Major north–south streets crossing Unter den Linden are Friedrichstraße and Wilhelmstrasse, both meeting at Mehringplatz and running across the Friedrichstadt, a city expansion founded in 1691.

Unter den Linden, which sits at the heart of the historic section of Berlin, developed from a bridle path laid out by Elector John George of Brandenburg in the 16th century to reach his hunting grounds in the Tiergarten from his palace.

Since 1937, the numbering of the properties on the street has started at the Schlossbrücke (Palace Bridge), which connects Unter den Linden with the Lustgarten and Museum Island.

1, standing opposite the Zeughaus arsenal, the oldest building on Unter den Linden, built between 1695 and 1706, now the seat of the Deutsches Historisches Museum, No.

9, (Old Palace, Berlin) a favourite Neoclassical residence of Emperor Wilhelm I; next, on the north side lies the main building of the Humboldt University, No.

Well-known statues of Alexander and Wilhelm von Humboldt in front of the university as well as of the Prussian generals Scharnhorst and Bülow, also adorn the street.

A street sign carrying the name Unter den Linden dating from before the 1930s was taken away by British forces and can now be seen at the Imperial War Museum, London.