There are a number of towns and cities in Germany in which the mediaeval centre was destroyed in the Second World War, but very few have cleared away the old town as completely as Berlin. Only the original heart of Berlin, the area around the Nikolai Church, where the first merchants settled in the 12th century near the crossing point over the Spree, was initially spared - the ruins of the church and the few remaining residential buildings were left to their fate into the 1970s. But for the 750 year celebration in Berlin in 1987, it was decided that the old heart of Berlin should combine its historical significance with new, reconstructed and restored buildings, streets and squares. The history of Berlin should always be accessible to everyday experience.