Berlin, capital and boss urban focal point of Germany. The city lies at the core of the North German Plain, athwart an east-west business and geographic hub that helped make it the capital of the realm of Prussia and afterward, from 1871, of a bound together Germany. Berlin's previous greatness finished in 1945, however the city endure the decimation of World War II. It was reconstructed and came to show astonishing financial and social development. Berlin is arranged around 112 miles (180 km) south of the Baltic Sea, 118 miles (190 km) north of the Czech-German fringe, 110 miles (177 km) east of the previous internal German outskirt, and 55 miles (89 km) west of Poland. It lies in the wide frigid valley of the Spree River, which goes through the focal point of the city. The mean height of Berlin is 115 feet (35 meters) above ocean level. The most noteworthy point close to the focal point of Berlin is the pinnacle of the Kreuzberg, a slope that ascents 218 feet (66 meters) above ocean level.