Berlin - Former Soviet Embassy

(Local Name: Sowjetische Botschaft) The upper part of Unter den Linden in Berlin is occupied by administrative buildings and embassies, the most noteworthy of which is the former Soviet Embassy, now the Russian Consulate, at Nos. 63-65. This was once the site of the palace of Princess Amalie, built in 1734, which from 1832 was the residence of the Russian Ambassador. Tsar Nicholas I purchased the house and had it altered by Eduard Knoblauch in 1840-41. It was destroyed during the Second World War. After the war this was the first building in Unter den Linden to be rebuilt (1950-53) and then became the Soviet Embassy in the GDR. Immediately east of the building are the offices of the travel agency Intourist, the Aeroflot airline and Russian trade delegations.