Straße des 17. Juni

The Straße des 17. Juni (English: 17th June Street) 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 17 June 1953. Today the street is sometimes used for mega-events like love parade or live8. In summer 2006 the street was closed for 6 weeks to use it as "Fanmeile" (fan mile) during the 2006 Football World Cup. It also serves as the starting point for the Berlin Marathon.

External links

* [http://www.dhm.de/lemo/objekte/pict/ba008862/index.html A photo of the street as it looked during the Nazi era as part of the Ost-West Achse] .