Berlin in antiquity – what was it like? What do we know about that period? As early as the first centuries of the Common Era, various Germanic tribes inhabited the banks of the Spree and Havel. Both are rivers that flow through modern day Berlin. During the course of the Great European Migration, many of these Germanic tribes left their native territories and moved west toward the Rhine River and south toward the Western Roman Empire. The Western Roman Empire was huge and encompassed today’s Spain, France, England, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, parts of Yugoslavia, and parts of North Africa. Slavic peoples from central and Eastern Europe moved into the vacated lands.

As the vacated lands turned predominantly Slavic, two of these Slavic tribes settled in the Berlin area. Around 720, the Hevelli established themselves along the River Havel. They founded the trading post of Spandau, now a borough of Berlin. The Sprevane put down roots in the vicinity of today’s suburb of Koepenick, close to the River Spree. Two hundred years later, Slavic tribes settled the area that today represents the core of today’s Berlin.

Otto the Great
founder of the Holy Roman Empire

Two hundred years later, in 948, Otto I, also known as Otto the Great, founded the Holy Roman Empire. In 962, he was crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope John XII. The Holy Roman Empire is not synonymous with the Western or Eastern Roman Empires, however. The former proclaimed itself to be the successor to the Western Roman Empire. It quickly established German control over the largely Slavic inhabitants of the region. The territory of the Holy Roman Empire centered on the Kingdom of Germany along with several small neighboring lands, including the Kingdom of Italy. The Emperor’s appointee, Markgraf Gero, led several crusades against the Slaves until they rebelled against German overlordship in 983. Then the region, once again, returned to Slavic control.

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on the home page of http://www.walled-in-berlin.com. Walled-In is a story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War.