In today´s area of Berlin, there was once a small village called Cölln which was built on the island in river Spree, which was first mentioned in 1237. In 1244 Berlin was mentioned for the first time as a village which lies on the northeastern bank of the Spree.
After the capture of the city by the Red Army and the unconditional surrender of the Wehrmacht on May 8, 1945, Berlin was divided into four sectors according to the London Protocols. On October 3, 1990, the two German states were reunited as the Federal Republic of Germany and Berlin got German capital by agreement treaty.