There is evidence of humans living in the region where Berlin is today for as long as 60,000 years. Germanic tribes including the Semnoni grew in importance from 600BC onwards, but many eventually moved onwards to the west. This allowed a brief Slavic interlude starting in the eighth century, as the Hevelli and Sprevani tribes settled largely abandoned Germanic lands. But once the Margraviate of Brandenburg was formed in 1157 as an outer province of the Holy Roman Empire, the Germans had firmly re-established their hegemony for good.

Berlin began its present existence as two small Germanic trading settlements on the banks of the Spree River – which takes its name from the Slavic ‘Sprevani’ – some eight centuries ago. Although the city adopted a bear as part of its crest early on, Berlin’s linguistic origins are likely to have more to do with the Slavic word ‘stem’ berl (meaning swamp) from the tribes that had once lived in the area. The settlement was first mentioned in official records in the 13th century. Cölln, a village on an island in the middle of the Spree, came first in 1237 and Berlin, on the northern bank of the river, followed in 1244. After joining together in 1307, the unified town located at the centre of what is now Mitte led a hyphenated existence as Berlin-Cölln for several centuries before eventually trimming the second half of its name.