Berlin Blog #3

Minster and Berlin both have Germanic roots, however outside of that both places are almost complete opposites. Minster is a town with a deep German heritage and has not seen a vast influx of immigration. While on the other hand, Berlin has been a breeding ground for cultures to collide with one another and ultimately live in a cohesive city made up of all different backgrounds and origins. This has caused Minster to practically stay the same while Berlin has vastly changed and immigration is probably the biggest reason for this difference.

The first founders of Minster (originally called Stallowstown) were from Germany. Ever since my town’s first creation the German culture has been extremely thick and realistically is no less thick today. With very few minority races, and even very few other European originated family lineages. Minster is a unique place because families do not really leave and even when they do, usually they will come back eventually. This type of small town and tight knit community feel does not really allow for very many outside opinions and varying views (History of Minster). Resulting from this, not many outside families without roots in Minster decide to move in. This is extremely apparent when you see last names on the very first doctrines found in Minster that are still last names found today around town. Not many other places can claim town loyalty quite like Minster, and that is what makes it so unique.

Berlin on the other hand ever since it began has been a fairly diverse city. While still having a German majority, there have always been many other ethnicities represented in Berlin’s population. In fact, to date there are around 190 countries currently represented in Berlin, truly making it a very ethnic city (Population of Capital Region). This diverse population has lead to Berlin being a city that not only has a very diverse population, but resulting from that population Berlin has been an ever changing city. A large reason as to how Berlin is able to be so diverse is because of the Greater Berlin Act of 1920 in which largely expanded the area of Berlin, allowing for a much larger immigration to enter the city (Berlin in Brief). For instance, once Berlin gave permission in 2014 to enter the country, roughly 114,000 people (a quarter from Syria) has entered the city. Obviously in a town like Minster, it is very hard to get very many people to move there even if you would scale it down to size. Resulting from this fact, this again is another example as to why Berlin has changed much more in culture and ideals than Minster has over the course of its lifetime.

Minster and Berlin are two places that originate from the same culture but differ greatly after that. Minster is a stereotypical small town where the residents are stuck in their ways and pride themselves in deeply rooted heritage. Berlin on the other hand prides themselves in their heritage as well but instead of priding themselves in always staying the same they pride themselves in being an ever changing city. These differences are present because of the amount of immigration that each place has experienced, Minster practically never changing and Berlin has done everything but stay the same. Both places are unique in this aspect and that is not to say that one is better than the other; however, it is just two very different styles of life and both are beautiful in their own way.

 

 

“Berlin in Brief.” Berlin.de, 2016, www.berlin.de/berlin-im-ueberblick/en/history/the-cosmopolitan-city-of-the-weimar-republic/. Accessed 1 Dec. 2016.

“The History of the Village of Minster.” Minster a Great Community, Village of Minster, 2016, www.minsteroh.com/residents/history-minster.

“Population of Capital Region.” Berlin Business Location Center, Business Location Center, 2016, www.businesslocationcenter.de/en/business-location/business-location/economic-data/demographic-data. Accessed 1 Dec. 2016.

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