Berlin (bur-LIN, German: [bɛʁˈliːn] (listen)) is the funding and also the largest city of Germany by both location and population. Its 3.7 million residents make it the European Union's most populated city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen basic states, Berlin is bordered by the State of Brandenburg and contiguous with Potsdam, Brandenburg's capital. Berlin's urban location, which has a population of around 4.5 million, is the 2nd most populated urban area in Germany after the Ruhr. The Berlin-Brandenburg capital area has over six million residents and is Germany's third-largest city region after the Rhine-Ruhr and also Rhine-Main regions. Berlin straddles the financial institutions of the Spree, which moves right into the Havel (a tributary of the Elbe) in the western borough of Spandau. Amongst the city's primary topographical functions are the numerous lakes in the western and southeastern boroughs formed by the Spree, Have...