Google confirmed on Sunday it has bought new premises in Berlin's central Mitte district close to its existing city headquarters. The Johannishof building is expected to be renovated before workers move in.
"For us, this is a clear commitment to the Berlin location," Google spokesman Ralf Bremer told Germany's dpa news agency. "Berlin has a booming start-up scene, excellent universities and is one of the most attractive locations in Europe along with Hamburg and Munich."
Bremer told local daily Berliner Zeitung that people working at the new building will focus on existing tasks.
"At the moment, different teams from the Cloud, Google for Startups, Google Play, Marketing, Politics, Software Engineering, Sales and YouTube departments are working in the Berlin office," he said.
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10 reasons to love Berlin
Berlin reaches for the sky
The "Fernsehturm" (television tower) with its height of 368 meters (1,207 ft) is Germany's tallest structure. On a clear day, the viewing platform offers visibility of up to 40 kilometers (24 miles). The floor above the visitor platform is where a revolving restaurant is located, which rotates once every 30 minutes.
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10 reasons to love Berlin
Berlin is World Heritage
An island with five museums, surrounded by the river Spree — the "Museumsinsel" was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999. Here you can admire art treasures from around the world spanning from a bust of Egyptian queen Nefertiti to the ancient Greek Pergamon Altar. Berlin actually boasts 175 museums in total and some 300 art galleries, so deciding which ones to visit is a real challenge.
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10 reasons to love Berlin
Berlin is glamorous
Every February Berlin rolls out the red carpet as movie stars descend on the city. Since 1951, the Berlin Film Festival, known as the Berlinale, has been one of the world's leading festivals. Movie stars love Berlin, even when there isn't a film festival, like George Clooney.
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10 reasons to love Berlin
Berlin is culturally diverse
Cosmopolitan, richly colored and with a zest for life - this is how Berlin presents itself during the Carnival of Cultures festival. Some 190 nationalities call the city their home. And every May they all — new arrivals and established Berliners together — celebrate what is probably the best street party in Berlin.
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10 reasons to love Berlin
Berlin is remembrance
The Holocaust Memorial, consisting of 2,711 concrete slabs to commemorate the six million European Jews who were killed by Nazi Germany, is the most visited memorial in Berlin. Other memorials include those dedicated to the Allied forces that liberated Berlin at the end of the Second World War, those killed trying to escape over the Berlin Wall and to the heroes of the Berlin airlift.
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10 reasons to love Berlin
Berlin is happy
30 years ago, on November 9th, 1989, the Berlin Wall fell. The Berliners still view their reunified city as a gift. The Brandenburg Gate stood in no-man's-land for nearly three decades. It has become a worldwide symbol of the hope that division and separation can ultimately be overcome.
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10 reasons to love Berlin
Berlin is a construction site
Since German unification in 1990 the building cranes haven't stopped: the Potsdamer Platz public square was reconstructed, the Reichstag parliament building was given its dome, and the government quarter was built. The City Palace is due to be completed in 2019. Though no one yet knows if the new, very delayed airport in Schönefeld will be open by 2020.
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10 reasons to love Berlin
Berlin is green
There are over 2,500 parks in Berlin, but the New York Times named the small "Prinzessinnengarten" as one of the city’s loveliest green spaces. This former wasteland in the Kreuzberg district has been turned into an organic garden in which over 500 types of vegetables are grown, cared for by hundreds of local volunteers. This is a community project, which has become a tourist attraction.
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10 reasons to love Berlin
Berlin is nightlife
Berlin's nightlife, known as one of the most exciting in the world, offers something for every taste, from indie rock, via hip hop to house music. Some of the world's best DJs spin vinyl at clubs like Berghain or Watergate. Many come to Berlin just for this — they get on a flight to the city on a Friday evening, then party all weekend before heading home.
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10 reasons to love Berlin
Berlin is all heart and a bark
Nearly 100,000 hounds live here, making Berlin the dog capital of Germany. But when Berliners say they're "all heart with a bark" they are not referring to their dogs but themselves. The Berlin people are not known for being friendly, rather for being brusque, a mild form of rudeness known locally as Berliner Schnauze — or Berlin snout. But this verbal bark and growl tends to hide a big heart.
Author: Kerstin Schmidt
Rising rents
Last year Google shelved plans for a start-up campus in an electrical substation-turned-concert venue in Kreuzberg, one of Berlin's most popular districts, after a series of setbacks and protests.
Initial planning permission had been denied because of the potential noise for local residents, and because "the planned installation of an additional story in the historical building would also exceed the designated floor-area size for the district," local councilor Julian Schwarze told the Neues Deutschland newspaper at the time.
Kreuzberg's anti-gentrification campaigners told DW that they were worried about their rents, their apartments and the area in general.
Because we've seen that when large tech companies settle in, the areas change a lot — the rents get very expensive, the retail spaces get very expensive," Coni Pfeiffer of the local initiative Glorreiche said. "In principle, the complete area that was there before simply gets replaced by other people and other businesses."
After Google backtracked on its plans for the Kreuzberg building, it was decided to instead house a social institution there, Google and the organizations involved said.
