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Slightly to the southwest of the Rotes Rathaus lies the Nikolaiviertel , a showpiece GDR development carried out in the run-up to Berlin's 750th anniversary celebrations of 1987. Not only did this restore the main monuments of Berlin's oldest quarter, complete with its medieval layout, it also re-erected there replicas of historic buildings from elsewhere in the city which didn't make it through to the postwar era, such as Zum Nussbaum , a convincing enough re-creation of a celebrated sixteenth-century Wirtshaus, as well as stylized buildings not based on anything in particular, but striving for an "old Berlin" feel. At the centre of it all is the Gothic Nikolaikirche (Tues-Sun 10am-6pm; www.stadtmuseum.com ; DM5/?2.50 combined ticket with Knoblauchhaus and Ephraim-Palais, free Wed), a brickwork hall church. Now deconsecrated, it is often given over to temporary exhibitions. Among the furnishings are Schluter's monument to the court goldsmith Daniel Mannlich, which can be seen above a mock doorway on the west wall. Nearby, at Poststr. 23, is the Rococo Knoblauchhaus (same times and ticket), one of only four houses from the prewar Nikolaiviertel to have survived. At the end of the street, facing Muhlendamm, is the rebuilt Ephraim-Palais (same times and ticket), a rather more splendid Rococo mansion built for Frederick the Great's court jeweller and mint master, Nathan Veitel Heine Ephraim. It contains displays of Berlin artworks of the period. South of the Spree is the former suburb of Neukolln am Wasser, nowadays known as Am Kollnischen Park. Its dominant monument is the Markisches Museum (Tues-Sun 10am-6pm; www.stadtmuseum.com ; DM8/?4), an early twentieth-century building in the style of a medieval monastery. The displays are devoted to the history of Berlin and the province of Brandenburg from prehistoric times to the present day. Among the highlights are a beautiful Gothic sculpture known as the Spandau Madonna ; the horse's head from Schadow's original casting of the Quadriga on the Brandenburger Tor; and the Panorama, a late nineteenth-century rotating drum which shows a series of fascinating 3-D photos of old Berlin.
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