Alexanderplatz
Alexanderplatz is a square in Berlin, located in the downtown area of the city, this plaza originally housed a marketplace for livestock, so it was known as an ox market or Ochsenmarkt. Alexanderplatz is surrounded by huge buildings like the Fernsehturm (the highest TV tower in the EU) and is now a major transshipment center for passengers.The square was named after Tsar Alexander I of Russia, who visited the city in 1805 and had its heyday in the late twentieth century, when a subway station and a market, both with the same name was built.
Inside the plaza you find the tallest building in the city, the Forum Hotel Berlin and the famous World Clock.
Like many other major sites it has been struck by Allied bombing during World War II and was badly damaged. It suffered throughout its history and had several redesigns, the most important carried out in 1960, when it became one of the most important public spaces in East Berlin. After reunification it was again subjected to several constructions and has many new buildings around.
Despite the reforms, the square still has a socialist twist, e.g. preserving the Fountain of Friendship of Peoples. In May 2007, during sewerage works in the square’s ground, the workers found one of the largest Nazi bunker built in the capital of Germany.