Read more: Germany's soaring housing prices spark calls for reform
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Favorite places to eat and drink
Altes Europa
"One of my favorite places is the restaurant Altes Europa. It's a very vibrant, social place. I'm there all the time – I love the familiar atmosphere", raves Mario Lombardo from Atelier Oblique.
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Favorite places to eat and drink
Café am Neuen See
Paula Gouveia from Portugal loves taking a boat out onto the Neuen See. In the summer, you can rent boats from the café located directly adjacent to the Berlin Zoo.
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Favorite places to eat and drink
Café Einstein
"The main branch of the Einstein is a Berlin institution - it’s a coffee house where I can just relax," says hatmaker Fiona Bennett from Britain. "In the evening I like to treat myself to artichokes and a glass of champagne."
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Favorite places to eat and drink
Clärchens Ballhaus
Chilean Cecilia Fuentes Ibarburu, owner of the South Embassy, is drawn to a Berlin institution after work: "My favorite place is Clärchens Ballhaus, because I love the diversity. This is where young and old, East and West all come to dance."
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Favorite places to eat and drink
La Bretagne
Chinese Yanwu Yuan’s favorite place is the Crêperie Le Bretagne which offers specialities such as Breton galettes. She eats breakfast there every morning after taking her son to kindergarten.
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Favorite places to eat and drink
Geist im Glas
Fashion label founder Jade Helene Shimmin from South Africa likes to meet her friends at Neukölln cocktail institution Geist im Glas, which is famous for its unconventional gin and whiskey creations.
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Favorite places to eat and drink
Herz & Niere
Bin Lee-Zauner and José Miranda Morillo of the restaurant Kochu Karu like the restaurant Herz und Niere, where they can enjoy meat with a clear conscience. All the products are local, and the restaurant always uses the entire animal.
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Favorite places to eat and drink
I Due Forni
"I love the pizzeria I Due Forni in Prenzlauer Berg," Lázsló Baksa, owner of the Hungarian delicatessen, Borsó. "They make the best pizza in Berlin."
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Favorite places to eat and drink
Khwan
Jeniffer Mulinde-Schmid likes to eat at Khwan, where you can watch chefs prepare their Nouvelle Thai dishes in the restaurant’s open kitchen.
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Favorite places to eat and drink
Les Valseuses
Frenchman Romain Dumond enjoys the Bistro Les Valseuses and its French specialities.
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Favorite places to eat and drink
Long March Canteen
Mirza Music-Zander of the Unique Factory enjoys the menu at the Chinese restaurant Long March Canteen.
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Favorite places to eat and drink
Panke Bar
Ruta Sluskaite-Dittmann likes to frequent the Panke-Bar, a relaxed locale with cocktails and vegetarian meals in her home district of Humboldthain.
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Favorite places to eat and drink
Röststätte Berlin
Vietnamese Nam Cao Hoai recommends Röststätte, which offers a great selection of fine coffees as well as workshops for up-and-coming baristas.
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Favorite places to eat and drink
Nobelhart & Schmutzig
"Nobelhart & Schmutzig is leading the way in the future of fine dining, with an honest, courageous menu made from local and seasonal products," says Dalad Kambhu. The Thai chef knows what she's talking about, having earned a Michelin Star for her restaurant, Kin Dee.
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Favorite places to eat and drink
Schlosshotel
Menswear designer Albert Haziza likes to go for a drink or two at the bar of the elegant Schlosshotel. Albert Haziza knows the owner, Patrick Hellmann, and his father, Alfred, from back in Morocco.
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Favorite places to eat and drink
Silo Coffee
Stacy Kent often enjoys breakfast at Australian café Silo Coffee, a popular brunch spot in Berlin Friedrichshain.
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Favorite places to eat and drink
Soda Club
"My favorite place is Soda Club in the Kulturbrauerei," says John Al Haddad, a Syrian who imports and sells laurel soaps in Schöneberg. "The people are nice, and I love dancing salsa there."
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Favorite places to eat and drink
Tadim
Jazz nightclub owner Sedal Sardan from Turkey likes to head to Turkish restaurant Tadim at Kottbusser Tor for a döner, Berlin’s own fast food specialty that is made from 100% veal.
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Favorite places to eat and drink
Voima Bar
"Every once in a while, I visit other bars in Berlin. My favorite is the Voima Bar," says Rik Lusing, the Dutchman who recently opened Beavis Bar, adding that Voima "offers classic cocktails mixed with Finnish ingredients."
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Favorite places to eat and drink
W - Der Imbiss
Kristian Moldskret enjoys the vegan fusion dishes at W – Der Imbiss. The meals combine elements from Indian, Mexican, Californian and Italian traditions.
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Favorite places to eat and drink
Weinerei
Sanjay Shihora enjoys the Weinerei wine bar with its understated flair. The bar offers an international selection as well as bottles from its own winery. Shihora has been running the Kookaburra Comedy Club nearby for many years.
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Favorite places to eat and drink
Zum Biermichel
"I like to hang out at Biermichel at the corner of Rheinsberger Strasse and Brunnenstrasse," says Dietmar Arnold, founder of the Berliner Unterwelten. "It's a refuge for smokers. I know the people who live around there and sometimes we even make a little music together.
DW's Ben Knight contributed to this story.
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