Straße des 17. Juni
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Looking west along the Straße des 17. Juni, with the Siegessäule in the distance |
The
Straße des 17. Juni (
English: "Street of June 17") is a street in central
Berlin, the capital of
Germany. It is the western continuation of the
Unter den Linden. It runs east-west through the
Tiergarten, a large forest park to the west of the city centre. At the eastern end is the
Brandenburg Gate and at the western end is
Ernst-Reuter-Platz in
Charlottenburg. Halfway along the street is the
Berlin victory column (Siegessäule). The
Soviet War Memorial, built in 1945, is the only major structure on the course of the street between the Brandenburg Gate and the Siegessäule.
Before
World War II the street was called Charlottenburger Chaussee because it ran from the city to Charlottenburg. It was made into a paved road in 1799 and due to Berlin's rapid growth in the 19th century it became a major thoroughfare to the affluent western suburbs. During the
Nazi era it was made part of the
Ost-West Achse (East-West Axis), a triumphal avenue lined with Nazi flags. In the last weeks of World War II, when Berlin's airports were unusable, it was used as a landing strip.
In 1953 the street was re-named Straße des 17. Juni to commemorate the
uprising of the East Berliners on June 17 of that year. Today the street is a popular recreational area and serves as the starting point for the
Berlin Marathon.
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A photo of the street as it looked during the Nazi era as part of the Ost-West Achse This photo is taken from almost the same spot as the modern photo at the head of this page.
