The romance of the rails captures the imagination but travellers still demand efficiency and comfort on the move. Monocle visits industry fair InnoTrans for the latest technologies and innovations keeping the transport on…
With its vast lobbies and unfussy functionality, the concrete-and-glass Deutsche Oper building was considered an audacious statement of democratic ideals when it first opened in 1961 on the western side of the Berlin Wall…
Tram and urban light-rail projects are booming as cities turn their backs on car culture. Bombardier is the global leader in the field and provides stock to such places as Stockholm, Geneva and Brussels. We met its pres…
At the height of socialist East Germany’s power, workers from Mozambique and Vietnam came to the GDR thanks to the political ideologies their countries shared. But when the Wall came down, they had to make the decision…
If you’re Germany, you have no option but to assert yourself globally with a softly, softly approach. Since the fall of the Wall, Germany’s foreign office has become master of gently promoting ‘Brand Germany’, with Berlin…
Andreas Murkudis embodies the serenity that permeates his conceptual retail spaces. With the possibility of another Berlin outpost on his mind, we discover how the unflappable pastor of fashion and design manages his staff…
Whether it be picture-laden coffee table tomes or volumes on aesthetic theory, Germany produces some of the finest art books in the world – and that’s not limited to Taschen. Monocle went to Berlin to pore over a buoyant…
Quarter of a century has passed since the Berlin Wall fell. Free of Soviet rule, Central and Eastern Europe have been transformed but democracy in the former Communist countries remains a work in progress.
The future of Berlin’s Tempelhof airport is up in the air. Due for closure next year, campaigners are mounting one final bid to rescue this hugely symbolic airport that played starring roles in the Second World War and the…
Every nation wants cleaner, smarter ways of getting around and rail is set to be the big winner. We talk speed, design and night-time adventures
with Michael Peter of Siemens Mobility.
Unused since 2014, the International Congress Centre is an architectural behemoth that deserves to buzz with the polyglot chatter of global trade and industry gatherings as it did in its 1980s heyday. We explore the site…
Cancel culture and collective hand-wringing has made the art world a rather serious place to work. Luckily the curator of Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin is offering a novel way to see things – with a little levity,…
We tour the tower-top Berlin bar of publisher Axel Springer. It’s a watering hole for the powerful and well-connected that also welcomes junior journalists (as long as they’re dressed for it).
The US and UK may be falling short when it comes to making a good impression but Berlin is firming up its footing on the world stage with a sparkling renovation of its stellar department store Kadewe.