The western half of the divided city of Berlin, composed of the British, French and American Sectors. West Berlin was heavily influenced by the presence of the Allies during the Cold War, when the Berlin Wall divided the city. The Berlin Airlift kept West Berliners supplied with food, coal, and medicine during a Soviet-imposed blockade. The Tegel and Gatow airports were built to service the incoming planes. Old American military bases still remain in the southwestern part of the city and are slowly being reclaimed by the German government and business interests.
Today, western Berlin is experiencing a decline of sorts. Cheaper land and housing in the eastern part of the city is draining the more bourgeois, spiessig western half of its attractiveness to businesses and young entrepreneurs. Cafe Kränzler is closing after being a Ku-damm landmark for many years. All the best clubs and bars, especially electronic music venues, are in the east, where the students and immigrants live.
Western Berlin is home to the Wannsee, a lake Berliners flock to in the summer, and the Tiergarten, a large park in the center of the city. Many thousands of students study at the Free University in Dahlem. Beautiful old houses sit between the trees in Grunewald. Hertha BSC plays in the old Olympic Stadium (Olympiastadion) in Charlottenburg.
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