Page 13
Preface.
The present Handbook for Berlin, which corresponds with the
fifteenth German edition, incorporates, in a much expanded and
carefully revised form, information heretofore included in the
Handbook for Northern Germany. Its chief object, like that of
the Editor's other guides, is to render the traveller as nearly as
possible independent of the services of guides and others and to
enable him to employ his time, his money, and his energy to the
best advantage.
Though Berlin does not compete in antiquity or historical in¬
terest with the other great European capitals, its position as the
metropolis of the German empire and its wealth of art-treasures,
both ancient and modern, invest it with high importance in addition
to its special and characteristic interest as the greatest purely
modern city in Europe. While devoting particular attention to
the description of the imposing imperial and national edifices and
of the great public collections, the Editor has not forgotten this
last-mentioned phase, and has endeavoured to include as com¬
prehensive a selection as possible of other objects of general interest
for the cultivated traveller. No one is better aware than the Editor
himself of the difficulty of securing absolute accuracy in a guide¬
book; and he will therefore gratefully welcome the continuance of
those valuable corrections and suggestions with which travellers
have long been in the habit of favouring him.
The utmost care has been bestowed upon the Maps and Plans.
The subdivision of the large Plan of Berlin (at the end of the
book) into three sections of different colours will be found materially
to facilitate reference, as it obviates the necessity of unfolding a
large sheet of paper at each consultation. The area shown on this
plan coincides with that given in reduced scale on the Tramway
Plan at p. 14, so that reference from one plan to the other presents
no difficulty. The numbersappearingontheTramway Plan correspond
with the official numbers of the tramway-lines. A plan of the inner
town on a larger scale has been added to the present edition.
The list of Hotels and Restaurants given in the Handbook
comprises the most important establishments and many of humbler
pretensions. Those which the Editor has reason to believe especially
worthy of commendation in proportion to their charges are denoted
by asterisks. The Editor has distributed these marks of commend¬
ation (the value of which is relative only) as fully and impartially