While other European metropolises feature historical city centers, in Berlin traces of earlier epochs were repeatedly destroyed. We can only guess where exactly the medieval merchants' settlements of Berlin and Cölln were located. The Berlin Palace is gone, and often, even citizens of Berlin cannot tell where exactly the Berlin wall stood. These continual rebirths testify to a turbulent history. Bernd Stöver writes vividly about Berlin's 800-year existence, from the establishment of a trading post on the Spree to the rise to Prussian and German capital, right up to the present day. He pays special attention to the development and ruptures of the metropolis starting in the nineteenth century. These are the origins of the city that magically attracts creative people and unconventional thinkers from all over the world.