) the [[Kronprinzenpalais|Crown Prince's Palace]] which is the former palace of the [[House of Hohenzollern]], at No. 3, opposite the [[Neue Wache]] war memorial, No. 4,  [[Karl Friedrich Schinkel]]’s masterpiece built in 1817. Further along, on [[Bebelplatz]], the [[Berlin State Opera]], No. 7, colloquially called ''Lindenoper'', [[St. Hedwig's Cathedral]] and the ''Altes Palais'', No. 9, ([[Old Palace, Berlin]]) a favourite [[Neoclassical architecture|Neoclassical]] residence of [[Wilhelm I, German Emperor|Emperor Wilhelm I]]; next, on the north side lies the main building of the [[Humboldt University of Berlin|Humboldt University]], No. 6, and House I of the [[Berlin State Library]], No. 8.

At the western end are the [[Embassy of Russia in Berlin|Russian Embassy]] (former Soviet Embassy, Nos. 63-65, the [[Hungary|Hungarian]] Embassy, No. 76, standing at the junction with Wilhelmstrasse, and finally the [[Hotel Adlon]], No. 77, at the corner of Pariser Platz, which has been completely rebuilt on the site of the pre-war hotel. Well-known statues of [[Alexander von Humboldt|Alexander]] and [[Wilhelm von Humboldt]] in front of the university as well as of the [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussian]] generals [[Gerhard von Scharnhorst|Scharnhorst]] and [[Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von Bülow|Bülow]], also adorn the street. A street sign carrying the name Unter den Linden dating from before the 1930s was taken away by British forces and can now be seen at the [[Imperial War Museum]], London.

==Along Unter den Linden==
<gallery>
File:2023 Berliner Dom - Westfassade -- 01.jpg|[[Berlin Cathedral]]
File:Berlin-Mitte Stadtschloss asv2023-10.jpg|[[Berlin Palace]] / [[Humboldt Forum]]
File:Berlin Schlossbruecke.jpg|Eastern end at ''[[Schlossbrücke]]'' (Palace Bridge)
File:Unter den Linden Berlin2007.jpg|Unter den Linden at night
File:Unter den Linden at dusk.jpg|Christmas illumination
File:Berlin-Mitte Kommandantenhaus UdL asv2023-10.jpg|[[Alte Kommandantur]]
File:Zeughaus Berlin 2012.jpg|[[Zeughaus]] (now ''[[Deutsches Historisches Museum]]'')
File:Neue Wache memorial, Unter den Linden, Berlin.JPG|[[Neue Wache]] (New Guard House) memorial
File:Berlin Opera UdL asv2018-05.jpg|[[Berlin State Opera]], one of several [[Neoclassical architecture|neoclassical]] buildings on Bebelplatz
File:Berlin Bebelplatz asv2018-05 img3.jpg|[[Bebelplatz]]
File:Frontansicht des Hauptgebäudes der Humboldt-Universität in Berlin.jpg|Main building of [[Humboldt University of Berlin|Humboldt University]]
File:Berlin Friedrich II Denkmal 09-2017 img1.jpg|[[Equestrian statue of Frederick the Great]], facing east
File:Hotel Adlon (Berlin).jpg|[[Hotel Adlon]]
File:2005-10-26 Brandenburger-Tor.JPG|[[Brandenburg Gate]] at [[Pariser Platz]], which marks the western terminus
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Berlin Brandenburger Tor station]]&nbsp;– formerly Berlin Unter den Linden
*[[Berlin Unter den Linden station]] – [[U-Bahn]] station at the Friedrichstraße intersection, served by [[U5 (Berlin U-Bahn)|U5]] and [[U6 (Berlin U-Bahn)|U6]] trains

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons|Unter den Linden}}
{{Attached KML|display=inline,title}}
* [https://www.stadtpanoramen.de/berlin/unter_den_linden.html Unter den Linden] - Interactive 360° Panorama
* [http://www.dhm.de/lindencam/ Webcam: Live-View of the street Unter den Linden with Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany]

{{Visitor attractions in Berlin}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Streets in Berlin]]
[[Category:Boulevards]]
[[Category:Mitte]]
[[Category:Prussian cultural sites]]
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