Narrating Berlin. A kaleidoscopic exploration of notions around memory, identity and home

Abstract

Berlin is as popular as never before. By word of mouth an image of the city has spread which evokes a nearly mythical idea of it being a place of endless possibilities and unlimited self-realisation. Thus, every year thousands of people from all over the world decide to pack their belongings and start a new life in the city of their dreams. More than ever Berlin has become a location of multicultural encounters and constantly shifting borders through gentrification and migration.The article explores how places are created through storytelling. It looks at the potential of the "narrated space" in respect to identity and ideas of "Heimat". Through psychogeographical walks with different participants these questions are unravelled and demonstrate in what way new Berliner citizens create bonds with the space they live in through the stories they internalise.